Home Improvements: Time to get organised

A new year is the perfect time to get organised. Here's a couple of tips to get you started.

There's no better time than the start of a new year to think about getting organised. It's time to sort through wardrobes, empty out drawers and get new systems in place that will make your home run a bit more smoothly. We came across an interesting theory on the Inspired Room design blog - one of our current favourites. The theory is this: being organised means you should be able to find almost anything you need in five minutes or less.

The blog is brimming with clever ideas for organising your home but these are a couple of our favourites:

If you have any teacups and saucers that you don't tend to use much, line them up in a drawer and use them to store everything from jewellery to loose nails, screws and other bits and bobs. They look much prettier than plastic dividers.

If you have larger items stored on open shelves, make sure that every item has a designated spot, which is clearly labelled. This means everyone will know what goes where. Inspired Room suggests painting the insides of your shelves in bright, inviting colours and then making labels by spelling out the words using wooden Scrabble tiles. It's a bit twee, but in the best possible way.