tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-76207736699383996182024-03-13T08:06:43.182-07:00Clarify InteriorsInterior expertise from Clarify Interiors, Oxfordshire's premier property staging, styling and marketing experts - part of the House Doctor NetworkUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger12125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-78017096704823435582016-03-24T06:40:00.000-07:002016-03-24T06:40:11.335-07:00Spring into action and clear out the clutter!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWrnLVzcf4PWl70VFOiEP4zaTAb5kRJGtGD8AkVnpDuCvIsRf0EIemH3WDlqDf1jytfd30dgXjJgvm9PWUFUO07IjYIRSiwO68mgjRMI6z2xSYrjhE-hKm-TGzAz_9SKKu3qCWQgoiNu_/s1600/spring+sun+10cm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsWrnLVzcf4PWl70VFOiEP4zaTAb5kRJGtGD8AkVnpDuCvIsRf0EIemH3WDlqDf1jytfd30dgXjJgvm9PWUFUO07IjYIRSiwO68mgjRMI6z2xSYrjhE-hKm-TGzAz_9SKKu3qCWQgoiNu_/s320/spring+sun+10cm.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Clear and clean to let the spring sunshine in!</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spring has arrived, and that means spring cleaning time – a seasonal tradition that’s perhaps not so welcome for those of us who just aren’t natural housekeepers! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The penetrating rays of the first really bright, warm days of the year can shine an unwelcome light on to cobwebby windows and into grubby, cluttered corners. But if the thought of scrubbing and polishing and clearing mountains of clutter fills you with horror, a proper plan of action can definitely lighten the load. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And if you’re putting your house on the market, remember a super-clean, fresh-smelling, uncluttered home will be far more attractive to buyers and will sell for a higher price than a tired-looking, untidy property. So when it comes to selling, investing time and effort in a really good spring clean and sort out is a really cost-effective way to boost your home’s ‘buyer appeal’. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But whether you're on the move, or just want to improve your home, a good old clear-out and clean-up is a cheap and cheerful way to refresh your surroundings. Not only will your home look fresher but you'll feel better in yourself too, so you get double the feelgood factor </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Investing some effort and elbow grease really be worth it in the end, I promise, so here are my top spring cleaning tips.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1 Plan in advance</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Spring cleaning is all about organising your home so it pays to organise your ‘battle plan’. Set aside a day or two for a proper cleaning and decluttering blitz and let everyone know you will be busy – distractions can make the best-laid plans fall apart. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Draw up a list of all the tasks you want to achieve and be realistic about how much time it will take to do them all properly. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Make sure you have all the cleaning and organising supplies you need before you start – it can really disrupt the rhythm of your work if you have to dash out to buy bleach or dusters in the middle of your cleaning campaign. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you haven’t already got one, invest in a cleaning caddy (or two, one for upstairs and one for down) to help you transport cleaning products from room to room easily, so you don't have to keep running back and forth to get what you need. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">On your spring cleaning day or days, turn off your phone, turn on some upbeat music, and off you go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2 Make it fun</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't think of spring cleaning as a chore. Instead, think of it as a 'feel good' exercise – one that will really help you to feel good about yourself and your clean and well-organised home. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Play some lively, fun, music while you work. Dance your way through your home with your dust rag or vacuum – remember you’ll be getting some good exercise and burning off calories too. Rope in the family to help if you can – regular ‘picnic-style’ refreshment breaks and a final reward to celebrate when the job’s done in the form of a meal out and a movie, or just a takeaway and a DVD, can help persuade reluctant younger recruits! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Play 'beat the clock.' </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Set time limits for completing small tasks, and try to complete those tasks before the timer goes off. Plan a car boot sale to sell old toys, unwanted games and books and other clutter and promise to spend the proceeds on a family day out. If you don’t have family to help, ask a friend to help, or do a swap – you’ll help spring clean their house if they’ll help you.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3 One room at a time</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most common mistakes people make when spring-cleaning is moving randomly around the house. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One minute you're clearing out the cupboard under the sink, and the next, you're in the bedroom trying to stuff all your winter jumpers into a bag. The result? A great big, unsatisfying, exhausting mess. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Instead, try to clean methodically: this will conserve your energy and ensure nothing gets missed out. This is why drawing up a plan of action before you start is time well spent.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4 Work from the top down</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you decide to tackle one room at a time, work from the top down to the floor – that way you won’t be making a mess of an area you’ve already cleaned. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So, in the kitchen, get out the step-ladder and sweep away cobwebs and clear away off and clean the tops of cupboards first. Then clear out and scrub your over work-top cupboards – throwing out any out of date items and remembering to wipe the bottoms of jars and cans before you put them back on those lovely unsticky, ring-free shelves. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Worktops, windowsill and sink next, then clean out those under-worktop cupboards and drawers, fridge, freezer and oven, before getting freestanding appliances out and cleaning out the crud you know will be lurking behind them. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sweep up all the accumulated debris and wash the floor as the very last job – then stand back and admire your handiwork!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5 Wonderful windows</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Curtains need cleaning at least once a year to prolong their life and keep them looking as good as new. If the fabric's washable, you should be able to clean and iron them at home so choose a warm sunny day when you can line dry big items. Ironing is most effective while they're still slightly damp. If curtains are pleated or gathered at the top, untie the header tape strings and release the pleats when spring-cleaning as they're real dust traps. And look out for mildew. This can accumulate when the fabric rests on a damp windowsill or against patio doors, where condensation gathers - so remember to wipe sills and windows down regularly.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">While the curtains are down, take the opportunity to reach every corner easily to clean and polish the inside of your windows and the dust and wipe down the windowsills. And open them wide to let the fresh spring air in.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For dusty venetian blinds you can now buy inexpensive ‘three-fingered’ dusters designed specially for cleaning and wiping the slats quickly and effectively. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6 Freshen up your carpets</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Carpets take a lot of punishment and over time accumulate a lot of ingrained dust and dirt that even regular vacuuming won’t shift, particularly on the stairs and in the living room . </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Hiring steam-cleaning equipment (most DIY superstores offer this service) for a day or two. Be</span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> warned, you will be shocked at how filthy the cleaning water is as you pour it away! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Alternatively call in a professional carpet cleaning service to leave them smelling fresh and looking like new again. Again it’s best to choose a dry spell of weather so you can move living room furniture out into the garden. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7 Spring clean your oven</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It's a job that no one likes, but the inside of your oven will be in real need of a proper spring clean after all those winter roasts and casseroles. There are a lot of powerful chemical oven cleaners around that are no doubt effective but come with health and safety warnings. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A simpler method is to mix water and some bicarbonate of soda into a thick paste, then smear it all over inside your cold oven - including the door - and leave for a few hours or overnight. It will dissolve burnt and baked on mess and all you have to do is wipe it away with a damp sponge. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8 Revamp your wardrobe</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Putting away your winter garb and getting out your summer clothes is an ideal time to rationalise what you really need. First of all get EVERYTHING out of your wardrobe and drawers, then vacuum thoroughly before washing down the insides to discourage moths who love to lay eggs in dark undisturbed corners. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at your winter clothes and accessories first – is there anything you didn’t wear at all in the last six months? Then donate it to a charity shop or sell it on eBay. Now be ruthless and do the same with your spring and summer clothes – if there’s anything you didn’t wear last year, are you really going to wear it this year? And get rid of anything that in a size you once were but aren’t any more – even if you are really planning to lose weight, keeping slim clothes in your wardrobe is not an inspiration, they just induce guilt. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you put the clothes back in your wardrobe organise them by colour, from black, through navy and the rest of the rainbow to white – it really will save you time and effort co-ordinating outfits when you’re getting dressed in the morning. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9 Clear out the clutter</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clutter is the curse of our age – most of us have got too much stuff and not enough room to store it in. So a properly organised decluttering session can be really cathartic. Here’s a great mantra to declutter by , from Victorian designer William Morris, on whose 182nd birthday (at least that's what Google tells me today!) I'm writing this: </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>"Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful"</i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An easy way to remember this pearl of wisdom is to ask yourself these three questions for every item when you are sorting out your stuff: Is it useful? Do I love it? Does this fit my life NOW? </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the answer to any of those questions is no, it’s got to go! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Keeping things just because you might need them one day may seem like a good reason for clogging up your cupboards and corners. Remind yourself that what you REALLY need is uncluttered space and a well-organised home you can really enjoy living in. And remember how much time you wasted trying to find an important item last time you had to dig it out of a disorganised drawer or an overstuffed cupboard. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Use the ‘chuck, charity, cherish’ method to sort clutter</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get four large boxes or plastic storage crates/bins. Label them as follows and sort items room by room or cupboard by cupboard according to the categories. 'Chuck, charity or cherish' is an easy way to remember your sorting classifications. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And move stuff you are getting rid of out of the house as quickly as possible – whether it’s to the bin, the tip or the charity shop – to stop you (or your family) changing your mind and hanging on to it! </span><br />
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<ul>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Rubbish:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This is any item that you do not need or want, but that you cannot sell or donate to charity. </span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Give Away/Sell:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Be generous. Think about the uses someone else might get out of the items compared to the use it currently gets in your home. Consider the financial benefits of selling this stuff at a car boot sale or on eBay. Or the feelgood benefits of knowing your unwanted clothes and other items will not only benefit the charity of your choice but will be of real use to a new owner. </span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Storage:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> Put items in here that you cannot part with but do not need on a regular basis. Make an inventory of the items as you box them. Group similar items together ready to be stored together. </span></li>
<li><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Put Away:</b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> This should be your smallest category. These are items that need to be out on a regular basis. Monitor yourself by working out if you have a place for each item. If the items in this box will not fit into your home without cluttering an area up, try to reassess if you really need them. If you do need these “essentials”, try to come up with a storage solution that fits into your home.</span></li>
</ul>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. Bring spring into your home</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When all your spring cleaning is done, add new cushions, towels or bedlinen in zingy spring colours to freshen up the look of your home. And of course, a freshly polished vase of spring flowers is the perfect finishing touch! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you need help with decluttering or home organisation, staging your home for sale, or ideas or inspiration for a new look for your home for spring, Clarify Interiors are the experts. Call 01865 594955 or 07917 716004 or email clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-15010941785763192752014-05-06T06:50:00.000-07:002014-05-06T06:51:14.359-07:00Set the stage to sell fast and get the best price<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrRGSYRQSB-aeWkOi5dlErPZE9G9Wod_yDFLkkOGQFQ9kRVNNvBbis6aa7qv-gw9RkNfzaAyA0MTc71GIrbFQG_6EtSHXIEU4IjEdKgRfcwcBSuZF0-fixeyg9gIIokC36lxrz0qkdFRw/s1600/home+blocks+on+window+sill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnrRGSYRQSB-aeWkOi5dlErPZE9G9Wod_yDFLkkOGQFQ9kRVNNvBbis6aa7qv-gw9RkNfzaAyA0MTc71GIrbFQG_6EtSHXIEU4IjEdKgRfcwcBSuZF0-fixeyg9gIIokC36lxrz0qkdFRw/s1600/home+blocks+on+window+sill.jpg" height="175" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Make your house for sale feel like home to prospective buyers</td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri;">First impressions count: buyers make up their
minds in the first few minutes of a viewing whether they are interested in
putting in an offer, so follow these tips to help make your property stand out
from the crowd and sell fast and for the best possible price.</span></b></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="background: white; line-height: 13.5pt; mso-hyphenate: auto; mso-pagination: widow-orphan; mso-vertical-align-alt: auto; text-autospace: ideograph-numeric ideograph-other;">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">The property market these days is like internet dating – full of
'armchair browsers' who choose what they want to know more about purely on the
basis of what they instantly like the look of online. You are selling a
dream and a lifestyle – so it pays to make sure yours is the home they fall in
love with. How much does ‘staging for sale’ cost? A lot less than having to
drop your asking price if potential buyers aren’t instantly interested! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Arial","sans-serif"; font-size: 10.0pt; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
</span><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">1. Declutter</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">Buyers will be looking for more space – they
need to see that your property has plenty of room to store their own ‘stuff’. Pack away anything that creates visual clutter
– that’s too many ornaments, the collection of fridge magnets, piles of toys
and excess pieces of furniture. You’re moving anyway so it makes sense to start
packing things away now and create that much-desired feeling of space and calm.</span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
<b>2. De-Personalise</b></span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Help a buyer to visualise themselves living in
your home by removing any overly personal items such as family photos,
children’s drawings, holiday souvenirs and mementoes – they all give a powerful
message “This is MY home”. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Family photos are fine in the bedroom but keep them to
a tasteful minimum. If you have too many personal items on show a buyer will
find it difficult to imagine their own possessions in your home. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">What you should be aiming to achieve is a look that
instantly has broad appeal right across your ‘target audience’ ie the kind of
buyer who is likely to want the style of property you are selling, whether it’s
young professionals, a family moving up the housing ladder or perhaps someone
downsizing to a smaller property.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<b><span style="background: white;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape id="_x0000_i1026"
type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:410.25pt;height:181.5pt'>
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o:title="home-page-gallery-11"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><o:p> </o:p></span></b><b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">3. 'Come on in' kerb appeal</span></b></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">
<span style="background: white;">Potential buyers will often do a ‘drive by’ before
deciding to arrange a viewing so creating 'kerb appeal' is vital. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Tidy the garden, repaint the front door if necessary,
make sure that curtains are symmetrical and windowsills are free of clutter. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Add some colourful plants in pots or hanging baskets by
the front door. In other words, make your property look as instantly inviting
and welcoming as possible so potential buyers want to come in and see more. </span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
<b>4. Entrancing entrances</b></span><br />
<span style="background: white;">Once you’ve got them through the front door
buyers need to instantly feel ‘at home’. Help them literally 'see’ themselves
in your home by placing a mirror in the hallway - this will also help introduce
additional light into what is often the darkest part of the house. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Remove all coats, shoes and sports bags from this area
– a cluttered hallway can set a buyer into thinking that there isn’t enough
storage space in the property<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<b><span style="background: white;">5. Do that DIY - now!</span></b><br />
<span style="background: white;">Any unfinished DIY jobs ring alarm bells for
potential buyers as they send a subliminal message that your property could be
‘maintenance heavy’ and will alert them to look out for other outstanding jobs,
which they could use against you to negotiate a lower price.</span><br />
<br />
<b><span style="background: white;">6. Clean till it gleams</span></b><br />
<span style="background: white;">It can’t be stressed enough that a spotless home
always creates a good impression and reinforces the message that the property
is well maintained. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">Clean the kitchen, bathroom and loo until they
sparkle, polish the windows and make sure that the home smells fresh - pet and
smoke odours are big turnoffs for buyers. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">To create a brighter atmosphere it helps to turn the
lights on and have plants or fresh flowers in most rooms for viewings.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div align="center" class="Standard" style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><!--[if gte vml 1]><v:shape
id="_x0000_i1027" type="#_x0000_t75" style='width:309pt;height:136.5pt'>
<v:imagedata src="file:///C:\Users\CLAREP~1\AppData\Local\Temp\msohtmlclip1\01\clip_image005.jpg"
o:title="home-page-gallery-15"/>
</v:shape><![endif]--><!--[if !vml]--><!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">7. Define the space</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">If you’ve got three bedrooms they must be
presented as three bedrooms – not three bedrooms and a box room with no obvious
function other than to store clutter. And if you’ve got a sitting room and a
separate dining area they need to be presented as such and should not be seen a
living room-cum-kids’ playroom or ironing room. Buyers are aspirational and
need to be shown the lifestyle they could lead if they were to move into your
property, which is likely to include entertaining – even if the usual mealtime
reality is more likely to be TV dinners than dinner parties!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<br /></div>
<div class="Standard">
<b><span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;">8. Redecorate where necessary</span></b><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">It can be a stretch of the imagination to spend time
and money on a property that you’re about to leave, but a neutrally decorated,
well-presented and inviting property can add thousands to your asking price. </span><br />
<span style="background: white;"><br />
<b>9. Set the stage to sell </b></span><br />
<span style="background: white;">If you
really want to see your property through the eyes of someone else take photos
of each room from different angles and then take a cold hard look at them. It
will be pretty obvious what needs to change. Today’s buyers are attracted to
clean, bright, clutter-free, co-ordinated and spacious environments with
aesthetic appeal. Buy a few interiors magazines as they give good examples
of what people find attractive today. You’ll also see how good accessorising
can enhance the look and feel of a room. Depersonalising doesn't mean dullness
- attractive focal points in each room will make your property memorable for
all the RIGHT reasons. Creating a sense of ‘flow’ between rooms, eg with
linking accent colours in master bedroom and ensuite, will also add ‘buyer
appeal’.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<br />
<div class="Standard">
<span style="background: white; color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<b>10. Mentally move out</b></span><span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><br />
<span style="background: white;">This is perhaps the most important piece of
advice. You’ve decided to move so do all you can to help yourself achieve a
quick and profitable sale. Remember, living in a property that is for sale is
not the same as living in a home you’ve settled in so don’t worry if the
new look of your property is not to your taste – it doesn’t matter, you’re
moving out anyway! And hard as it may be to live in an uncluttered 'show home'
it's not for ever, and the more effort your put in the quicker you will reap
the rewards with a sale at the best price - giving you more to invest in your
new home. Present your property to show off its full potential and you can soon
look forward to creating your own personalised space again, just as you like
it, in your next home.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="background: white;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="Standard">
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: "Calibri","sans-serif"; font-size: 11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-font-kerning: 0pt;"><span style="background: white;">If you want help to the most of your property - for selling, for letting or for living - get in touch with Clare Parrack at </span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 15px;"><a href="http://www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk/" target="_blank">clarifyinteriors.co.uk</a> or call 01865 594955 or 07917 716004.</span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-51146804921841326102013-11-05T07:39:00.002-08:002013-11-05T09:07:17.324-08:00Clarify Your Christmas - declutter and keep it simple<div class="MsoNormal">
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">The run-up to Christmas can be a sure-fire recipe for stress, especially in tough economic times when we have less money as well as time to spend on presents, preparation and entertaining. </span><br />
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<br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Lots of us have a grand old clear-out in the New Year, but decluttering BEFORE Christmas to make space for all your gifts, goodies and guests over the festive season can go a long way to </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">creating a welcome sense of peace and goodwill. And remember that the true spirit of Christmas ISN'T all about splashing the cash so why not make yours a simpler celebration this year?</span><br />
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are my tips to streamline and simplify your Christmas planning to help you save time and money, make your home feel calmer and more spacious, and you feel more in control in the run-up to the festive season.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">Make space BEFORE you go Christmas shopping </span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">This sounds obvious but have you ever come home from a marathon gift-buying session for the family then wondered where you’ll ever find space to hide all their presents till the big day? Better to clear the decks before you deck the halls and spend all your lolly. The bonus of a big pre-Christmas clearout is that those secret corners may hide unwanted or forgotten items that could either make more presents o</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">r be sold to give you more Christmas spending money. </span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">While you're at this early stage make </span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">time to draw up a master checklist of ALL your seasonal tasks and deadlines – menus, food shopping lists, who you need to get presents for, etc. It beats trying to keep too much in your head, it will almost certainly save you money by avoiding panic-buying in crowded shops – and don’t under-estimate the satisfaction of ticking things off as you get them done!</span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">Reduce the toy mountain</span></b><span style="line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you’ve got children, they’ll get loads of toys and games for Christmas. Chances are you are struggling to store the ones they’ve already got so enlist their help in making room for what Santa will bring. Either hold a car boot or garage sale and let the kids have the proceeds to buy their own Christmas presents, or give them to charity – children can be very generous if you explain that some other youngsters aren’t as lucky as them, or that their unwanted toys can help animal charities.</span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Cut the paper trail </span></b><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Christmas means wrapping paper. Lots of it. But before you rush out and buy rolls and rolls of it, are you sure you haven’t got leftovers from last year sitting around somewhere waiting to be used up? One tip is to buy gold, silver or coloured foil wrapping paper that doesn’t have obvious Christmas decorations or greetings on it – then it can be used for wrapping gifts for birthdays and more throughout the year.</span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b>Avoid decoration distractions</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Christmas decorations are the set-dressing that helps create a magical backdrop to the celebrations, but there’s no need to splash out on a new look every year just to fit fashion’s whims.</span></span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzkxyKy5BGp8v03dO2zemgKJSW5yB1J2O-krYObT0I_1NNy524bSESXzDn2rzKIif08gak-13Rahb8h7Ic3CiySinNgyjK-WNTASBXPVN-d2cs5pAOxEka-nTsXxuwso46pmtNl5db5EW/s1600/starry+twigs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzkxyKy5BGp8v03dO2zemgKJSW5yB1J2O-krYObT0I_1NNy524bSESXzDn2rzKIif08gak-13Rahb8h7Ic3CiySinNgyjK-WNTASBXPVN-d2cs5pAOxEka-nTsXxuwso46pmtNl5db5EW/s320/starry+twigs.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>A vase of decorated twigs is simple but elegant</b></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">This autumn Mother Nature has given us a fantastic bounty of fruit and berries so why not take a countryside walk and turn hunter-gatherer to harvest some natural decorations that won't cost you a penny? </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">A jug of berried boughs - it doesn't have to be holly - will make a lovely traditional red and green table or mantelpiece arrangement. A bowl of polished red apples or platter of pinecones with a few baubles added for sparkle looks wonderfully festive. </span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">And who says you must have a Christmas tree? Why not ring the festive changes this year by hanging decorations on a bunch of interesting twigs in a tall vase and adding a string of simple white fairy lights? If you like you can spraypaint the twigs white, silver or gold to look extra Christmassy - or a different colour to compliment your baubles and living room colour scheme. The internet is a great source for more simple and inexpensive decorating ideas.</span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">If you do find decorations you don’t need or like while decking your halls, box them up and give them away to brighten up someone else’s home or a perhaps a local charity’s Christmas event.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b>Thoughtful giving</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Instead of rushing around spending more than you can afford on presents, how about giving those important people in your life the gift that money can't buy instead? </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">As Rick Warren, American philantropist and author puts it: "Time is your most precious gift because you only have a set amount of it. You can make more money, but you can't make more time. When you give someone your time, you are giving them a portion of your life that you'll never get back. That is why the greatest gift you can give someone is your time."</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">So how can you package up and gift-wrap your time? With some creative thinking about how your time and skills can provide a tailor-made treat for a loved one or special friend, the possibilities are almost endless. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">You could give them a 'gift voucher' that's valid for a day's gardening or decorating, or a few hours' sewing, or a special occasion cake you will make when they want it. A busy mum might really appreciate a day off with you taking the children off her hands more than yet another collection of bath oil. An elderly friend would probably love being taken for an afternoon out in the car far more than given a box of chocolates. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">The best-received present I have given this year was to a male friend who is mad about the comic book character Iron Man. I couldn't think what to buy him and then hit on this idea: I searched out and printed a range of Iron Man images from the internet (cost: nothing apart from printer paper), cut them out and arranged into a collage (cost: two hours of my time), then displayed it in an unused box frame I found in a cupboard (cost: nothing). Result? A unique personalised artwork that has pride of place on his wall and he was so chuffed with that it made ME feel like a super-hero! </span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Clarify your wardrobe</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">If your wardrobe and drawers are already full to bursting, where will you put new party glad-rags or clothing gifts? Have a proper sort-out and give a Christmas bonus to the charity shop of your choice by donating all your unwanted clothing and shoes. The best way is to get EVERYTHING out of your wardrobe and go through every item – if you haven’t worn it in the past year, let it go. Do the same with your drawers and shoe and coat cupboards.</span></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Quality items could earn you some welcome festive dosh on eBay or through a local dress agency. Another fun way to recycle festive fashion items is to organise a 'swishing party' where you can swap good quality clothes, shoes and bags with your female friends. That little black dress that’s just TOO little these days could be exactly what a slimmer pal is looking for, while the heels and bag she wore last Christmas might be just the thing to jazz up your 2013 party wear. Find out more at <a href="http://swishing.com/" target="_blank">swishing.com</a></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Clear out the kitchen </span></b></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Christmas means lots of extra food to store, so why not save on the food budget for a week or so by making store-cupboard meals to use up all those tins and jars that have been sitting around waiting to be used. You’ll save money so you have more to spend on delicious festive fare and it’s an opportunity to clean and reorganise the cupboards ready for Christmas. And when it's time to stock up again remember to stick to your festive food shopping list. It's oh, so easy to be tempted by all those seasonal special treats and offers in the supermarket - but remember how much uneaten food you probably ended up throwing out after LAST Christmas?</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">Flush out the fridge and freezer</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Have a proper clear-out of the fridge and freezer – throw out all those leftovers you are never REALLY going to use, and use up the food that’s in there so there will be plenty of space for storing all the Christmas necessities as well as room for some pre-cooked meals to ease the festive cooking burden over the holiday period.</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></b></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">Have a bathroom blitz</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">As with the kitchen, so with the bathroom.<b> </b>Some body and bath products are almost bound to be in everyone’s Christmas stocking, so make way for them by clearing the bathroom of all the half-empty or unused products that are cluttering the shelves and cupboards. Sort the best of the used products into men’s and women’s and offer them as free job lots on recycling sites such as <a href="http://uk.freecycle.org/" target="_blank">Freecycle</a> and <a href="http://www.ilovefreegle.org/" target="_blank">Freegle</a> if there’s a group near you </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">- less well-off families will be very grateful for them. <b> </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Unused bathroom products can also be donated to your local domestic violence service for use in their refuges, see <a href="http://www.womensaid.org.uk/" target="_blank">womensaid.org.uk</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Animal charities will often take towels, tea towels, and bedding. Check first before donating.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">On your (book) marks!</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Are your shelves groaning with books you’ve read and will never read again? Or even never read? You know what to do .. donate them to a charity shop or Christmas bazaar or recycle the unread ones as gifts. The same goes for CDs and DVDs. T<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">here are also community conservation initiatives in many areas to save books and household items from landfill. <a href="https://healthyplanet.org/about" target="_blank">Healthy Planet</a> has <a href="https://healthyplanet.org/get-involved/sustainable-community/books-for-free" target="_blank">Books For Free Centres</a> across the UK which distribute books that would otherwise be pulped to individuals, libraries, charities and schools. Healthy Planet also organises regular Stuff For Free events, a community re-use initiative to redistribute good quality furniture, clothing, toys, household items and sports equipment to new homes.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></b></span><b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Gadget giveaway</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sort out those gadgets and gizmos that were ‘must-haves’ when you got them. If they’ve been gathering dust, or superseded by a better, newer model, are you REALLY going to use them again? If the answer’s no, they’ve gotta go. </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">This applies just as much to unused kitchen ‘essentials’ (when did you last use that fondue set or cappuccino frother?) as ‘boy’s toys’. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Flog 'em on eBay or give them to a charity shop and you could make someone else’s Christmas.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">Make space for your guests</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Is your spare room a depository for all the stuff that won’t fit anywhere else in your house? Then it’s sure time to declutter if you’ve got guests coming for Christmas. </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">If you don’t have the time or the task feels too overwhelming why not treat yourself a practical pre-Christmas present? The <a href="http://www.apdo-uk.co.uk/" target="_blank">Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers</a> has friendly experts based all over the UK who can help turn a spare room clutter mountain into a welcoming bedroom in just a few hours. </span></span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="line-height: 18px;">Make space for your new gifts</span></b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Decluttering can be a pretty good Christmas present in its own right, but let’s hope Santa will bring you something nice too. Homes can feel pretty crowded at Christmas time so it makes sense to encourage everyone in the family to make a space ready to store their gifts so they are not cluttering up the living room once opened.</span></span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Recycle and get ready for a clutter-free New Year</span></b><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Once Christmas is over, clear the house of all the festive clutter as soon as possible – wrapping paper, cards, tree and bottles can all be recycled. And as for those unwanted presents? There’s someone out there who would LOVE them – so let them go and make someone else happy, whether you sell them or donate to charity.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 18px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">If you would like help with decorating your home for Christmas or decluttering before or after the festive season, get in touch with Clarify Interiors - the clue's in our name! See </span><b><a href="http://www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk/">www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk</a>, </b><span style="font-size: small;">telephone me on 01865 594955 or 07917 716004 or email </span><a href="mailto:clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk"><b>clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</b></a></span></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-43454849624157023442012-10-08T03:20:00.000-07:002014-03-04T15:15:27.445-08:00Winning ways to tame the teen bedroom battleground<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Working as a home stager, interior stylist and professional
organiser/declutterer means that I often get asked by parents - and this question is usually asked with a
heavy sigh and raised eyebrows - “I really
don’t know what to do about (<i>insert name of teenager</i>)’s room …” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Does this look familiar?</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A common battleground between parents and teens is the young
person trying to assert their growing independence from Mum and Dad. And very often the
theatre of war where this battle is most bitterly fought is in the place that is their personal space, the bedroom. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So shouting matches ensue when teens hide the
walls with posters and the floor under piles of discarded clothes, unwashed
mugs and plates, and parents trespass on their offspring’s sacred space in desperate
guerrilla raids to clean up the muddle. <o:p></o:p></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In fact the untidy teenager phenomenon's so common that the word 'floordrobe' has recently become an official Collins dictionary definition on the basis of public submissions! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s true that teenager’s bedrooms can be the most
challenging to deal with, either when you
are trying to get your house looking its best to sell, or when you want to get the family on board to declutter and get the home more organised. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I often find myself in the middle, with a teen intent on self-expression digging their
heels in on one side and a frustrated parent on the other. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An independent
second opinion can be helpful in breaking the deadlock and finding a way
forward that works for everyone, which is why I now offer family decluttering sessions (these can be very illuminating, and empowering for younger members, when it's pointed out that yes, Dad's out-of-hand 'piles of books in every room' library collection and Mum's overstuffed wardrobe are just as much clutter as a teen's treasures). Along the way I have learned ways to get younger members of the family on board with home organisation and makeovers as well as the business of staging your property for sale - which can get especially sticky when moving means leaving the home they've grown up in. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So here are a few suggestions which I hope will help defuse teen room
hostilities if you feel like a family at war ...</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Don't impose when you can involve<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Allow your teen to be involved in decisions about organising
and decorating their space. You may not be particularly keen if they want to
paint their room black or purple or in their football team’s colours but they may
have other creative ideas that you haven’t thought about. And negotiation is good – you could be
persuaded to let them have one dark or vivid feature wall but point out that
all-over black/purple/red/fuchsia pink can be overpowering and will make their room feel
smaller and darker. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If Blu-tacked or sticky-taped posters are damaging paint or wallpaper, putting them in inexpensive clip frames and hanging them properly will also protect the posters from tearing or curling at the edges. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Making a wall feature of a giant pinboard is another way to allow your teens to display their stuff without ruining the decor. Here's one way to make one from <a href="http://amberinteriordesign.blogspot.co.uk/2011/03/diy-huge-cork-wall.html" target="_blank"><b>Amber Interiors</b></a> or you could hang several smaller pin boards together to make a larger display space.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Moves to help motivate a move</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">However if you’re planning to move, pale and neutral
wall colours are always best to show your home - and that includes teen bedrooms - to its best advantage when you
put it on the market. In this case you could have neutral walls and incorporate your teen’s interests and favourite colours in new accessories instead (that can go with them to your new home). Then the room won't be quite so over-powering for prospective
buyers. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCzVAegb27lN_iBC3F_C5e73N09awVCPQtRpVpmfBfWpxWj666bdTe7l-3nudqoToEeVkFvx8rnpXIOIdGh0tBgGrYNzNVemYSuJxssvEt-chNp5tzrYpjP2fK6UXA6RPoJbxh-jU1TXF/s1600/floordrobe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKCzVAegb27lN_iBC3F_C5e73N09awVCPQtRpVpmfBfWpxWj666bdTe7l-3nudqoToEeVkFvx8rnpXIOIdGh0tBgGrYNzNVemYSuJxssvEt-chNp5tzrYpjP2fK6UXA6RPoJbxh-jU1TXF/s1600/floordrobe.jpg" height="235" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tidying the 'floordrobe' and toning down teen<br />decor pays off when selling. Incentives can<br />help if they are resistant to change! </b></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When getting ready to move, previous clients with teenagers have found that my suggestion of an incentive scheme (OK, yes, it's a bribe in other words) will persuade their offspring to 'buy in' to changing their rooms to help the sale. It takes the form of a promise of a special treat or outing - or even a cash payment - once the house is sold. Music or match tickets can be a powerful inducement to get kids on side to tone down a loud colour scheme or take down some of their, er, very <i>personal </i>taste in wall posters! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If YOU need an incentive to go down this route because you anticipate resistance (opposing your parents is the very essence of teenage rebellion, after all) it pays - literally! - to remember this: prospective buyers will look out for things they would need to change as excuses to make a reduced offer. Too many 'red flags' will make them pass over a property altogether for one they can move into and not have to do anything straight away. In one recent case de-personalising a dark and cluttered teen bedroom was the only redecoration needed to clinch a sale <b>for over £13,000 above the previous best offer</b>. That more than paid for a fabulous family holiday to celebrate once the family had moved, and all for the minimal investment of a few hours' effort and a couple of cans of paint! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Another time-and-stress saving tip when preparing your property for sale is to have special 'staging bedding' (lightweight quilts and pillows dressed in clean pillowcases and quilt covers in plain and simple white or a pale neutral shade) ready to put over the top of the bedding your children are sleeping in when there are viewings. This saves (often unproductive) nagging to make the bed and a nicely dressed bed means at least the main focal point of the room will look clean and tidy to prospective buyers. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Storage that works</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Recognise that it’s important for your teen to have a haven they can call and make their own. If they don’t like hanging up their clothes, no amount of nagging is going to make them do it. But putting up some (temporary) shelves in the wardrobe with storage crates to fit provides a quick and easy way to scoop the piles off the floor and out of sight. So what if their clothes are crumpled? Other than school uniform is it really so important? Anyway, they’ll need to learn how to use an iron sometime …</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And so to bed ...</b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One inexorable sign that your 'baby' is growing up is when they want a double bed. OK, the boyfriend/girlfriend sleepover dilemma may yet be a way off, but they ARE growing up in size and they DO spend a lot of time in bed so it may simply be a more comfortable option. It doesn't necessarily mean they are planning on having sex the moment you're out of the house (and frankly, we all know you don't need a double bed for that anyway!)</span><br />
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ875JSXJF83hiYcXucIVkswS7rpIJmLhiDdLAwyIDtZ5WUhfehdlpQKpSHpmdK-BEOtN9_75cxRArUVRL2A3jk63ngiyZJV5C74D7Di4AzhHlWo2mgYruhQkjTNqXvZBFpx70l7p84PJc/s1600/built+in+loft+bed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQ875JSXJF83hiYcXucIVkswS7rpIJmLhiDdLAwyIDtZ5WUhfehdlpQKpSHpmdK-BEOtN9_75cxRArUVRL2A3jk63ngiyZJV5C74D7Di4AzhHlWo2mgYruhQkjTNqXvZBFpx70l7p84PJc/s320/built+in+loft+bed.jpg" height="320" width="291" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>A loft bed can be built in as here or <br />free-standing </b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If your teen needs a new bed and you do go for a double I'd recommend avoiding divans with built-in drawers (in my experience they'll never put anything in them). Instead choose a simple frame bed which not only looks less bulky in a small bedroom but offers storage space underneath that you can make good use of with lidded storage crates (semi-transparent so it's easy to see what's in them without having to turn everything out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you have rooms with high enough ceilings a loft bed will almost double your teen's personal space, giving them a cosy sleeping platform-cum-relaxing reading/listening to music area and plenty of room below for storage, study and entertaining friends. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And another big plus-point of a 'high sleeper' bed for a teenager who's not naturally tidy is that it's not immediately obvious if the bed's not been made! </span><br />
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Clear-up incentives</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If your teen’s room is bursting at the seams with stuff they
no longer need or use, it can be hard to persuade them to part with it by just
chucking it out. But teenagers always need money, so why not help them sell it at a car
boot or garage sale or on eBay with the promise that they can keep the profits? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Lots of teens are environmentally aware too,
so show them that saving the planet can start at home by recycling their old
stuff, either by donating to a charity shop or giving it away via sites like
<a href="http://www.ilovefreegle.org/" target="_blank"><b>Freegle</b></a> or <a href="http://uk.freecycle.org/" target="_blank"><b>Freecycle</b></a> or
the <i>Books For Free</i> initiative run by <a href="http://www.healthyplanet.org/" target="_blank"><b>Healthy Planet</b></a> <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This approach can be particularly persuasive in getting your offspring to have a clear-out close to birthdays or Christmas when you can stress that
they’ll be giving a gift to help others less fortunate than themselves (and not just doing
YOU a favour!)</span><o:p></o:p><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Finally, remember that your offspring are not teenagers for ever. And when they leave home and you're an empty-nester, you may even find yourself missing their noise and mess. Strange but true. I know I did!</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Clare Parrack, owner, Clarify Interiors </b><i> </i></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-50452755978300505592012-09-17T06:45:00.000-07:002012-09-17T06:45:23.758-07:00Clear the decks for Christmas with the 99 Day Declutter Challenge<br />
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">So, we’ve finally seen some summer at long, long last and –
what do you know? – it’s already less than 100 days to Christmas. As I write
today it’s exactly 99 days until December 25 to be precise.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">But before you panic and start drawing up gift lists and menus,
how about some seasonal preparations that will bring you real dividends in the
form of more space and extra Christmas spending
money? Try my 99-day declutter challenge.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">It’s very simple. All you have to do to start is choose one
unwanted item that’s taking space in your home, and dispose of it today. And do the same for every day from now until
Christmas. Of course you can choose to get rid of more than one item at a time if you
want to, but if you make a pact to get 99 or more unnecessary items out of your
life by December you’ll have much more space, not just to hide the pressies you
need to keep a secret till the big day, but to store the gifts that
(hopefully!) you’ll receive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">A good place to start is with turning out the unwanted gifts
you had last year – come on, I know you’ve got at least a couple lurking
somewhere! I had a big clear out of my
bedroom cupboards and drawers at the weekend, and found three presents I’d
forgotten about and clearly won’t use. Now they’re listed on eBay and with
luck will bring in a few pounds to my own personal Christmas savings club. </span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4bj3yoXSkKCgOZ8XhmYcc-bsv6o1CDTXmXX0tl4iUfRH5BrcR0fOfzYoBltARel5QyuW64SGYcmUpKURx4Nh_HiVUw_VNE-9vkWplZATFhHyo77fJYPc4yRozjN3VyuMKZpUyW5-8Vxe/s1600/Christmas+presents.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz4bj3yoXSkKCgOZ8XhmYcc-bsv6o1CDTXmXX0tl4iUfRH5BrcR0fOfzYoBltARel5QyuW64SGYcmUpKURx4Nh_HiVUw_VNE-9vkWplZATFhHyo77fJYPc4yRozjN3VyuMKZpUyW5-8Vxe/s320/Christmas+presents.jpg" width="316" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Make space for this year's Christmas presents by<br />clearing out your clutter</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Alternatively you could identify someone who would
welcome them as a gift this year – saving on your festive pressie spending at the same
time, but if you can’t clearly remember where something came from in the first place,
don’t risk embarrassment and offence by unwittingly passing an unwanted gift
back to the friend or relative who gave it to you! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">What about the books you’ve read this year that are now overcrowding
your living room shelves? Give them to a charity shop and give yourself the
warm glow of knowing that someone else can enjoy them and you’ll have helped a
good cause at the same time. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">Putting away your summer clothes and looking afresh at your
autumn/winter wardrobe offers another clear-out opportunity. If there are summer clothes that you didn’t
wear – not just because the weather wasn’t
right but because they don’t fit any more or are looking dated – don’t waste
storage space putting them away for another season, give them to a charity shop
or clothes recycling bank. And likewise, if you dig out your winter togs and are wondering what that
moth-eaten woolly or crumpled cardy is still doing taking up space in your
wardrobe, let it go! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you’ve got children, start noting what toys and games
they have stopped playing with, and they too could be recycled to make way for
the new treats Santa will bring in a few months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">As the next few weeks go by, weed out your kitchen, bathroom
and spare room cupboards, and don’t forget those clutter-magnets, the garage,
loft and the shed. You never know what forgotten
stuff you’ll discover that could make fab Christmas gifts for somebody else –
or bring in some much-needed festive dosh!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;">If you'd like professional help with clearing your clutter this autumn, Clarify Interiors covers Oxfordshire and surrounding counties, or get in touch with one of my colleagues in the <a href="http://www.apdo-uk.co.uk/" target="_blank"><b>Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers</b></a>, which has members all over the UK. </span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-44988017773850970132012-02-14T05:42:00.000-08:002012-02-14T05:42:03.351-08:00How to make buyers fall for your home<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What’s love got to do with selling a house? Absolutely everything!<span style="font-size: large;"> </span></b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Two things traditionally happen in February. One is St Valentine’s Day, and the other is the real start of the spring property market boom, when more people put their houses on the market, or start preparing to put their property up for sale, than at any other time of year.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So is there any relationship between the two? Well, yes, actually. Because the key to selling any property quickly and achieving the best price is to make prospective buyers fall in love with it at first sight. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buying a home may be the biggest financial commitment many of us ever make but at the heart of the matter it’s an emotional decision. And first impressions are just as important when looking for your dream house as they are when seeking the partner of your dreams.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buyers make up their minds in the first 30 seconds whether they are interested in putting in an offer, so follow the tips below to help make YOUR property stand out from the crowd and the one that buyers will fall in love with. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedyeMI-cKKdcUfYSvTBHe6Jpt1JTGYWSrCGrkKKrsc5dxpbKSHYfIsMnw8-kmTFEFRfEVvJikqj4p63y5rt8qAEo_1-hdD_iGgT4-ckp1FZJWpKVtSAs5d46DwpZrmlp4339ZIzOONcoE/s1600/heart-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjedyeMI-cKKdcUfYSvTBHe6Jpt1JTGYWSrCGrkKKrsc5dxpbKSHYfIsMnw8-kmTFEFRfEVvJikqj4p63y5rt8qAEo_1-hdD_iGgT4-ckp1FZJWpKVtSAs5d46DwpZrmlp4339ZIzOONcoE/s320/heart-house.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Make YOUR house the home of a buyer's dreams</b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Selling a house is selling a dream and you need to 'set the stage' to appeal to your target audience just as a theatre or TV producer does - there's a good reason that 'show homes' on new developments are called that, you know! </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The property market these days is like internet dating – full of 'armchair browsers' who choose what they want to find out more about purely on the basis of what they instantly like the look of online.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1. Declutter</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Buyers will be looking for more space; they need to see that your property has plenty of room to store their own ‘stuff’. Pack away anything that creates visual clutter – that’s too many ornaments, the collection of fridge magnets, piles of toys and excess pieces of furniture. You’re moving anyway so it makes sense to start packing things</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">away now and create that much-desired feeling of space and calm.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2. De-Personalise</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Help a buyer to visualise themselves living in your home by removing any overly personal items such as family photos, children’s drawings, holiday souvenirs and mementoes – they all give a powerful message “This is MY home”. Family photos are fine in the bedroom but keep them to a tasteful minimum. If you have too many personal items on show a buyer will find it difficult toimagine their own possessions in your home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3. 'Come on in' kerb appeal</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Potential buyers will often do a ‘drive by’ before deciding to arrange a viewing so creating 'kerb appeal' is vital. Tidy the garden, repaint the front door if necessary, make sure that curtains are symmetrical and windowsills are free of clutter. Add some colourful plants in pots or hanging baskets by the front door. In other words, make your property look as instantly inviting and welcoming as possible so potential buyers want to come in and see more .</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4. Entrancing entrances</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Once you’ve got them through the front door buyers need to instantly feel ‘at home’.Help them literally 'see’ themselves in your home by placing a mirror in the hallway - this will also help introduce additional light into what is often the darkest part of the house. Remove all coats, shoes and sports bags from this area – a cluttered hallway can set a buyer into thinking that there isn’t enough storage space in the property</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5. Do that DIY - now!</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Any unfinished DIY jobs ring alarm bells for potential buyers as they send a subliminal message that your property could be ‘maintenance heavy’ and will alert them to look out for other outstanding jobs, which they could use against you to negotiate a lower price.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6. Clean till it gleams</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It can’t be stressed enough that a spotless home always creates a good impression and reinforces the message that the property is well maintained. Clean the kitchen, bathroom and loo until they sparkle, polish the windows and make sure that the home smells fresh - pet and smoke odours are big turnoffs for buyers. To create a brighter atmosphere it</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">helps to turn the lights on and have plants or fresh flowers in most rooms.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7. Define the space</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you’ve got 3 bedrooms they must be presented as 3 bedrooms – not 2 bedrooms and a box room with no obvious function other than to store clutter. And if you’ve got a sitting room and a separate dining area they need to be presented as such and should not be seen a living room-cum-kids’ playroom or ironing room. Buyers are aspirational and need to be shown the lifestyle they can lead if they were to move into your property, which is likely to include entertaining even if the usual mealtime reality is more likely to be TV dinners than dinner parties.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8. Redecorate where necessary</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It can be a stretch of the imagination to spend time and money on a property that you’re about to leave, but a neutrally decorated, well-presented and inviting property can add thousands to your asking price. Remember, you’re in danger of devaluing your property if you don’t show it off it to its best advantage.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9. Set the stage to sell </b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you really want to see your property through the eyes of someone else take photos of each room from different angles and then take a cold hard look at them. It will be pretty obvious what if anything needs to change. Today’s buyers are attracted to clean, bright, clutter-free, co-ordinated and spacious environments with aesthetic appeal. Buy a few interiors magazines </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">as they give good examples of what people find attractive today. You’ll also see how good accessorising can enhance the look and feel of a room. Depersonalising doesn't mean dullness - attractive focal points in each room will make your property memorable for all the RIGHT reasons.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10. Mentally move out</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is perhaps the most important piece of advice. You’ve decided to move so do all you can to help yourself achieve a quick and profitable sale. Remember, living in a property that is for sale is not the same as living in a home </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">you’ve settled in so don’t worry if the new look of your property is not to your taste – it doesn’t matter, you’re moving out anyway! And hard as it may be to live in an uncluttered 'show home' it's not for ever, and the more effort your put in the quicker you will reap the rewards with a sale at the best price - giving you more to invest in your new home. Present your property to show off its full potential and you can soon look forward to creating your own personalised space again, just as you like it, in your next home.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you don’t have the time to carry out the practical work of property presentation or don’t really know where to start call us at Clarify Interiors and we’ll talk through how we can help present your property to showcase its full potential and sell at the right price.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">t: Clarify Interiors on 01865 494955 or 07917 716004 </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">e: info@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maximum impact for minimum expense: </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">professional – practical – creative – cost-effective</span><br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.comOxfordshire, UK51.7612056 -1.246467451.4467206 -1.8781814 52.075690599999994 -0.6147534tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-3716306587344560912012-01-06T03:29:00.000-08:002013-01-17T04:01:35.697-08:0010 cheap and cheerful ways to lift January gloom<br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Is
your home feeling bare and looking duller than you remember now you’ve taken
down the Christmas tree and put the decorations away for another year? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s
a familiar feeling, made worse by the fact that the days are short and grey and money’s always tight at this
time of year. But you don’t have to splash the cash to sweep the New Year blues out of the house. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Try these suggestions to jazz up your January home with
some help from the sales and a little creativity. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">It’s
amazing how a fresh approach and a few new finishing touches can cheer the
place up – without busting your household’s New Year austerity budget!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Fairy (light) magic</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
Simple white fairy lights look lovely on the Christmas tree, but there’s no need
to box them away just yet. Keep the winter gloom at bay by draping them over
shelves, a bedstead, or use them to decorate a large feature plant or
arrangement of twigs <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Keep some sparkle<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">OK,
baubles look a little sad when they come off the tree, and lots of glitter just
feels wrong after December 31. But think again – a couple of gold or bronze baubles
will add a warm glow to a bowl or basket of rattan balls or pot pourri and make
a pretty table display<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Scatter some colour</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
Hit the sales and snap up some new scatter cushions in a cheerful colour to liven
up your living room <br />
<!--[if !supportLineBreakNewLine]--><br />
<!--[endif]--><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Snuggle up</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
Cosy throws can be found at low prices in the sales, so if your budget/diet
means you’re not going out and you can’t have chocolate this month at least you
can console yourself and be a warm and comfy couch potato while you watch TV! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Mug up<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Cheer up
your kitchen – and breakfast on these dark January mornings – with some new
mugs in bright colours. Matching dinner services, tea towels and oven gloves
can also be picked up in the sales. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCT2rIVPJvCumNILkoAPcVHd1zjdajmfo6f5iFQ5iSJURQyVO2MnM5WPGJP83GVE18XnQzwALtXhSs8YxAxnVojB0yEQNVJqFZNmO3UdYXPH0f4IeYEVJg5EK8-BgUYsedfF6hzX2vfPH/s1600/framed+fabric+prints.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGCT2rIVPJvCumNILkoAPcVHd1zjdajmfo6f5iFQ5iSJURQyVO2MnM5WPGJP83GVE18XnQzwALtXhSs8YxAxnVojB0yEQNVJqFZNmO3UdYXPH0f4IeYEVJg5EK8-BgUYsedfF6hzX2vfPH/s320/framed+fabric+prints.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Framed fabric makes personalised wall art</span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />Try a new accent</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
If you can’t afford a whole room makeover, for the price of a pot of paint you
can have a dramatic new feature wall. Pick
up the free decorating guides at your DIY store for inspiration. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Let the sunshine in</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Warm up windows
and grey days with simple blinds in sunny yellow or spring green – seek out roller
blind bargains in the sales or buy some cheap fabric and it’s really easy to
make your own tie-up blinds - you can download a how-to guide at <a href="http://www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk/">www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk</a><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">In the frame<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Want some
new wall art?<b> </b>Recycle your old
frames but replace images you are tired of with a patterned fabric that matches
your colour scheme. Or for small frames, find some high quality images you like
on the internet and print off and frame them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">Flower power</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;"><br />
Nothing lifts a room like a flower arrangement, but you don’t have to spend a
fortune. Cheap and cheerful daffodils in a sparkling glass are a welcome visual
reminder that Spring’s not TOO far away, and the gorgeous fresh scent of a simple potted hyacinth will boost
your winter-jaded spirits better than any artificial air freshener. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">And so to bed<br />
</span></b><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif;">If you can only afford to
buy one new thing in the sales, make it a set of crisp new bedlinen – there are
some great bargains to be had, particularly in supermarket home departments. If
humans can’t hibernate, waking up in a refreshed bedroom will at least make
those grim dark winter mornings yet to come a tiny bit easier to face!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><i>Clarify Interiors specialises in 'minimum expense, maximum impact' home styling including one-room makeovers in a day. If would like a new look for your home in 2013 and want professional interior expertise WITHOUT the interior designer price tag - call Clare at Clarity Interiors on 01865 549955 or 07917 716004 or email <a href="mailto:clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk">clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</a></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-84513862536967929962011-11-21T05:27:00.001-08:002013-11-05T06:33:50.756-08:00The 12 Decluttering Ways of Christmas<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">Lots of us
have a grand old clear-out in the New Year, but it makes a lot more sense to
declutter BEFORE Christmas to make space for all your gifts, goodies and guests
over the festive season.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are my
tips that will help your home feel calmer and more spacious, and you feel more
in control in the run-up to the festive season. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Make space BEFORE you go Christmas
shopping <br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This sounds obvious but
have you ever come home from a marathon gift-buying session for the family then
wondered where you’ll find space to hide all their presents till the big day?
Better to clear the decks before you deck the halls and spend all your lolly. The
bonus of a big pre-Christmas clearout is
that those secret corners may hide unwanted or forgotten items that could either
make more presents o</span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 16px; line-height: 18px;">r be sold to give
you more Christmas spending money.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Reduce the toy mountain</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you’ve got kids, they’ll get loads of toys and games for Christmas.
Chances are you are struggling to store the ones they’ve already got so enlist
their help in making room for what Santa will bring. Either hold a car boot or garage sale and let the kids have
the proceeds to buy their own Christmas presents, or give them to charity – children
can be very generous if you explain that some other youngsters aren’t as lucky as them, or that their
unwanted toys can help animal charities.<br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Clarify your wardrobe </span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
If your wardrobe and drawers are already full to bursting, where will you put
new party gladrags or clothing gifts? Have a proper sort-out and give a Christmas bonus to the charity shop
of your choice by donating all your unwanted clothing and shoes. The best way
is to get EVERYTHING out of your wardrobe and go through every item – if you
haven’t worn it in the past year, let it go. Do the same with your drawers and shoe
and coat cupboards. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sort out the kitchen cupboards<br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Christmas means lots
of extra food to store, so why not save on the food budget for a week or so by
making store-cupboard meals to use up all those tins and jars that have been
sitting around waiting to be used. You’ll save money so you have more to spend
on delicious festive fare and it’s an opportunity to clean and reorganise the
cupboards ready for Christmas. <br /><br /><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Flush out the fridge and freezer<br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have a proper clear-out
of the fridge and freezer – throw out all those leftovers you are never REALLY
going to use, and use up the food that’s in there so there will be plenty of
space for storing all the Christmas necessities as well as room for some pre-cooked
meals to ease the festive cooking burden over the holiday period. <br /><br /><b><o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Have a bathroom blitz<br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">As with the kitchen,
so with the bathroom.<b> </b>Some body and
bath products are almost bound to be in everyone’s Christmas stocking, so make
way for them by clearing the bathroom of all the half-empty or unused products
that are cluttering the shelves and cupboards.
Sort the best of the used products
into men’s and women’s and offer them as free job lots on recycling sites such as <a href="http://uk.freecycle.org/" target="_blank">Freecycle</a> and <a href="http://www.ilovefreegle.org/" target="_blank">Freegle</a> if there’s a group near you </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">- less well-off families will be very grateful for them. <b> <o:p></o:p></b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Unused bathroom products can also be donated to your local domestic violence service for use in their refuges, see <a href="http://www.womensaid.org.uk/" target="_blank">womensaid.org.uk</a></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 18px;">Animal charities will often take towels, tea towels, and bedding. Check first before donating.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">On your (book) marks!<br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Are your shelves
groaning with books you’ve read and will never read again? Or even never read? You
know what to do .. donate them to a charity shop or Christmas bazaar or recycle the unread ones as
gifts. The same goes for CDs and DVDs. T<o:p></o:p></span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">here are also community conservation initiatives in many areas to save books and household items from landfill. <a href="https://healthyplanet.org/about" target="_blank">Healthy Planet</a> has <a href="https://healthyplanet.org/get-involved/sustainable-community/books-for-free" target="_blank">Books For Free Centres</a> across the UK which distribute books that would otherwise be pulped to individuals, libraries, charities and schools. Healthy Planet also organises regular Stuff For Free events, a community re-use initiative to redistribute good quality furniture, clothing, toys, household items and sports equipment to new homes.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Inspect a gadget – or 2, or more</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Sort out those gadgets and
gizmos that were ‘must-haves’ when you got them. If they’ve been gathering dust, or superseded
by a better, newer model, are you REALLY going to use them again? If the answer’s
no, they’ve gotta go. </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">This applies just as much to unused kitchen ‘essentials’ (when did you last use that fondue set or cappuccino frother?) as ‘boy’s toys’. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Flog 'em on eBay or
give them to a charity shop and you could make someone else’s Christmas.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Cut the paper trail <br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Christmas means
wrapping paper. Lots of it. But before you rush out and buy rolls and rolls of
it, are you sure you haven’t got leftovers from last year sitting around somewhere
waiting to be used up? One tip is to buy gold, silver or coloured foil wrapping
paper that doesn’t have obvious Christmas decorations or greetings on it – then
it can be used for wrapping gifts for birthdays and more throughout the year. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Make space for your guests<br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Is your spare room a
depository for all the stuff that won’t fit anywhere else in your house? Then
it’s sure time to declutter if you’ve got guests coming for Christmas. </span></span><span style="font-family: Trebuchet MS, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">If you don’t have the time or the task feels too overwhelming why not treat yourself a practical pre-Christmas present? The <a href="http://www.apdo-uk.co.uk/" target="_blank">Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers</a> has friendly experts based all over the UK who can help turn a spare room clutter mountain into a welcoming bedroom in just a few hours. </span></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> </span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Make space for your new gifts</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />
Decluttering brings a sense of peace and goodwill that can be a pretty good Christmas present in its own right, but let’s
hope Santa will bring you something nice too.
Homes can feel pretty crowded at Christmas so it makes sense for
everyone in the family to make a space ready to store their Christmas gifts so
they are not cluttering up the living room once opened. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><br />Recycle <br />
</span></b><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">Once Christmas is over, clear the house of all the festive clutter as
soon as possible – wrapping paper, cards, tree and bottles can all be recycled.
And as for those unwanted presents? There’s someone out there who would LOVE them
– so let them go and make someone else happy, whether you sell them or donate
to charity. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you want
need decluttering before or after Christmas, Clarify Interiors can help - the clue's in our name! See <b><a href="http://www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk/">www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk</a></b> or telephone 01865 594955
or 07917 716004 or email <a href="mailto:clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk"><b>clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</b></a><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-87294403375509675192011-10-19T07:57:00.000-07:002011-10-19T07:57:38.333-07:00Christmas Styling Made Simple<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">A festive interiors event organised by two creative West
Oxfordshire businesswomen will give an early Christmas present to a local
breast cancer charity.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Clare Parrack of Clarify Interiors in Eynsham and
designer florist Nikki Budd, who runs North Leigh-based <a href="http://www.buddsfloral.co.uk/">Budds</a>, are staging a seasonal
home styling demonstration and workshop called <strong>Christmas Style Made Simple</strong> in the lovely setting of wedding and conference venue <a href="http://www.wortonparkweddings.co.uk/">Worton Park</a> in Cassington on Sunday
November 13. </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfCYDa90YTouPGz91bb5fSO0l4V3bypKDwwtMW8sur8eVetuI0eFnnFS0qiZIFYMnDRnLP-s3iFI81n-NCgOg9sKSKyjJEvINyvBwtyFlc11ohCnVtFVp6I9-aKZIxsx0d0DBtAHohTG3/s1600/christmas+candle+196+x+320+crop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdfCYDa90YTouPGz91bb5fSO0l4V3bypKDwwtMW8sur8eVetuI0eFnnFS0qiZIFYMnDRnLP-s3iFI81n-NCgOg9sKSKyjJEvINyvBwtyFlc11ohCnVtFVp6I9-aKZIxsx0d0DBtAHohTG3/s1600/christmas+candle+196+x+320+crop.jpg" /></a><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Proceeds from the event will go to Against Breast Cancer, a charity dedicated to funding ground-breaking research to improve detection and increase survival after breast cancer diagnosis. For more about ABC's work see <a href="http://www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk/">www.againstbreastcancer.org.uk</a></span></span></div>
<br />
<span style="font-family: Calibri;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;">Christmas Style Made Simple</span></b><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"> will demonstrate a
range of festive design ideas, from room décor and decoration to Christmas floral arrangements.<o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And there's hands-on stuff too - participants will also be shown step-by-step how to make a
stunning personalised festive table centrepiece and a room decoration designed to suit their own decor, both of which they can take home with them.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We'll be revealing some
designer secrets and showing you don’t have to be an interiors expert – or spend
a lot of money in these cash-strapped times <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>– to create a stylish festive feel to your
home. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">We hope participants will enjoy making their own
seasonal creations to take home, knowing they are helping a good cause at the
same time. </span></span><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzkxyKy5BGp8v03dO2zemgKJSW5yB1J2O-krYObT0I_1NNy524bSESXzDn2rzKIif08gak-13Rahb8h7Ic3CiySinNgyjK-WNTASBXPVN-d2cs5pAOxEka-nTsXxuwso46pmtNl5db5EW/s1600/starry+twigs.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="199" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqzkxyKy5BGp8v03dO2zemgKJSW5yB1J2O-krYObT0I_1NNy524bSESXzDn2rzKIif08gak-13Rahb8h7Ic3CiySinNgyjK-WNTASBXPVN-d2cs5pAOxEka-nTsXxuwso46pmtNl5db5EW/s200/starry+twigs.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">And we’re delighted that we will be able to donate even
more to Against Breast Cancer from this event because Worton Park is generously
giving us use of the venue for free. <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tickets are £49 and <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>include afternoon tea (or coffee) and cakes and
all materials for the hands-on decoration making.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Great value, Nikki and I think, for a fun afternoon out that will also be raising much-needed funds for a great cause. We'd love to see you there!</span></span></span><br />
<br />
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<span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>Places are limited and must be booked in advance – call Clarify
Interiors on 01865 594955 or 07917 716004 or email </span></span><a href="mailto:clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk"><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="color: blue; font-family: Calibri;">clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</span></span></a><span style="font-size: 13pt; line-height: 115%; mso-fareast-language: EN-GB; mso-no-proof: yes;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;"> <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-3734446610654080602011-08-07T10:45:00.000-07:002011-08-07T11:02:50.401-07:00Downsizing ... without the downside<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Moving house is stressful at any time of life, but more so as time goes by and you have a lifetime’s possessions to sort out. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Whether you simply want to move to somewhere smaller and more easily manageable, or into specialise retirement accommodation, the sheer scale of what needs to be done may feel overwhelming as you get older – particularly if you don’t have family nearby to help with the practicalities of organising the big move.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">I was in the middle of setting up my new property business when I got a worried phone call from my 72-year-old mother. She needed to find a new home fast when her partner had to go into a nursing home and his bungalow had to be sold to fund his care.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Helping Mum find somewhere suitable to live as well as co-ordinating the many other tasks associated with moving, from packing to re-directing mail, was even more complicated because I live nearly 150 miles away. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">The experience led me to broaden the scope of my property staging and styling company Clarify Interiors to include specialist services to assist older movers and their families.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">My experience with Mum made me realise that with an expanding elderly population, many on their own or living a long way from their children, there’s a growing need for services here in the UK – as there already are in the US – to help lighten the emotional load as well as the practical burden for older people who need to move house. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">Clarify Interiors ‘Downsizing Without the Downside’ service is a complete project management package. Clients are offered hands-on assistance with the whole move from beginning to end if they need it. </span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If family or friends are available to help with the process, they can pick and mix from elements of the service. These include working out what possessions to take and what to do with the rest (sometimes a thorny family issue), preparing the client’s old home for sale, help with packing, supervising the removals team on moving day and getting their new home ready to welcome them, right down to hanging pictures and making the bed. </span><br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">It’s a practical, personal service and my aim is to help you to stay in control and feel positive about the move, rather than overwhelmed and anxious. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">We offer a much broader level of service than just packing and unpacking – it’s planning and organising so the emotional burden of moving is minimised, and your new living space will feel as much like home as the place you are leaving.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If family or friends are on hand, we will work with you and them to provide whatever help you may need along the way to make the transition as smooth and straightforward as possible. Or we can plan and manage the whole process from beginning to end if you require – always with your input and guidance, because we never forget it is YOUR home.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: "Arial", "sans-serif"; font-size: 10pt;">If you’d like to know more, please get in touch with me at Clarify Interiors, email <a href="mailto:clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk"><span style="color: blue;">clare@clarifyinteriors.co.uk</span></a> or telephone 07917 716004</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-45709431431046476212011-08-07T10:37:00.000-07:002011-08-07T10:39:56.802-07:00What makes Cotswold interiors special<div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">What exactly is Cotswold style? I was asked this question recently and it got me thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Visualise a Cotswold interior, and is it a traditional country house, a chocolate-box pretty cottage, an elegant Regency town-house, a modern apartment in a converted mill or dockside warehouse, or a light-filled luxury waterfront property at the Cotswold Water Park? </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none; margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFSxjqcF82fc-B4Iojjed5DVTfLWEx6SY63foBZRNspncp5fxk7dFJ4WbGnQHYTPJBycguQTEcWMEMvmxttKPbPabrfVeqVWxtM110bOlnSVJBBCo51Vzs5iHOz4dmsvrIjlE-1Vauh7P/s1600/witney+warehouse.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; cssfloat: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">The truth is that 21<sup>st</sup> century Cotswold interiors can be any of the above and more besides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The good news is that<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in this part of the world we are blessed with an abundance of places where you can shop to create your own personal interpretation of Cotswold style – whatever your taste and budget. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">I’m always looking for interior inspiration, and I love discovering the unexpected when I’m out and about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So when I take weekend visitors to Bourton-on-the-Water or Tetbury I can’t resist exploring what’s new<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>in stock at Green and Pleasant Lifestyle <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>(</span><a href="http://www.greenandpleasant.com/"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">www.greenandpleasant.com</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) – they also have a store in Cheltenham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And a visit to Burford Garden Centre (</span><a href="http://www.burford.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">www.burford.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) to brighten up my beds and borders isn’t complete without also checking out their interesting selection of home accessories. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">But a particularly rewarding recent voyage of discovery was to Witney. In town for the launch – by the Prime Minister, no less – of the new showroom at up-market furniture specialist Wesley Barrell ( </span><a href="http://www.wesley-barrell.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">www.wesley-barrell.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) I had time to explore a little further afield, and was glad I did. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 10pt;"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">Tucked away behind the High Street is Jill Treloggen Interiors (</span><a href="http://www.jilltreloggen.co.uk/"><span style="font-family: Calibri;">www.jilltreloggen.co.uk</span></a><span style="font-family: Calibri;">) where Jill offers a wide range of furniture and accessories, and also prides herself on sourcing designer looks at lower prices than you can find at well-known names – for example a king-size French style bedstead very similar to Laura Ashley’s Provencale bedframe , with a £1,800 price-tag, for just £999. Or a large<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>sofa for £1,525 compared to a similar Duresta model costing £4,100 at John Lewis</span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsFSxjqcF82fc-B4Iojjed5DVTfLWEx6SY63foBZRNspncp5fxk7dFJ4WbGnQHYTPJBycguQTEcWMEMvmxttKPbPabrfVeqVWxtM110bOlnSVJBBCo51Vzs5iHOz4dmsvrIjlE-1Vauh7P/s320/witney+warehouse.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" t$="true" width="320" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Picture courtest of Witney Warehouse</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;">And that wasn’t all. Less than half a mile away I found yet another Aladdin’s cave at Witney Warehouse in West End (<a href="http://www.witneywarehouse.com/">http://www.witneywarehouse.com/</a>)</span><span style="font-family: Calibri;">– a fascinating and ever-changing collection of vintage and contemporary, ‘pre-loved’ and new furniture and accessories.</span></div><span style="font-family: "Calibri", "sans-serif"; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 115%; mso-ansi-language: EN-GB; mso-bidi-font-family: "Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-language: EN-US;">That’s the magic of interiors shopping in the Cotswolds – it’s always an enjoyable outing and you never know what you’ll find round the next corner! </span>Unknownnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7620773669938399618.post-86396410618536920852010-11-04T10:42:00.000-07:002010-11-16T15:21:39.009-08:00Expert help to make your home sparkle<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At Clarify Interiors our<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> aim is simple – to make your property look its very best on an affordable budget – from as little as £100. Find out more at our website - <a href="http://www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk/"><strong>www.clarifyinteriors.co.uk</strong></a></span></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Our property staging and styling specialists design cost-effective solutions to highlight your home’s potential and maximise space, style and market value.</span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">First impressions count, and for an outlay of just ONE per cent of your home’s market value we can design a tailor-made combination of cosmetic changes to transform it into a stylish show home that not only looks fantastic but will sell faster for the highest possible price. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQa-h9MeEdB1xnRkYUTYkhRAZj6HM46BY3-a4-vLjZtUz18GJF_CeoIs_2tDZoOU9csosjD89NHt5kZpAs6DXTSZVjTQ8ppzmonnHOqZxDusbRNKtFM5sPUWcjrb_1hPrLgtMNdYZfDxI/s1600/House+Doctor+marketing+images+042.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" px="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizQa-h9MeEdB1xnRkYUTYkhRAZj6HM46BY3-a4-vLjZtUz18GJF_CeoIs_2tDZoOU9csosjD89NHt5kZpAs6DXTSZVjTQ8ppzmonnHOqZxDusbRNKtFM5sPUWcjrb_1hPrLgtMNdYZfDxI/s320/House+Doctor+marketing+images+042.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
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<ul><li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Planning to move and want to achieve the best price for your home?</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Got your property on the market but wondering why it won't sell?</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Want a new look for your current home but don't know where to start?</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Moving into a new home but not sure how to decorate?</span></div></li>
<li><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Want to show off a show property to its best advantage?</span></div></li>
</ul><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If the answer to any of the above is yes, we’re here to help. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Whether you’re selling, renting out, or looking a makeover to make your home look and feel lighter, brighter and more spacious, Clarify Interiors will design a stylish solution for you – and it won’t break the bank. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><br />
</div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0cm 0cm 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Minimal investment, maximum return – no catch. </span><span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">What are you waiting for? Get in touch now.</span></div>Unknownnoreply@blogger.com