5 Things I've Simplified in my Home
From candles to cleaning to all that tea...
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I’m always looking for ways to streamline and simplify and, after nearly 15 years of helping people edit and organize their homes, I’ve picked up some life hacks I wanted to share with you.
There are certain products I’ve found most people own far too many of. Among them - cleaning products, food storage containers, sheets and towels, shower products, candles, vases, and gift wrap. And don’t get me started on boxes and boxes of tea. Who is drinking all of this tea?
OK. Let’s get to it. Here’s how I’ve streamlined and simplified these common clutter culprits in my own home.
Sheets and Towels
A few years ago I donated all of our very sad sheets and towels to a no-kill animal shelter and splurged on new linens which make me happy every single day. My rule of thumb is 2x sets of sheets per bed and 1-2x nice bath towels per person. To make things simple I bought the exact same crisp, white sheets for everyone (we all have queen beds). Who has time to cull through piles of sheets wondering which bed they belong to? Not I.
I’ve also been on the hunt for a good towel for years (literal years), and I believe the search is finally over. This super plush oversized version is from Havly, a small, family-run company. Each towel has a sturdy loop for hanging on hooks, and you can order white towels with a different colored loop for each member of the family (which is a stroke of genius). Hands off my plush towel, germy children!
Cleaning Products
When a friend of mine raved about Branch Basics, a non-toxic, fragrance-free cleaning concentrate that can be combined with varying amounts of water to create every single product you need for your entire home, I gave it a go. Now there’s simply no going back. I know I sound like an infomercial, but this single product has replaced every other cleaning product in our home. You can use code SHIRAGILL for 15% off a starter set if you want to give it a try (bonus: they now have glass bottles).
Gift Wrap
I’ve seen so much waste in the gift wrap department, both because people seem overly excited to invest in JUST SO MUCH OF IT, and because most gift wrap is not biodegradable. My solution is to pair butcher paper with baker’s twine, or a pretty cloth ribbon for the holidays. I also love to tuck a little sprig of rosemary or lavender in under the ribbon to keep things festive. This solution takes up very little space and is significantly more earth-friendly. Win x2.
Candles
Raise your hand if you own more candles than you could ever burn (many of them coated in a layer of dust). I used to own SO MANY CANDLES. I would buy them and save them for some elusive someday, and then they would get dusty and sticky and gross. What a waste. Now I only allow myself three candles at a time, and I replace them once they’ve been burned.
Shower Products
Truth time: I’ve seen my share of shower and bath products and have been blown away by the staggering volume most families own. Dozens and dozens of lotions and potions and face masks and serums (oh, my!). I’m all for getting clean but…
Since I share one small bathroom (with minimal storage) with my family of four, we share a single body wash, face wash, shampoo, and conditioner. We store them in matching, hotel-style pump dispensers, and replace only when we’re running low. This system has saved us boatloads of money and so much preventable waste.
And as for the tea? We’re not really tea drinkers, so we just keep a box of decaf herbal and English breakfast on hand for guests. And the best part… they were given to me by a nice client who had so much tea she started giving full boxes away to anyone who came over. Thanks, Zoe!
What systems or products have you used to simplify your home? Please share in the comments below!
Photography Credit: Vivian Johnson
I also got rid of all scented candles except 2! A few years ago I gave away every one I didn’t LOVE (including the scents I liked but they gave me a bit of a headache). We keep one nice, clean scent in the bathroom (currently grapefruit and thyme!) and one in the kitchen. It makes me much pickier with choosing a replacement and I make sure to only get natural scents that won’t hurt my head.
Our towel situation is similar too! We have 2 towels for each person - so 8 towels for our family of 4. This is plenty. Even when we have guests, it’s never an issue. And I don’t reuse towels! Though the rest of the family does. It keeps laundry easier too. No mountains of towels. Just one mountain, easily folded. ;)
We also only have one type of food storage container - just the round glass Pyrex bowls in 3 sizes, 3 of each size. Easy!
I also pared down my socks and underwear to only what I love. Enough for one week is plenty, because I do laundry at least once a week at a minimum.
I love hearing what others do to simplify! :)
(Thank you for your work by the way! Came to find you on Instagram back in the day - but I’ve since deleted it and gotten on Substack instead. Thankful to find you again here!)
The candle thing is genius. Whenever my mom is visiting we go to TKMaxx (she lives in Portugal now so a trip to TKMaxx when she visits us in the UK is a rare treat) and smell all the candles, choosing the best 2-3. I tend to have a candle burning on my desk and had a phase of candlelit baths so they don’t last forever, and the big pots they come in are super useful for desk/under sink organisation (put them in the freezer and the leftover wax just pops out).