Summer holiday silly season
So it’s almost silly season. The summer holiday juggle. Children are off school, holiday clubs cost a fortune, the weather is unpredictable, friends are filling your news feeds with photos of cocktails on beaches and you’re stuck in a perpetual loop of tidying the house.
Don’t feel discouraged – the summer holidays are an AMAZING opportunity to evaluate how you live in your home.
Here are my top ten tips for maximising the chaos of the summer holidays:
- TAKE NOTICE OF WHAT’S LYING AROUND
Is there clutter everywhere? Kids toys taking over the living space? Piles of shoes at the back door? Stacks of paperwork on the kitchen table? Rather than moving stuff round from space to space, hiding it in cupboards and constantly tidying up – look for the solutions to what is getting you down. Add storage where you need it, use file boxes or organisers for paperwork, install wall hooks for hanging up quick grab clothes and sectionals in drawers for keeping things tidy.
2. DOES YOUR LIVING SPACE SERVE YOUR DOWNTIME?
Do you like to curl up and watch movies? Play board games? Perhaps there are things that you’d like to do as a family, but your current setup doesn’t facilitate these hobbies. Changing your furniture layout to accommodate what you want to use your space for can enhance your enjoyment of the space and make your downtime more easily accessible.
3. DOES YOUR HOME SUPPORT YOUR SOCIAL HOSTING?
If you love having friends and family over (or even if you don’t…but there isn’t a space for your children to hang out with their friends) make sure your home can comfortably accommodate them. Do you have enough seating in the living room or around the dining table? Consider rearranging your furniture to create a more inviting and functional space, or transforming the never used dining room into a chillout room for the teens. Think about flow and how people move through your home during gatherings. Adding a few tub stools for extra occasional seating gives you the flexibility for extra bums on seats.
4. EMBRACE THE OUTDOORS
Don’t forget about your outdoor spaces and remember that they don’t have to be perfect. Whether you have a big garden or a small balcony, make the most of it. Set up a comfortable seating area, string up some fairy lights, and create a space where you can relax and enjoy the summer evenings. Outdoor activities can help burn off some of that excess energy kids have and give you a chance to unwind without being cooped up inside, and a nice outdoor seating set might inspire you to throw a few bbq’s and spend more quality time with friends.
5. CREATE ZONES FOR DIFFERENT ACTIVITIES
In the chaos of summer holidays, it helps to designate specific areas for different activities. Set up a reading nook with cosy cushions and a bookshelf for quiet time. Create an arts and crafts station with all the supplies your kids need to get creative without making a mess everywhere. Having defined zones can help keep the chaos contained and make it easier for everyone to find what they need when they need it (and encourage them away from the screens…)
6. IS YOUR ENTRYWAY FUNCTIONAL?
Hallways are often a neglected space, but it can be a game-changer during the busy summer months and beyond. Set up a functional porch/entryway with hooks for bags and hats, a shoe rack to keep footwear organised and a bench for sitting while putting on shoes. Use baskets or bins to store items like sunscreen, sunglasses, and other summer essentials. A well-organised entryway can help streamline your comings and goings and reduce the clutter that often piles up near the door.
7. DECLUTTER AND DONATE
Summer is a great time to declutter. Go room by room and appraise your belongings to identify items you no longer need. Stuff doesn’t just take up precious physical space, it can often take up valuable mental space too. Encourage your kids to do the same with their toys and clothes. Donating gently used items to charity not only helps others but also creates more space in your home. A decluttered space can significantly reduce stress and make your home feel more open and inviting.
8. ARE MEAL TIMES A CELEBRATION OR A CHORE?
Meal times can be particularly stressful during the holidays. Plan your meals in advance and prepare as much as you can ahead of time. Make sure your kitchen is laid out in a way that is easy to navigate and zoned for different activities (washing/prep/cooking) and get the kids involved in meal prep to keep them occupied and teach them valuable skills. Also, consider setting up a snack station so they can help themselves to healthy snacks without constantly asking you.
9. DO YOU HAVE A MULTI-SEASONAL HOME?
It’s all very well and good having a nice cosy snug with a woodburner for cold, dark winter nights (Lord knows we have enough of them in the UK…) – but if the sun is out then it likely won’t feel like the most inviting space to sit in at this time of year. Think about the orientation of your home and how it could be maximised for different times of year. It’s no good building a conservatory on a dark north facing wall. Plan your home layout to work for you and your lifestyle all year round and think about the impact switching the layout might have on your day-to-day enjoyment of the house.
10. AND FINALLY…EMBRACE THE CHAOS
If we’re incredibly lucky, we have 75 summers. Only 18 with our children. Each and every one of them is precious and finite. If you’re putting off having friends round because your garden isn’t beautifully landscaped yet, turning down their friends for sleepovers because you don’t have the space, or waiting until you can afford your ‘dream home’ to decorate to your tastes, then give your head a wobble. Your life is happening RIGHT NOW. Make it magnificent and enjoy the ride, you don’t know how many more trips around the sun you’ll get so make this summer one not to forget.
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