You do NOT need a Easter Bathmat, ever.
Ok, I am not totally against seasonal changes in your home but I fear we have taken leave of our senses with the utter tat that you can currently buy on our high streets and online
So, do you agree? Grab yourself a cuppa whilst we explore the bonkers world of seasonal decorating
Seasonal decorating, do you do it?
I feel I should start by saying, if you like to change your decor by season by all means go for it! After all doing what you want in your home is what makes our home individual BUT do you really need to do it is my question today.
Did you know that every year 70m items of home decor are thrown away every year. Quite frankly that is a disgusting quantity of items that are ending up in the ground. So are you one if the 62% of Britons who simply throw perfectly good homeware in the bin? Perhaps it is really is time to consider how our “fast decorating” is impacting the planet and our homes.
If you have been here for some time you will know that I am passionate about Home Organisation. To me it is essential that our homes support our day-to-day living. Often our homes are our single biggest investment and where, as women we often spend up to 80% of our day, therefore it is crucial that we can feel calm and operate with ease as we go about our daily operations.
How often do you stop and consider how well your home does this? Do you tune into your gut and listen to what aspects of your home make your life hard? I believe that too many of us instead turn to the ever increasingly easy escape of buying more “stuff” instead. I know this because I have also done it too! I think of myself as a reformed spender. It is reported that the average UK home contains 30,000 items. THIRTY THOUSAND! That is a lot of things.
Each of these things has a cost and I don’t just mean the price your paid for it. I mean, the cost of storing it, the cost of cleaning it, the cost of seeing it everyday, the cost of moving it, the cost of fixing it when it breaks and then the cost of disposing of it. These costs add up and when you multiply it by 30,000 it is no wonder that a majority of us report feeling overwhelmed in our homes.
Easter Bath mats
Yes, the world has literally gone mad
Seasonal decorating has always existed in some form. Since Queen Victoria’s reign we have decorated our homes at Christmas. It has long been common to change your bedding in the warmer months and again to something lighter in the summer BUT where has this growing desire to change our homes seasonally come from? More than a quarter of Britons feel homeware trends are “changing at an increasingly fast pace” and this is certainly amplified on social media by influencers who are always keen to flog us their latest homeware range. The growing cost of going out has meant that UK homeowners are more ready to spend on their homes and I guess if we are spending ever increasing amounts of time in our homes it does make sense we want to mix them up occasionally.
If we leave to one side the harm this does to the planet (after all as consumers we are very good at this) “fast homeware” is full of false promises.
In the 41,000 TikTok videos tagged “seasonal decor” influencers promise that swapping out your homeware can boost your mood, spark joy and even “heal your soul”. Now I can’t wait to be the one to tell you this, but a spring-themed bath mat is not going to improve your mental health!
In fact overconsumption is repeatedly linked to lower wellbeing and even psychological distress. This is where good design comes in.
I want to challenge you to really consider your next homeware purchase. Ask yourself the following questions :
Do I need this item?
How will I dispose of this item?
Would I have liked it 5 years ago?
Will I like it in 5 years time?
Sometimes just putting it in your online basket and coming back to 24 hours later is enough to satisfy that urge to consume!
I truly believe that by bringing back truely conscious decision making to our purchases and really tuning into out gut to make these decisions we will all end up with homes that support us more and look more beautiful as a result.
There is far more meaning and happiness to be found in consistent homeware, stuff we keep forever because it means something and we are connected to it. When we live in a home that truly reflects our personalities that’s when it feels like home.
Has this article changed how you feel about seasonal decor? I’d love to hear your thoughts so please do hit reply to share!