Why Holiday Houses Make Us Happy

Have you ever arrived at a clean, well decorated holiday house and breathed a contented sigh of relief.?  What is it about the space that makes you feel calm and happy?

Last year I stayed at a holiday house in rural New South Wales. It did not have many decorations or gadgets. It had all the items that I needed for a very enjoyable stay. It was inviting, comfortable and organised. Packing up was extremely easy to do because I could see and identify all my stuff easily.

The following tips can help you recreate the visual calmness and practicality of a well organised holiday house in your own home.

Declutter ruthlessly and discard the following categories

• Stuff you are keeping out of guilt because a relative gave it to you
• Stuff past its use-by-date
• Stuff that doesn’t fit (physically or visually)
• Stuff that does not match with your current lifestyle or aesthetic – outgrown kid’s toys, clothes, and old-fashioned ornaments.
  

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Zone your house – to keep like items together

Well organised holiday houses have distinct storage zones. When there isn’t too much clutter, it is easy to see the item in the spot. In your own home stick to this concept and group kitchen items in the kitchen and laundry stuff in the laundry, etc.

Keep an empty box for donations

Keep filling the donation box and taking it to a charity shop. My experience is that once the item is out of your home, you will forget about it entirely.

Decluttering is something you do many times in a year. Make it easy to donate good condition items to charity. Try to make the donation receptacle a box that you are happy to give to the charity. This reduces the temptation to second guess and remove items from the donations.

Control the number of ornaments and decorative items in your home

Research the concept of the one “hero” decorative item in a room. Pack up any seasonal décor from 6 months ago. Rotate your much-loved and beautiful items, so they are not all out on display all the time. Pick the change of seasons – Winter to Spring to Summer to Autumn – to pack a few ornaments away and get others out. You can remind yourself to do this with calendar prompts or writing a future date on the box.

Practice the “one in one out” rule for ornaments to maintain a constant number of items.

Rethink your “Identity Clutter”

Identity clutter shows what sort of person you are to the world. However, it may be outdated. Check in with yourself and your family to see if there is interest in the games, sport or craft that is taking up space in your home. Have your family outgrown some of the activities that used to be in your life?

Try to donate any unused sports equipment that you “thought” the family would love, but never found time for. Another family will love it!

Identify any Aspirational Items

A day will come when you realise that your family are never going to be sporty or games or craft people in the way that you thought when they were young. Donate or recycle these items if you can.

Try to have a place for bulk Items or “Back Stock”

American organising shows talk about “Back stock”. This refers to items purchased in bulk for home use eg.  extra toilet paper, cleaning supplies or bulk food that has been bought on special. Not every house will have the space for this but look around your home. You may find a place for the extras in a different area. Check your garage, attic, or laundry for unused spaces. However, be cautious about overbuying items that may be expired before you can use them.

In conclusion

These are the steps to getting that “holiday house feeling” for your home all year round. You will be grateful every time you clean and tidy your home.

 The benefits to making your home more like a holiday house

the decluttering has been done and they are visually simple

• Minimal distractions
• All but the basics are visible
• It has a few “Hero” pieces of art or nature, but not too many

This is achievable in your own home, but it requires a gradual reduction the amount of stuff on display and organising the stuff you do need to keep.

A decluttered and organised home looks much more inviting than one that is mixed up and chaotic. With a little bit of organisation and some thoughtful decorating, you can turn your home into a holiday oasis.

Call a Professional Organiser who can give you individual help. Zing Home Organising can make deciding what to keep easy and take away your donations or recycling on the same day. Lessen your load and get the service you need to make your home beautiful and infuse some holiday vibes into your daily life.