Fireworks!

Bonfire Night..

Hot on the heels (literally) of Halloween is Guy Fawkes night. Remember remember the 5th of November. Again this can be a fun night for you and your kids, even without any fire-works being set off. We always advise going to an organised show for safety and more spectacular fun.

However, you can have a great time at home decorating, making food and playing games. But please don’t forget about your pets. Some of them are very scared of the noises. There are some tips at the end to help your pets out.

1. Have fun finger painting bonfires using red and yellow and white paint. Be prepared for mess and make sure the paint is kid safe.

2. Create fire-works in art using coloured sand or glitter and a glue-stick. Draw the shapes with the glue then sprinkle the sand or glitter over them and shake the spare off.

3. Create marshmallow rockets. Have bowls of melted chocolate, sprinkles, popping candy ready. Stick a marshmallow on a wooden skewer then dip into the chocolate and the other toppings. Leave upright to dry.

4. A fun idea is glow-stick treasure hunt. Around your house or in your garden hide glowsticks. Put them up high or behind furniture/bushes and see how many can be found..

5. Use sparklers to create names and words and take photo-bursts on your camera to see the results.

6. There are lots of games to play related to fire-works, search out there for kids games and fire-works night, but one is Hot-Potato. Stand in a circle and throw a potato around. When the music stops whoever is holding the potatoe drops out. Keep going until only one person is left.

If you do go to an organised event, or a communal bonfire, you need to make sure you have some drinks and snacks and plenty of warm clothing to wear. The marshmallow fireworks are fun, along with hot-dogs and toffee apples are a good bet. Warm squash or hot-chocolate is also lovely to keep hands from being too cold.

Gloves, hats and scarves are great to wear, but make sure you do not stray to close to any open flames.

Pets

Pets can get very scared of loud noises, especially around Guy Fawkes night. If your pet is one of these, prepare a quieter private rooom for them with places to hide and snuggle. Use FELIWAY or other calming products in that room, and close your curtains and the door to keep it dark. Make sure they have a favourite blanket/jumper/bed with them and a toy, along with water and food, and make sure the room is warm and cosy. Perhaps turn a radio on to cover some of the noise - classical music works well and can be soothing. If they are really badly affected, ask your vet if they can have a sedative for the worst night. If you are not going out, stay in the room with them, turn the TV on and re-assure them they are ok.

Hopefully we can all have a fun and safe Bonfire night and seek out an organised show for the ultimate wow!

How to get my life sorted - Halloween Decorations (and fun).

OOOOOH..spooky.

The end of October brings in several traditional festivals - Halloween being the first. This celebration has become bigger recently, almost overtaking Guy Fawkes in popularity. This post takes a look at some Halloween Decorations you could make by yourself or with your kids. Some activities are suitable for all ages, others involve sharp objects so you make your own decision with your kids in mind.

1. Pumpkin carving! The tradition of pumpkin carving is ages (Ireland or Scotland in the 19th century is mentioned), but is great but messy fun. You can now get pumpkins of all sizes and colours, or go with the traditional but unusual Swede to carve. You can get pre-prepared faces and specialist kits, but a good sharp serrated knife and metal spoon seem to work too. Below are some links to suggestions for pumpkin carving or you can just go free-style. Remember some tea-lights to light your faces up!

   https://www.countryliving.com/diy-crafts/g279/pumpkin-carving-ideas/

   https://www.goodhousekeeping.com/holidays/halloween-ideas/g238/pumpkin-carving-ideas/

2. Make a costume. Easiest thing in the world being a goup of ghosts. You just need some old white sheets and a pair of scissors. Or go more dramatic and become a vampire or witch. What can you find in the wardrobe to make the cloak and hat.

3. Bobbing for apples (or dougnuts). The apples version involves water and floating apples in the bowl, you then put your hands behind your back and ‘bob’ for the apple. A water free version and decoration involves tyeing the apple or doughnut on a strip and hang it from a door frame or line strung up and then ‘bobbing’ for them.

4. Create spooky silhouettes from black crepe paper and hang them in your windows - witches on broomsticks, ghosts, cauldrens etc are all fun to cut out

5. Create large spiders with balloons, pipe-cleaners or craft wire and black fur. Use two black balloons blow up to different sizes and tie the necks together. Stick black fur to craftwire for legs and attach the the balloons with fishing wire.

6. Create a spooky wreath. Get a wreath form, and tie six pieces of string across to form a cart-wheel shape. Weave other string in and out to form a cob-web. Cover the outside with white ribbon and add fake spiders.

7. Re-use your white christmas paper bells to make ghouls by sticking black paper eyes and mouths on them and draping with muslin.

Make sure you home made sweets around for any visitors, make some toffee apples and pehaps a balloon pinata in the shape of a ghost or pumpkin. Plenty of black paper to make shapes of bats and witches. Muslin shredded to make cobwebs or make a spider web cake using white icing on an orange cake.

For a really dramatic effect, get some dry ice and a cauldren and see the smoke flow. Re-use a witches broomstick as decor - they are great in the garden afterwards for any dry leaves that need to be swept up.

Let your inner witch out when creating colourful drinks and potions, make some halloween cup-cakes and use white and black icing to decorate. We can all have fun at Halloween.

How to get my life sorted - Blankets & Cushions

Cosiness galore.

Following on from the post on Fires, and how to choose them, this post will add to the warms and cosiness factor by talking about Blankets /Throws and Cushions. These accessories can make or break a room and make them feel cosy and welcoming as opposed to bland and chily. No matter how neutral the rest of your colour scheme is, you can always add colour using these textiles. They can also be changed regularly, so you could even change your room with the seasons.

Textiles such as these can pick up small hints of colour and highlight them, or bring a splash of colour in an otherwise neutral space. Choose wisely though, otherwise you could end up only seeing these items or create a clash of colours which do not work. You also need to make sure that they are appropriately sized, neither too big or too small.

The next two sections will talk about choosing Cushions and choosing Blankets or throws.

Cushions come in all shapes and sizes, small ones, round ones, enormous ones or rectangular ones. The colours and patterns are also endless. Where to start…

1. What is the purpose of the cushion - functional or decorative?

2. What is it going to be placed on - bed, sofa, chair or floor?

3. What is the colour scheme of the room - are there hints of colour in a picture or wallpaper that you love?

4. Do you have existing cushion pads that you are looking to re-cover or do you need a fully filled cushion? Allergies - feathers v’s synthetic filling.

5. Are they going to be used outside or be likely to have drinks or food spilled on them (kids/pets etc)

All of these questions feed into the type, size and material used for your cushion. Where spillages are likely, don’t go for silks or other material that is not washable. Outdoor cushions need to have wipeable and waterproof covering and specialist filling,

If you need the cushion to support you when sitting in a deep sofa, the bigger , firmer or more rectangular the better. For pure decoration, round or other shapes could be fun.

It is probably good to invest in great cushion pads in the shape and filling you want, then choose the covers to suit your colour scheme, with options to change it up or when they need to be washed. Pick up a tone from the wall covering and go darker, pick up a fleck from the sofa covering and use that or contrast with the sofa colour if plain. Cushions are much easier to change that other elements in the room and allow you to experiment with bold choices quite inexpensively.

This section will talk about how to choose a throw or blanket for your room. Again, these are movable relatively inexpensive (mostly) items that will allow you to experiment with colour and texture. When choosing a throw as allways there are some questins to ask:

1. Is this for a bed or a sofa

2. Is it purely decorative or will it be used

3. Do you have kids or pets (spillages)

4. Allergies - wool or other natural fibres may cause them to flare up or keep dust.

5. Plain or patterned, tassles or not.

To be useful, larger sizes are needed so you can wrap yourself up in them to feel cosy, or double layer over your knees. On beds, they can be used as an extra layer in the winter or only be there for decoration and removed when you sleep. Again, don’t choose delicate fibres like slik for a throw if you have kids or pets, as they are likely to chew them, catch their claws or splil food or drink on them. Choose man-made fibres that an easily be washed. The size also needs to be a consideration for your washing machine, othrwise they will have to go to the Laundrette each time!

Colour - again, as with cushions with a neutral palette, you can take a tone from the walls or furnishings and go darker, add in a stripe or check or if your room is patterned, go plain in neutral. Again, you can have different weights and colours and change them with the seasons or when you want to wash them.

Cushions and blankets/throws are a great fashion accessory for your rooms. They can add cosiness and warmth and colour to any room, and allow you to change up your decor inexpensively. Go experiment and see how bold you can go!

How to get my life sorted - Choosing a fire for your home.

Flames and logs.

As the nights draw in and it becomes colder, the addition of a blazing fire in the room you use most seems more attractive. Especially if you can redude your energy usage by only heating one room of the house for most of the evenings.

There are many options available for you even if you don’t have any chimney or ventilation system already. If you do have a chimney, then it is worth finding out if it is working by calling in a Chimney Sweep. Yes, they do still exist outside of Mary Poppins! If it is working, or needs minimal work, then this expands the choices you have.

Options for fires include Bio-ethanol, electric or natural gas. Woodburning and Coal are less eco-friendly options and are not allowed (or soon won’t be for some), but are still available in other areas.

In this section, I will list some of the pro’s and con’s of each of the above types of fire ranked from the messiest to the cleanest:

1. Coal - You have to have specific types of coal delivered, along with kindling and newspaper, refills of each, and cleanin out a fire are messy and the dust gets everywhere. But there is nothing quite like the roar and warmth of a coal fire. You will need a working chimney for this option.

2. Wood-burning - Again you need ready supplies of wood to be kept as well as starting material. Its less messy to maintain, but you still have to clean it out after use. Its less polluting than coal, but gives the same warmth and atmosphere as coal. Wood-burning stoves can keep a large room very warm. A flue up a chimney or through an external wall is needed for this option.

3. Gas - add a plumbed in natural gas insert into your fireplace or a new unit installed into your wall is a great option for a cleaner real fire. The flames are consistent and do look great and fiding natural look logs or coal accessories wil add to the overall look. It is clean (once installed) and, although you don’t get the noises or smell like coal or wood, the warmth radiates from it as well. At a click of a button (remote if you want) the fire springs into life and is switched off the same way. You do still need a flue and other ventilation bricks for this type of fire,

4. Bio-Ethanol - growing in popularity are Bio-ethanol fires. These burn a renewable source of energy created from fermenting sugarcane, grain or other maize type products. It burns with a clean flame with no pollutants. They are run on a tank, which needs to be re-filled occasionally, depending upon how long you use it for. These fires come in all shapes and sizes, can be inserted into walls, existing fire-places, into furniture and outside. They are very flexible and do have a real flame. As with gas fires, they don’t give off the crackle and smoke, but run clean and give out heat. There are so many types of fire, this is the option to use if you can’t install a chimney or flue.

5. Electric - the cleanest in set up, but the least ‘real’ in terms of flames and heat. They have improved greatly since they were introduced, and you can get some that have realistic coals or wood elements. However the ‘flames’ are pictures only and not real. They are great for just adding to a room and can just be plugged in without great building work. They do give out warmth and add a feature to a room. You don’t need a chimney or a flue for this type of fire. Some electric fires can add sound effects of crackling and spitting like real-fires do do add atmosphere that way over the Gas and Bio-Ethanol fires.

Above is a quick run through the pro’s and con’s of each type of indoor fire. You will need to think about the best option for you and how it will fit in with your design aesthetic. All fires can be found in traditional and contemporary styles. They can fit into existing hearths, inset into the wall or just added as a freestanding element to your room.

Prices can be anything from a few hundred to several thousand pounds, they may need specialist fitters (especially around Gas installation) or just be plug and go. When choosing a fire think about what space you have to store any fuel, if you have existing flues or chimneys, or need to add them. If you don’t have external walls where you want to put the fire, perhaps look at the flue-less bio-ethanol or electric options. Also consider children and pets and how likely they are to go near the fire or (in pets case) try to get up the chimney. Consider also if you want to mount your TV above the fire and how that will work height and heat wise.

Fires can add a great focal point to the room and create warmth when needed specifically in that room. They can be easy to use or create new rituals for chopping wood or delivery of coal. But do check on the local requirements around wood and coal fires before you pick these,

How to get my life sorted - Autumn colours

Rich and warm.

Autunm is coming, much as we hate it. The leaves start coming off the trees after turning beautiful colours on the way. Autumn colours are rich and warm and remind you of this time of year which gives a dramatic change to our environment. When you think of Autumn, you think of conkers, the reds, oranges and yellows of leaves, bright skies (hopefully) and warm creamy jumpers. These colours can be reflected in an Autum based Interior Design. Below are some of the rich colours that are inspired by Autumn. They can seem overwhelming, but with the current Maximalism trend, or layering with lighter furniture and furnishings, they can work. Especially in a cosy snug, bedroom or dining room

You could use the darker brown or red for an accent wall, or bedding. The lighter orange or cream for a sofa or rug, Perhaps paint the walls the lightest creamy yellow, but add a rug or carpet with all the darker colours, however, I would be brave and use the darker colours for all my walls if it is for a dining room or snug or bedroom. These are rooms that lend themselves well to cosy, warm and dramatic colour schemes. Good lighting, both overhead and mood will help turn these spaces into great entertaining or relaxing spaces. these rooms are mostly used in the evenings and at night any way, and making them moody will not mean they are dark and dreary. Ask you can see from below, there is drama for going dark in auturm.

Don’t be scared and go-for it, you will get comment from visitors about how cosy and warm the room is, and these colours will work well into christmas and soften the heat of summer. Lots of throws and cushions will soften the look and mirrors will bounce the available light around. Put lamps on when the nights draw in, and curl up with a good book, on those windy and rainy days.

How to get my life sorted - Reducing waste - paperwork

Following on from my previous post about sorting out mounds of paperwork, this post will help you to prevent those mounds from piling up in the first place. There are some simple things you can do to reduce the physical bits of paper that keep arriving at your home.

Firstly, you can go paperless for your bank and savings accounts. Most banks are offering to do this for you these days, but you can log onto most banking systems and ask for e-statements instead. If you do need a physical statement for something, they will either offer to authenticate the statement for you, or you can request a physical statemement as as one off.

Secondly, you can also do this for your bills and credit/store cards, take the option to go paper-less and download apps or log ont their websites. You will get MORE functionality and information this way.

Thirdly, quite a few stores offer electronic receipts, go for this whenever you can, you get sent an email and this will serve as proof of purchase.

These three choices will significantly reduce the amount of paperwork you receive and have to keep each year.

Where you cannot go paperless, think about scanning or photographing your paperwork, and then shredding it unless you absolutely need to have a physical copy. There is very little that you actually need to keep as a physical item these days.

Other small changes to make are to add a no-junk mail notice to your door - this may not always work, but it will reduce those reputable companies from posting their flyers. Take your name off the open electoral roll, you cannot then be sold to marketing companies. Always check the NO for updated by post when signing up for accounts, and look for e-magazine subscritions rather than physical ones.

For Inland Reveue or government paperwork, ask for electronic updates, and sign up to a personal tax account. This way you won’t keep losing those important documents. Perhaps you want to keep one statement a year for investments or a closing statement from old accounts, but nothing more is really needed. This way, you can significantly reduce the piles of paperwork arriving, and you can slowly reduce the items you are keeping until they are virtually gone.

Reduce, recycle and re-use, a good mantra to follow in life. You can make a start on paperwork, by reducing what you receive and keep, recycle what you no longer need and re-use what you can. Surpisingly you can re-use paperwork, lining pet cages and using it to start fires are some common uses, and we all know about wrapping schoolbooks in wrapping paper or magazines, but there are other ways of re-using paperwork. Here is an article which may spark some thoughts.

Go-for it, don’t worry about having or holding your documents electronically, this is a tried and tested method and more and more companies are going this way. You will free up yourself from having to deal with paperwork if you don’t receive it in the first place.

How to get My Life Sorted - Mountains of Paperwork!

Scary image right - piles and pile of paperwork hanging around. This will frighten most of us and a lot will admit defeat right at the start. However, there are ways of getting this under control and steps to put in place to keep it under control, Whether this is for work or at home, you never need to reach the same point again.

First tasks, understand the problem. Get is all out and in one place. Look in drawer, cupboards and under furniture. Find paperwork that looks tidies away, but in reality is just in boxes. Own the issue, then go about tackling it. Again, you don’t have to do this all at once, but it helps.

Here is how to start to tackle your paperwork issue:

1. Open up ALL envelopes - you need to know what is in there.

2. Separate out all books/magazines from paperwork, they can be dealt with separately.

3. Start sorting into rough piles - bills and invoices, medical, letters, receipts, statements etc

4. Don’t be overly precious, but a quick sort out between 5 or 6 major subject.

5. Then start to tackle each major pile - pick the smallest one first so you can feel you have achieved something.

6. Unless legally required to or for warranties, don’t keep items more than 12 months old.

7. I sort between companies for the more detailed split, also by month.

8. Think about how to file away your paperwork (a subject I will pick up on in another post) and use that as a guide for sorting it out.

9. File it away and move onto the next largest pile

If you don’t have a category for something, leave it aside and see how much of that you have, you can then review all the oddities later and see if they have a common thread.

The most fun bit is to make sure you have something pretty and practical to use to file your paperwork away. Co-ordinate with your interior design, choose something different for each subject, or make them look business like. There are alot of options out there, you just need to find the one that suits you best. Some suggestions are:

1. Concertina files for the business like look - the cheapest option but not much fun!

2. Pretty files for you shelves - a bit more formal, but can look good on-show

3. Stunning storage boxes to hold your items - good for photos or sentimentl items.

4. A proper storage unit for your office - doesn’t have to be grey or boring.

You can use a combination of all to store away all your paperwork that you need to keep.

Whilst I can’t say that this process will be fun and a joy to do, you can make it easier by distracting yourself whilst doing the organising by listening to music or an audio book, and using pretty things to store them away. A glass of wine or your favourite drink and maybe burning incense will also help to soothe the way.

How to get My Life Sorted - Review your plans again!

Coming into the final quarter of the year, it is time to undertake another review of your plans to see how you are doing and what you have achieved. Or have you had all the good intentions, but let it slide because you were too busy? Either way, this is the chance to re-calibrate and push on towards the end of the year.

Get out your list and take a look. Don’t panic if you still seem to have a lot to do. There is time, or perhaps this is the point to make those hard choices and either reduce or remove some tasks. Ask yourself - do I still need to do this? A few questions you can run through for each item on your list::

1. Is this still of the same priority and importance to me?

2. Do I still need to do this myself or is there someone better who can undertake this taks

3. Have other tasks become more pressing?

4. Is there another task that needs to be completed first before I can do this one?

These should help you to review and re-prioritise your tasks, as long as you are honest with yourself over the answers, It is all to easy to say only I can do this.

Perhaps this is a time to look at reality and say, I can show someone how to do this task and they can take it on permanently. OR I can pay someone to do this task as a one off - look to temporary resources such as VA’s or Admin suport.

You do not have to do everything yourself. As much as we all hate to admit it, sometimes someone else can do this faster and better than you.

Don’t worry if your priorities have completely changed, that’s life and why regular reviews are important. It is no good ploughing on down a list when the tasks on them are no longer relevant. And why Quarterly reviews are the very least you should do.

Good luck with your final quarter’s plans. And don’t worry overmuch, do what you can.

How to get my life sorted - IT Clean up

We all know that feeling, when your computer runs slow or is out of space. Life seems so much harder to deal with and work takes twice as long as it should. It is a good idea to schedule a regular IT clean up in your diary - monthly or at least quarterly. This way you keep control of your files and documents, make sure you do back-ups and download important updates. Below is a list of those tasks to inlcude in your IT Clean up. this can apply to your Laptop, Computer or Phone.

On a monthly basis:

1. Sort out your desktop - we all know its easy to just save things here

2. Put your files into folders - if you have not created them, do this now!

3. Do a back up of your entire device - keep a second back up as well and in the cloud if you can.

4. Download and install importatnt updates on your devices if you have not already done so

5. Clean out your waste bin and review files to make sure you need to keep them all

On a quartely basis:

1. Go thorugh your photos, can you delete any? The same with music, videos and any other media files.

2. Check your hardrive for errors and look at what is taking up most space

3. Sort through your folders - do they still make sense?

4. Review files to make sure you need to keep them all

5. Run your anti-virus software to check all is ok (if you have this)

Next I will expand on the Monthly and Quarterly tasks to go into a bit more depth on how to do this and why its important.

Monthly tasks:

Just like having a clear and tidy physical working area will help you be more productive, having a clear and tidy computer will also help you to function better. Tidying up on a regular basis will keep the space under control and make it less onerous for you. The same applies to your computer or other device.

• I am guilty of just saving items to my desktop if I want to find them quickly, however, I do regularly go through these and move them into folders. This way, I only have current files and shortcuts showing hear to keep it clear. Get rid of those screenshots if no longer needed, delete copies of files saved elsewhere and check you still need that shortcut available.

• Place your files iinto their appropriate folders - I will go into more depth on how to decided what folders are needed in a future article. This way you can find that file if you need it quickly.

• Back up your device regularly in case you drop it, get it wet or it stops working. I back up to two external devices in case one fails and also to the cloud. This may seem excessive, but I have been in a situation where my backup drive has failed and I have not used a cloud service, then my laptop has failed and I lost everything!

• Always download the updates for your devices when they come out. Many of them improve your functionality and will have security features.

• Keep your waste bin clear - just like you do in your house. A regular emptying removes a lot of space on your drives.

Quarterly tasks:

Just like you have a regular clear out in your house, you also do a deeper clean a few times a year. The same with your devices. A quarterly deep clean should be scheduled to do those longer tasks.

• One of my jobs involves taking lots of photos of things. I am guilty of not deleting them when no longer needed. I schedule some downtime to do this so that I only keep one or two example of any work I have done for future reference. The same goes with music - do you still listen to it? Delete any films or TV programes you have downloaded and watched. This way you free up loads of space for more.

• A more technical check is to take a look at your hard-drive and do a disk-scan for errors. I will be creating a resource on how to do this. You can also see what types of files are taking up most space and concentrate on this on your clean-up.

• Take a look at your folder setup, does this still make sense for you, are you trying to save too may different files under to one inappropriate heading? If you don’t already have folders set up this is somethinig YOU MUST DO. Just having everything in one place is like having all your clothes in on box. You will never find anyting.

• Do you still need to keep all your files. Have you updated them and saved them with a new name? Do you have mulitple copies? just like physical documents, you don’t need always to keep old ones for ever.

• Another technical one - run your anti-virus checked, and make sure you have no-infections. If you don’t have such software - take a look at some sites to find one that will work for you.

This stuff can be boring, but trust me, it will make your life much easier, make finding things quicker and less frustrating and also elongate the life of your device. Make time for it and make sure you schedule it into your calendar. Do it whilst you are watching TV if you need to!

How to get my life sorted - TAXES

Don’t scream at me, but now the Tax Year in the UK has ended, you really should start preparing for your Tax Return if you do one. They say there are two things you cannot avoid in life - Death and Taxes! Even if you don’t normally have to do a tax return, it is still wise to do a check on your income and expenditure to see if your tax codes is still correct and you don’t have unexpected changes in income which may mean you have either paid too much or too little tax.

I will do a more in-depth feature on tax codes at a later date to help people to understand them. In the mean time, to prepare for your annual tax returns you should find the following items:

1. Payslips for each month/job you have had during the year - even if they are electronic, download them and save them somewhere you can find them.

2. Check which jobs you are still employed at, and find out when you will get your P60. This is an imporant document - do not loose it! You may also get other documents from work if you have a car or expenses paid to you.

3. Go through your bank statements, and check all the income you have coming in - make sure you can account for it - this includes benefits and interest. Your bank should provide a statement of annual interest and any tax they deducted a few months after the end of April.

4. Have a glass of wine or beer.. and breath

Find a pretty folder or box to keep all your financial information in. If you have your P60, and it all matches up, you don’t really need to keep more than one year of your payslips if they are paperbased. Keep this based on tax year to make it simple.

Check you can log-onto the website to make your return, you may need to ask for the login details if you have lost them, so the sooner you do this the better. Find or download last years return so you can see what you entered on that. Usually you should have the same items to enter. Find any charity donations if you have said they can claim tax, think about your pension payments, who makes those? Do you have any membershiops you need to be able to work such as registrations with accounting bodies, legal bodies etc, or uniforms you have to maintain?

Now wait, wait until you get all your P60’s and interest payments together, then do your return immediately.

If you do it immediately without waiting and putting it off, you will feel so much better an can boast about this to your friends. This also means that if you have tax to be repaid, you can get this sooner than the deadline, you can also get help with questions or queries, the Inalnd Revenue don’t bite - call them if you have a question, they are very helpful. Good Luck!

How to get my life sorted - Easter Decor

As we move through false summer, back into winter snows, from T-Shirts to Woolly jumpers again, this week I thought I would focus on Easter and some ideas around decorating your home for this magical time of year.

Easter is relatively late in 2022, in around Mid-April. Making this post about two weeks before the actual date, will give you time to do some of the suggested activities with any children you have.

Easter decorations need not be too over the top, but can add some fun and joy to your house if you are missing the Xmas decorations. There are two main themes for Easter decor as you may already have guessed:

1. Eggs

2. Rabbits

But you don’t have to stick to tradition, bring in spring flowers and baby chicks to mix it up a bit.

EGGS

Eggs are great things to decorate with at Easter, and kids can join in as well. You shoud have boxes of eggs hard boiled fo them to help you decorate. You can start off the fun by adding food dye to the water when you boil them to colour the eggshells before you start. Kids can then use paint to create designs of their own. Or you can use the plain dyed eggs to create baskets, wreaths or other decorative items with them. You can get egg shaped plastic or ceramic items from hobby shops if you don’t want to use real eggs.

You could even use Balloons as very large eggs. Get children to decorate them when flat, and see how their pattterns change when they get inflated!

Here is a post about how to ‘blow-out’ eggs if you want to use this method, and here is how to hard-boil eggs for decorating.

Rabbits

Rabbits are associated with Easter because of their link to fertility and it is because of this, they have been chosen to bring the Easter Eggs to all. Using Bunnies in decor could get to twee or over the top, but there are ways of incorporating them in your decor. Use silhouettes on cards and decorate them gaudily, add a motif to a table cloth edge or buy ready prepared table cloths, tea-towels or cushions.

You could learn Macrame or Origami to fold paper or cloth into rabbit shapes - a bit more time is needed here! Instead of Rabbits, perhaps add in some chicks or lambs to symbolise spring and fertility. Cotton wool balls and pipe-cleaners are you friend here.

Finally, don’t forget to add in spring flowers, such as daffodils, tulips and so on, which bring in colour and fragrance to a room. Use pastel colours for your table clothes/linen when setting the table, and have fun.

Here is a great article with more tips about creating your own Easter Decor.

How to get my life sorted - Area Rugs

Area Rugs

Rugs are very useful things in staging a home, they warm a space up, add colour and texture and also help in breaking a large space up. A rug will help to break up the floor and allow you to specify an area for a particular purpose, These are most helpful in a multi-purpose room, where you have can have say a kitchen, dining and living area.

When choosing a rug or rugs for a room, you should think about:

• What type off floor you have

• How much texture or depth of pile

• Which colours or patterns to choose

• What size you need

The type of floor is important. For example, for wooden or tiles floors, you may need to add some gripping tape to hold the rug in place, for carpeted floors, carpet tape may be needed. Harder floors may also lead you to a softer rug with more pile depth. Wood tone or darker floors may lead to lighter colours and so on.

The deeper the pile, the softer it is, however, you probably don’t want a deep pile beneath a dining table or in the kitchen or hallway, but it would be great in a bedroom or living area.

Selecting a colour or pattern for a rug is another minefield. Although you can choose colours that are up-to date, you probalby won’t want to go too fashionable as you won’t be changing the rug as often as, say, a cushion or throw. A decent rug will be around for many years, and will also be on full display - it can be quite an investment piece.

Be guided by your room decor and flooring. If you are looking at a neutral room, add a slight pattern, but in muted colours. Pick up on the colours for throws and cushions. Or be brave and add a slash of colour with your rug, go for a deep shade of contrast to your decor, perhaps find a small element from any wallpaper or curtains you have, or a vase or piece of art already there.

Contrast to your flooring if wood or tiles, or go tonally slightly darker if it is a plain carpet. For any patterned carpets or tiles, pick a plan rug, perhaps in one of the colours of the floor. Adding more pattern will not work and will make a room look more busy.

In my view, go for the largest you can fit in and afford. For a bed, have it big enough to fit underneath, and leave a decent amount sticking out each side and at the end. This gives a feeling of luxury and is soft when you are barefoot at night and in the mornings.

For a Dining Room, have enough space that the chairs fit on the rug when pushed in and pushed out so you are not half on and half off the rug when eating. This is bigger than you think!

For Living rooms, you can either have the rug under the sofa/chairs or just in the centre. It depends up on the size of the room you have and potentially if it is carpeted or wood/tiled floors.

Here is a great guide to sizing a rug and placing it in the spaces I have mentioned. Finally, have fun with a rug, even though it could be an investment piece, it is not stuck down, and can be moved/changed if needed. Keep them clean, and use an upholstery cleaner once in a while to refresh them.

How to get my life sorted - Spring colours

SPRING!

Spring is here, trees are budding, flowers are bursting forth and everything is gettting greener and more colourful. Spring is probably my favourite time of the year, as everyone seems more positive and joyful. Despite the showers, you do get some lovely warm days reminding you of what’s to come. However, spring is a tricky month to use as inspiration when decorating, but it can be done.

When thinking about a spring colour palette, then vibrant colours ‘spring’ to mind. They are probably too much for a whole room, but are great for accent walls, or furnishings. Below are some suggestions for spring colours that could be used.

For walls, the paler green colours are soothing, and would be great for rooms with loads of sunshine and light, or for bathrooms or kitchens. Paler tones of the purples or duck egg would work in bedrooms, and all the colours could be used for cushions, accent walls or rugs, bedding or decor objects in all rooms.

This is not a palette for the shy and retiring or those who shy away from colour. There is nothing soft about this palette. But you can tone it down by moving down the tonal ranges of each colour, or using them sparingly. It is a lovely fresh palette, reminding you what is great about the season - light, bright and cheerful.

Keep to the greens to keep it fresh, the purples and blues could be used for calming spaces such as a bedroom or lounge. Either would work in an office, depending if you need a calm or fresh space to work in.

Above is an example of a gorgeous spring decor theme for a bedroom. Lovely fresh green walls and bedding, white and brass accent, mid-tone wood floors and furniture, simple clean and fresh. Loads of light, and mininal decor - very calming and restful. This theme would also work in a bathroom or kitchen.

if you want a little less minimalist room, you could add plants as an extra decor item, or nature inspired pictures for more decor, and cream or white accents would also add to the overall look.

If you are looking for a darker decor, use the purple for the walls, and bedding, and darker wood floors and furniture. Accent with cream or white again, and plants will also be a good addition to the room.

This is a great season for those who are not afraid of colour. You can go fresh or calm, or just use the colours for accents on a neutral palette.

How to get my life sorted - Pancakes!

This week is pancake week (Known formally as Shrove Tuesday). I could do a blog on pancake fillings, but this will have been all over the place this week. What I want to do is to take a look at how to make your pancakes look pretty when served. So this blog will look at crockery and how to choose it for your specific needs.

Crockery is the sort of item that normally you only buy once or twice in your life. It is an investment and you will use it daily for a long time. Sometimes you may have a chance to ask others to purchase for you for example if you get married, or you buy for yourself.

As you only buy crockery once or twice, you should choose your set carefully. It maybe that you don’t need or want a traditional set, so individual quirky items may be more suitable. I would like to also offer up the thought that you don’t need a special or ‘best’ set, just use your good crockery every day!

CHOICES

Before you buy, think about your life now and how it may change in 10-15 years. When you eat, do you have multiple courses. What portion sizes do you have, do you eat formally or just casually. How many are you normally, do you do entertaining. Do you serve everything onto each plate or use bowls/platters for people to serve themselves.

Be honest, would youi like to do entertaining, but don’t have the place settings to do so. Or do you always say you want to entertain, but it’s not a high priority? All of these questions, will inform what your needs will be for your crockery. It may be better that you buy individual unique dinner plates and bowls only, or a full 24 piece set. Think about your decor and style of living. Formal or informal, modern, traditional or eclectic.

Now for the fun bit - choosing your items. You should now know what you want, so start looking, look at pintrest sites, go into shops and feel the items, look on-line, if you do go out, see if you like your hosts or your restaurant crockery. Take your time. Perhaps buy one plate and take it home to see how it fits with your decoor. Check it fits where you want to store it and how it looks on your table. Once you make a decision, then only buy what you need, and perhaps a couple of spares in case of visitors or breakages. Check washing instructions and look after it. A good set of crockery can last for years. Enjoy!

How to get my life sorted - That scary drawer

We all have one, that scary drawer which has become a dumping ground. This blog post will help you to tackle this drawer, and any other messy cupboards/drawers in an organised way.

You can declutter and organise as much as you want, but there always seems to be one space that defies tidying. It gathers items that don’t seem to fit elsewhere, more and more items get put in it and you tend to open and close it quickly, pushing items down so it can shut.

I would suggest going with a divide and conquer method for an area such as this. But make it fun, put some music on, have some snacks and a drink to hand. Lots lof light and fresh air helps too.

DIVIDE & CONQUER

Tip the drawer out on a flat surface, go-on, just tip it out. Put the drawer aside to be cleaned and re-packed later. Start putting like items together in piles. I expect you will have things like:

1. Spare keys

2. Cables/plugs

3. Receipts/paperwork

4. Household items such as screws, alan-keys, radiator keys, etc

5. Other objects

Keep going until everything is in a pile, even if it is unique. Then move the piles into groups. Put all household items together, paperwork together Tech items, etc.

Once you have your piles, go through them carefully, be brave and throw away anything that you can’t identify - check keys and cables, get rid of those that are no longer used. Get rid of receipts that are more than a month old, (apart from warrranties or items you may return). File those with the rest of your paperwork. Find your other home-maintenance items, and put odd screws and other items with them. If you don’t have a kit, find a box and put them in together.

Slowly reduce the stuff you have until you have only useful items that don’t belong elsewhere left. Find some small boxes or dividers to break up your drawer and ‘file’ these items together in these boxes. Label up these boxes so you can see what is in each one.

This way you will have a neatly divided drawer, with spaces for any other items brought in to be ‘filed’. Do a four times a year audit of this drawer to make sure that nothing old or unusable has snuck back in.

How to get my life sorted - Remote working post-covid.

During the past years, those of us that could took to a life of remote working. It was a great shock to the system, and for those of you with kids at home, a struggle to keep them motivated and working too.

As we are now slowly moving towards a more normal life, thoughts turn to going back to your workplace and the kid being permanently at school. This would be a good time to sit down and think about if you want to continue to remote work, go back to the office full-time or have a hybrid deal. I hope this blog will help in making that decision and how you implement it. It will help you think about 3 things in this decision:

1. Your situation

2. Home/work space

3. Plannng (as always).

YOU:

With this choice, you have to be selfish. What is best for YOU. If you are unhappy, your life and those in it will see and will also be affected. What worked before may not be the best for you. Think through the pros and cons of the options, what make you happiest, what makes you have a good work/life balance, what make you the most productive and therefore your employers happy.

Be brutal and honest. This is probably the only time you will be able to make a proper informed choice on this. All at work and all at home are the most polarised, I suggest that a hybrid version may become the most popular choice here for most people.

HOME/WORK SPACE

After making your decision, make an audit of your home and work spaces. Do you need to adjust the space at home, make a more formal workspace. At work, do you now need to move to hot-desking, and therefore reduce the amount of personal stuff at work. Can you do things more efficiently in each space?

A good chair is very important and its worth trying a few out an investing in this, as you will be spending quite a while it. Look for back specialist chairs, who can advise of the best type to help you keep healthy. A good desk is also needed, perhaps a stand/sit one - another investment. Take a look at the Tax implications and what you can claim as well.

https://www.backinaction.co.uk/ is a good place to start for ergonimic chairs and desks

PLANNING

Moving to Hybrid working, spending 2/3 days at home and the remainder at work permanently will be a big change for you and your family. How are you going to manage school runs, what about after school clubs, what happens if someone is ill? But in other ways it may be easier to plan, espcially around deliveries, maintenance and work/life balance.

The transition to Hybrid working needs planning. Even if you have been working at home full-time recently, having to go into work a few times a week raises different issues. Spend some time talking with your partner about the split of duties. Don’t take on all of the ‘housework’ items just beause you are at home, you are working as well. Plan out the split for the first few months, then review how this is going after a couple of months. Keep reviewing and adjusting even though you may feel it is working, things change over time.

How to get My Life Sorted - More time for the Kids

As school holidays are coming up fast, this post will look at how to make more time for you to spend with your kids during their time away from school. They may be off, but you are probably still working full time, perhaps still at home.

Some of the tips from my previous post will still apply, but, as they have more free time, you may need some additional help give you more downtime to be with them.

The four key words here are:

1. Flexibility

2. Planning

3. Sharing

4. Independence

Flexibility:

This involves some negotiation with your work. Perhaps you can see if you can work 1 day less during the school holidays - point out that you will still be able to get your tasks done, that you if you work at home this frees up more time for work. If they agree, perhaps make it a Wednesday, so you have only two days either side of this day to manage without you. If this isn’t feasible, try for shorter days, starting later or earlier, or even being left to organise your own schedule, reducing fixed meetings and focusing on longer tasks that you can break down and take time out now and again to be with your kids. Take a few days holiday - I am sure you have some that you have not taken. Spread them out during the time-off.

If you hate to delegate, make this the time to try it out, leaving you with less on your plate to deal with, freeing up time to take breaks, finish earlier or later and take time off.

Planning:

This is for both you and your kids. Encourage them to work out a schedule of what they want to do each day. Say when you can be available to them to take them places, and when you need to work. Plan your working days to have free time if they are around the house to be with them and eat. Book fun trips in advance, and perhaps take some time off yourself to have longer downtime with them.

Make sure that for any games or craft days that you have got plenty of supplies in. Friends visiting should be included in plans, but make sure they can be outside or somewhere where you will not be disturbed if you have to work at home.

Perhaps work with other parents to plan trips together, with each of you taking turns in accompanying the kids as a group.

Sharing:

Don’t take on the burden yourself, work with others, whether its your partner, work colleagues, relatives, or friends. Start the disussions early on what they can help with, they could be in the house when you absolutely have to work, or take the kids out if you need peace and quiet, take on more work, so you have more free time. Share trips out as larger groups, so your friends also have days when they don’t have their kids with them.

Don’t struggle on. Look for part-time kids play-groups or activities that you can drop your children off for a morning or afternoon, you get to spend the journey with them if you are starting work later or taking more time out for breaks

Independence:

If they are old enough, let this be the time that your kids gain more independence from you. Encourage them to plan their time, and work out what they would like to do. if this involves going somewhere, allow them to travel by themselves (if old enough) and work out the routes to get there. The only caveat is that you know where they are going and that they check in when they get there. This could be an opportunity for life-skills and the outside world is not as scary as you think it is! You could even allow them to make their own meals (and clear up), perhaps making you something at the same time. A good lesson for when they are moving out.

How to get My Life Sorted - WFH with kids

During the recent Pandemic, lots of us got used to working at home, and how to do this when our kids were also at home, whether they were ‘at school’ or on holiday. Although, I hope most of you found ways of coping with this, I thought that I would write this Blog with ideas on how to make the process run more smoothly.

It has been widely reported that a lot of office bound staff will still want to work at home, and, during summer holidays, having the kids at home whilst working from home will still be a thing. In the worst scenario, we may be back in close down again, even for a short while, so being prepared for such an event can only help with planning your time.

The main factors to plan out are:

1. Space

2. Technology incl broadband access

3. Resources (incl knowledge of your childs schooling)

4. Time

Factors explained:

Space is a factor in many city homes, where the adults compete with the children for quiet spaces to work. This is where decluttering and multi-purpose furniture comes into play. Can you replace any bookshelves/bedside cabinets with a desk with shelving, or even go as far as getting a loft bed - a top bunk with a desk and storage underneath for the kids? Is there space for a fold down desk on a wall? (links in section below). If cost is an issue, look for items on freecycle or ebay that are free or second hand. If all else fails, clear off any dining table or island, or find lap tables that can be used on chairs or sofas. Work out if you are best working in the same room as your kids or separation is key. If separation is needed, perhaps swap over to each others space every half a day or day to change it up. However you do it, designate spaces for work and make them clear and easy to set up .

Technology is next. Do you and your kids have the tools they need to work? If you are working from home, ensure that your work provides a laptop or other technology for you. This may free up any other technology you have at home for your kids. if you are struggling with appropriate stuff, check in with your school who may be able to provide some IT for your kids to school at home, or charities such as Re-boot or Re-use. Ask you work what they do with old lap-tops, perhaps they can start by donating them, or making them available for their employees kids? Check what is really needed, will a desktop work instead or a large ipad and keyboard?

As for Internet Access, again, this needs to be sufficient for all of you to work at home on video calls. Check if your mobile phone or TV package provider has offers on, talk to them about your situation and see if you can get a deal, or, again talk to your work or the school to see if they can support you - work should pay for some of your internet access if you work at home.

Resources - logins, books, stationery, planners, these are all needed for your kids and you to work from home. Be sure you know how to access your kids on-line resources, check out what is there, and if there is anything missing, please let your school know that it would be helpful. Ensure you know your kids time-tables and any homework needed. Have a wall planner - take a look at my previous Blog on planning for ideas. Can you get books on-line rather than buying physical copies, what about paper to scribble on? Make sure you have plenty of supplies including for Art and breaks.

Finally, Time. This is one of the top problems. You need to work your hours, but your kids also need support for their school work. One simple suggestion is to use the time you would have spent travelling to and from work for reviewing your childs school plans for the next day, to ensure you have everything needed, and both of you understand what is to be done. Also use this time to help your child to plan out what to do after school when you are still working and also prepare snacks together. Perhaps look at planning your lunch breaks at the same time and any breaks for you to check in on their work or break time. You need screen breaks too.

Planning planning and planning again. Think of the positive of being able to spend breaks and lunch with your child, and helping them when you would normally be travelling.

I hope that this Blog has given you some simple ideas to help with working from home when your kids are around. Below are some links for resources that may be helpful such as multi-purpose furniture, charities for IT and other resources:

Resources:

Drop Down Desk

Kids Multi-purpose desk

Laptop table

Kids IT resources charity

Wall Planners

How to get My Life Sorted - Independence!

My Life Sorted - Why I am starting up my own business….

I thought I would share with you all my reasons for setting up my own business and what I aim to achieve in my life. Whilst everyone’s journey is different. I hope that this story will resonate with someat their stage in life.

Most of my working life I have worked 9-5 in an office, although in very different businesses from charities to high tech industry .com’s. i mainly joined a business to tackle problems, then move on, once they were back on the straight and narrow. I found i was very good a rolling up my sleeves and tackling the mountains of issues that were waiting for me, and was willing to spread my wings over vast areas that needed support.

When I hit 30, I took myself off abroad to become a chalet host and have the gap-year that I missed before college. This stretched out for nearly two years, before i returned to the UK. From then on, I started to plan out my life in 4 year cycles. Where did I see myslelf, how do I get there. I (mostly) achieved what I set out each time, although with some bumps in the road.

When I was made redundant in 2016, I thought would go freelance - I was an IT Project Manager at that time and had seen the opportunities out there. However, after my first contract I decided that it was not for me. The daily grind and drama was more than I wanted at that stage in my life (I was heading for 50 for goodness sake!).

So, I took a few months out, and a diploma in Interior Design, to plan how I wanted to last third of my working life to go. I wanted less stress and drama, I wanted to have more flexibiliy to do the volunteering I had started (post-Olympics) and I found I didn’t want or need so much income when I reviewed my budget. Luckily I had some small regular income from property that would let me survive day-to-day (just) so I was able to look for a career that would make me happy and make use of all the skills I had absorbed over my working life - accountancy, office management, HR, Company Secretary, reading legal documents and understanding them!. Interior Design had always been a passion since young, so what to do….

I thought then about becoming an Interior Designer so I started a degree in Interior Design, thinking of going down that route full time to eventually set up my own business.

I found a job in a well known tile/paint/bathroom shop two days a week to see how I iked the Interior Design area, and also worked part time at a company as an office manager/administrator/girl friday. Again I had filled up my time but at least I was not part of the daily grind and had more time free.

After a while, I reviewed my life again, and decided to change it up once more. Although I enjoyed my work, I was back at full time - not what I had planned at al!!

I gave the office manager role and started planning to set up my own business. I had heard of Virtual PA work and had binge watched Marie Kondo and other organising programs and tackled my house from top to bottom. Suddenly a thought popped into my head. I am great at sorting things out! I can tackle most work tasks (not selling- hopeless at selling), I have an eye for design and colour and can sort out and stage the heck out of small spaces.

Thus the My Life Sorted concept. Three strands that people may need help with - design of lovely homely spaces, sorting out administrative tasks for peoples, business or home life and then decluttering and staging a home to renew their love of their home or to sell it. I hope to take the burden off people to enjoy their life more, and allow them to have more time for fun (as I do).

It has take almost 30 years of working and planning to come to this point, but I feel liberated and joyful and full of hope. Tears, and frustration are to come I know, but I now feel I am heading in the right direction for my life and learning new things all the time (Blogging for one).

I hope you have enjoyed this stream of consciousness of how i came to this point in my life and that you may find a small element to take, review and think about for your life. In the mean-time, I am here to help you with your life, be it home, work or life.

How to get My Life Sorted - Review your plans

After a few weeks of the doing stage, take a step back and look at how you have done. How many tasks have you achieved! Well done for that, but don’t worry or get anxious if you have not got as many as you planned or wanted. Its better to achieve some things and then learn from what didn’t work.

Take this time to review your progress and see how much you have ticked off. If you have not completed as many tasks as you wanted, take a look why not. Did you try to put too much into your day, did you attempt tasks that youi didn’t have the tools to completed, did other areas of your life get in the way. Be honest with your self!

Then look at changing what you have planned in over the next few weeks. Can you assign tasks to other people, are they really in the correct order of priority? Plan again, then take another review after a few weeks. This is the routine you need to get into to power through your tasks. Plan, review, replan and then review again.

`You will quickly find that your to-do list will shrink and you will find it easier to get things organised into your life. It WILL be come second nature after a while and you will find yourself doing it without thinking.

I hope that this mini-series will help you with tackling your to-do list and reduce the list of outstanding tasks to a more manageable level. Here are some other resources to help you with planning and reviews. Also a resource to help with reducing feelings of panic or anxiety if your tasks seem too overwhelming.

Good Luck! and please add any comments or questions you have and I will try to help you.