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Some fast and effective ways to channel that less is more ethos in your living area Content sponsored by FANCL

It is never too late to follow the wise teachings of Marie Kondo and start decluttering your home, creating a cleaner, more organised living area that will bring some much-needed serenity to your busy day. Some simple changes in the bedroom, bathroom and living room will cut out unnecessary stress and allow you to make the most of your downtime at home.

See also: A Fresh Start: 7 Ways To Spring Clean Your Home

The bedroom

Decluttering your home can be a daunting process so ease into it by targeting the areas that you spend the most time in. Simply cutting back on the items around your bed might make a world of difference, creating an oasis of calm that will help you feel more relaxed, closer to bedtime.

Start by minimizing the items on the bedside table—everyone loves to lounge in bed, so it is tempting to keep everything within arm’s reach, whether it is your laptop, phone, collection of books, water bottle or lip balm. Limit the amount to just a few essentials—such as the book you are currently reading, a glass of water and a candle. If you have a long list of favourites that you love to have at your bedside, consider investing in a table with a small drawer to store away items such as your journal, hand cream and aromatherapy oils.

It might seem odd to invest in more items when you are trying to declutter but a pretty, roomy basket provides a home to stash away the extra blankets, pillows, hot water bottle, fluffy socks and other items that you sometimes need at night and want to have within easy reach, but which becomes unnecessary clutter on other days.

See also: 4 Unique Ways To Organise And Arrange Your Closet

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The bathroom

More often than not, your bathroom is the first place you head to once you wake up and start to get ready for a day at work. All of us are guilty of having a bathroom cabinet crammed with half-empty bottles of toner, serum, moisturiser and more—some of which are slowly inching towards their expiry date and are getting less effective by the day as they are already opened. Be diligent about keeping just the products that you use regularly, so you can streamline your beauty routine and make sure all the products are at its best.

If you’ve amassed a lot of samples and travel-sized beauty products, stash it all away in a box and dip into it when you are packing for a holiday—trial-sized packs of moisturisers and sleeping masks are ideal for long-haul flights. Make sure you choose a transparent storage container, so you will remember it’s there and needs to be used up.

Tatler Asia
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The living room

All of us lead busy lives and we are all prone to using our dining table and chairs, or coffee table, as the place to dump our mail, coats, gym bags, half-eaten snacks and more when we get home.

A good start on the road to decluttering your living room is to make the dining area and coffee table a strict, no-go zone for items that are not there for decorative purposes. If you are prone to leaving your bills and the items that you need daily around, like your bags, files and scarves, take some time to designate a home for them and stick to it. For the other bits and bobs, such as the never-ending collection of forms, bank brochures, take-out menus and notes that we all can’t seem to get rid of, stash them all away in a box or cupboard first and then be disciplined about sorting through the pile whenever you have a spare moment.  

Having a clean and aesthetically pleasing tabletop, for both your dining and coffee table, is a noticeable way of clearing clutter from the living room and will motivate you to tackle the other areas around the home that are not as conspicuous but will still need organising.

Less is more from home decoration to skincare. Learn more about practising clean beauty routines at fancl-hk.com

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