Have a winter clear out

The rain is lashing, the wind is howling and there’s always the threat of snow, which means we are all spending more time indoors.

While winter offers a great excuse to be a couch potato and eat comfort food, it’s also the best season to get your house in order. Spring cleaning is all very well but when the weather improves there are so many other things to do with our precious spare time.

Having a good “sort out” followed by a deep clean now will refresh your home and clear the decks ready for a new look if that’s what you want. Redecorating is always best done in better weather when you can open the windows and allow paintwork to dry out properly.

As February is the hardest month and we all feel lethargic, tackle one room at a time when cleaning and clearing and be ruthless when deciding what to keep. Recycle as much as you can and give generously to charity shops.

If, like me, you are a natural hoarder, it can help to have a second opinion from someone who will reason with you. “You don’t need 200 books you’re never going to read again” was a fair point made by a friend of mine recently.

However, if you do want to keep some of those things that will surely come in handy one day, then plan your storage. Designers and manufacturers have realised that we are willing to spend on items that are useful, so there are some great solutions out there. Ikea has some of the best, most inexpensive storage, all displayed in their room sets. I like their new Thohrhamn kitchen range in ash.

Sainsbury’s new Copenhagen range is good value and includes a set of tabletop drawers for £18. They are perfect for make-up, kitchen utensils and paperwork.

For the bathroom, I like the Componibili cabinet by Kartell, which starts from £69, and is now available in gold. You can find it in The Home store at Salts Mill, Saltaire, and at Heal’s in Redbrick Mill, Batley.

Vintage furniture is a good investment and can be inexpensive. I am a big fan of sideboards with their drawers, capacious cupboards and tops. They hold a great deal of stuff, as do Welsh dressers, which look good in both kitchens and dining rooms. You can paint them, but be warned that brown furniture is making a comeback so you may want to preserve and polish the wood. If you are looking for a new sideboard then Made.com has a good, contemporary range,including the Esme media unit for £349.

If your budget can run to it then look at commissioning bespoke, built-in storage solutions. Yorkshire has an abundance of talented furniture makers.

If you are a serial hoarder or you need motivating to declutter, then read the best-selling “Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: the Japanese art of Decluttering and Organising” by Marie Kondo. She has won a legion of fans for her KonMari method for simplifying, organising, and storing. This even extends to user-friendly line drawings showing how to fold everything from shirts to socks. The book is a manual filled with excellent tips.*For details visit www.tidyingup.com