How To Be Tidy- 20 Top Tips

Always have a notice board to keep all that important paper clutter in one place, and off your work surfaces.

You can store board games, or anything flat for that matter, under the sofa

Decorate shoe boxes in wrapping paper, label them, and store all odds and ends here, rather than in valuable draw space.

Dry your clothes on hangers on a curtain rail if you lack space for a clothes horse.

Anything hollow is a storage space. Use luggage store anything rarely used, such as Christmas decorations, or out of season clothes.

Hang belts and bags on hooks on the back of a door, making them easier to find, and saving space.

You don't need to horde all your magazines, so be ruthless. If there really is an article you want to keep, just cut it out and put them all in one folder.

Make cases for blankets and duvets and use them as extra pillows or cushions in the summer months.

In the kitchen, store all bulky equipment in the space above the cabinets, especially if rarely used.

Make sure mops or brushes have a loop on the handle so it can be hung up, rather than cluttering up floor space.

Tights and socks can be stored in a string shopping bag hung on the inside of a wardrobe door, freeing up a whole draw.

Be imaginative, free up cupboards or draws by keeping towels in a wine rack!

Make a cheap toiletry holder with some simple mesh from a DIY store.

Use all wasted areas in your house, for example store wine under the stairs, not on the kitchen work surface.

Live by lots of close friends? Don't stock up on things you use once a year, just agree with your neighbours to share these things with each other, a great one for students!

Go through the wardrobe and ditch anything you haven't warn in a year unless it is really special. Don't be sentimental, be ruthless.

Store blankets and out of season clothes in vacuum storage bags. Can't afford them? Just use a hoover, thick bin liners, and lots of gaffer tape.

Store loads under the bed. Measure the space before you buy containers, label them, and try not to use more than 3 so it doesn't become a bottomless pit.

Need more bed space? Buy cheap bed lifts, or just use anything from bits of wood to books.

Find in a shared house people use something then do not put it away? Put anything left lying around in a lost property box. If it isn't claimed for sometime, ask if it can be thrown out.