The new year is always a time to reflect and renew.
There’s much to love about the weeks to come as the days lengthen, the first, green shoots of snowdrops appear and we set out afresh with new goals for the year ahead.
And now the Christmas decorations are safely packed away for another year, it's time to declutter, to create calming spaces in our homes to welcome the new season.
Here's how to tackle the unenviable task.
Golden rules for decluttering
Decluttering your home kick-starts the new year as you mean to go on, clearing the mind and de-stressing the body.
Children’s rooms - groaning under the weight of Christmas toys - home offices and kitchen cupboards and drawers are a great place to start.
We love Marie Kondo's principle of sparking joy. Though it's difficult to get rid of items you've had for a long time, working out whether they really spark joy can make it easier to part with them.
And if you follow these golden rules, decluttering can become a constructive, regular habit rather than a painful, once-a-year marathon.
1. Allocate time to declutter - 10 minutes, 30 minutes, an hour. Set your phone timer and stick to it. You'll be surprised how much you get done. Don't try to do your whole house in one go. You'll be demoralised, and exhausted.
2. Ask for help. Find decluttering daunting? Ask a trusted friend or family member to come and help you make sense of your spaces. They'll be much more objective than you when it comes to keep-it-or-throw-it important decisions.
3. Make a list and take before and after photos. Prioritise your most-used rooms and start there, breaking down each room into sections. Little and often is always the best way to approach a whole house declutter.
4. Donate, restore or bin. Get bags ready for charity shop items, pieces that need mending or restoring, and those you're going to bin.
Have a memory box ready for cherished items, but make sure they're really worth keeping. And once you've filled your bags, move them as quickly as possible to their final destination – don't leave them hanging around in the house.
Invest in a generous wardrobe big enough for all your clothes, adding wicker baskets to keep smaller items – think socks, scarves and belts – neat and tidy.
Sideboards are a great solution for hiding must-keep items from spare china and glassware to board games. A dedicated TV unit will keep all the remotes and old-school DVDs tucked away.
5. Divide and conquer. It's a good idea to divide some belongings into categories, ahead of rooms.
Books are a great example of this. Gathering them all together makes it easier to decide which to keep, and which to donate to a better cause.
Invest in smart bookshelves for your most-read tomes, or a dresser like Neptune's Chichester – perfect for displaying treasured objects and family photographs, with cupboards and drawers beneath to hide less pleasing but nonetheless essential items.
6. Think about the storage you need, and the spaces you've got to put it.
From upholstered ottomans and clever office filing systems to bespoke pieces like the Chawton – a modular piece which grows with you and your home – there are myriad solutions to stay organised and clutter-free in every room.
In hallways and boot rooms, a coat rack and shoe storage bench is a must for stashing hats and gloves, plus it's a handy seat for pulling on your boots.
