Home decorator Lara Winter is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on revamping a 200 year old cottage to make it right for modern family life. See the rest of her articles here.
I’ve always been the sort of person who likes a tidy home. Mess doesn’t relax me, it stresses me out. Over the years, I’ve realised that keeping a house organised isn’t about heroic cleaning sessions or magically making everything disappear.
It’s about tiny habits that make life run a bit more smoothly and, honestly, make me feel a little smug along the way.
Clothes are my first big win. I have a small clothes rail where I lay out my outfits for the week. Jackets, tops, trousers, all ready to grab in the mornings. It sounds a bit over-organised, but it saves a surprising amount of time and mental energy.
The boys get the same treatment. Every evening I lay out their clothes for the next day. They know the routine, it makes the morning calmer and it stops the usual chorus of 'where are my socks?'. Small effort, big payoff.
Breakfast is another spot where a little planning goes a long way. I prepare the boys’ oats in bowls the night before with milk and maybe some fruit. They’re ready to eat straight away, and I don’t have to referee a chaotic cereal explosion at the kitchen table. It’s quick, healthy, and for some reason feels like a little treat, even on a grey weekday morning.
Meal planning in our kitchen is very low-key. I have a small chalkboard where I jot down breakfasts and dinners for the week. I’m not going full Pinterest with fancy charts or themed nights. It’s just a quick visual reminder for me so I’m not panicking about what’s for tea at 6pm. The boys occasionally glance at it and seem mildly interested, which is a bonus.
Storage solutions are surprisingly helpful. By the stairs we have a 'stuff' basket. Anything the boys leave lying around, from shoes to random toys, goes straight in. The rule is they tidy it the next day.
It keeps the house from slowly turning into a chaos museum and saves me from nagging endlessly. In the bathroom, labelled jars for hair accessories, cotton pads and other bits stop anything floating around.
Organisation isn’t about eliminating mess entirely, it’s about making it manageable.
One luxury habit that keeps the house looking presentable is our robot vacuum (from Shark). It whirs around while we’re out, picking up dust and crumbs – and it even mops!
It doesn’t replace tidying, but it does mean the floor never gets too far out of hand and the house always feels a bit more polished.
Evening routines make a huge difference. Spending ten minutes tidying the kitchen and living areas before bed means mornings feel calmer. The boys help with this too, which makes it feel more like a team effort and less like I’m running a domestic boot camp.
Tiny repeated actions like this create a rhythm and keep the home functioning without stress.
Finally, surfaces are easier to maintain if each item has a place. A tray for keys, a bowl for loose change, a vase on the table. Giving things a home of their own stops clutter creeping in and makes the space feel calmer instantly.
Of course, life is messy sometimes and there will always be piles of laundry or stray toys. That’s fine. These are the habits that make the house work for us rather than the other way around. Clothes ready on the rail, bowls of oats, the boys’ laid-out outfits, the chalkboard, the stuff basket, tidy evenings and the robot vacuum.
Little habits, repeated consistently, make a surprisingly big difference and help the home feel calm, practical and just a little bit magical.
