Before you can start stocking mithai ka dabbas or selecting ethnic attire that will help you garner numerous hearts on the gram, the festive season demands clearing the cobwebs and clutter piling up for months in corners of your home. During this time, festive cleaning becomes the primary agenda in every household—everything from crockery to clothes are checked, tidied, and then either placed in storage or discarded. Most people would admit how tiring and chaotic this annual practice can be. Two city-based professional organisers help you with tips that will take care of your cleaning woes.
From global to local
“From having more time for family to creating a stress-free life, organisation contributes to happier living," comments Gayatri Gandhi, founder of Joy Factory—a clutter management company—and India’s First KonMari Consultant while talking about the importance of clean and organised spaces. Gandhi, however, feels that most people, who indulge in 'Diwali cleaning', clean their houses but don't really declutter it. Decluttering your home, she assures, allows for "a vibe that will feel extremely light, happy, and positive".
Gandhi's tips to elevate your home during the festive season are inspired from the Danish concept ‘Hygge’—meaning ‘cosiness’ that can come from making small changes such as lighting candles, baking, etc. The decluttering expert suggests that one switch to yellow lighting in the house—"it makes the home warm and welcoming"—add incense sticks or essential oils to uplift the ambience; enliven your space with indoor plants, etc. Rugs, votive candles, and bright cushions are also great add-ons for those looking to tidy up the space.
Repurpose and upcycle
Shivani Gulati believes that decluttering one's home is a year-round activity and not something that one must reserve only for the festive season. “Cleaning should take place throughout the year, or else it creates stress during the festive time,” she says. Identifying the problems people face while cleaning their houses, Gulati adds, “People don’t know where to begin, the process, and how to organise their belongings. Often, they give up easily or do not know what to do with the decluttered objects—how to manage them.”
To ensure the house is decluttered, Gulati suggests that one repurposes boxes that need to be discarded to make space for storage. “Every house has plastic dabbas, board games boxes, or something similar. These can be used to store other products. In fact, these can be upcycled to ensure they add to the decor of your house, or are used in other ways.” Similarly, old ice trays can be used to store jewellery. Gulati also suggests rearranging furniture so as to give the interiors a new look without really making any material addition.
TIDY YOUR HOME
1. Discipline goes a long way in keeping clutter at bay. Gayatri suggests one to “put back anything that you take out. Assign a home to every item in the house. Store everything vertically instead of horizontally.”
2. To spruce up your living spaces without spending much, Shivani Gulati endorses “upcycle waste bottles and storage boxes to manage the clutter”.