I’ve fallen down a bit of a rabbit hole, looking at old styling pictures of when ‘winter feasting’ was thing! Probably not this year, but that doesn’t mean that Winter 2020 needs to be absent of table decorating and feasting joy.

Cast your mind back a few years:

I’m super excited to share these pictures from a dreamy winter styling job I did last year.

I love Christmas in a similar way I love the other seasonal celebrations through the year (May Day, Spring solstice, mid summer etc.) but there is something especially cozy and magical about Christmas time. This year is bound to be different to the usual Christmas full of festivities and gatherings that we are used to, but there is no reason for it not to be special and magical regardless.

Imagery is the MOST important element in any business selling goods or services online. However, in light of COVID and with the busiest trading period just around the corner, many businesses are having to adapt to a very quickly changing market. Many are focusing their efforts onto online selling, and are finding that they need to create imagery that really stands out.

Unless you are planning on working with a photographer throughout the year, you will probably need to learn to take decent photos of yourself and your wares.

If you struggle to see results with your decluttering, then I have a trick to share with you. It shouldn’t be used alone, but doing this will have the biggest impact on how your home feels when you’re decluttering. watch the video or read the content below.

Today, i’m continuing my mini-series about clutter! I shared my simple decluttering method in this post, and this week i’m talking about some of the surprising ways clutter drags us down. If you haven’t read the last post, hop over there now.

Before I get into the ways clutter brings us down, I want to start by saying that some clutter and mess are normal.

We’re NOT aiming for perfection. A perfect decluttered home can be an unattainable standard we hold ourselves too. It can play into the capitalist and patriarchy driven message that women should be the ones doing domestic labour, and should be doing it perfectly. In my world, however, decluttering and home styling are actions to help us to create a sanctuary space that reflects our personalities and loves and holds us safe. In my world we don’t talk about “if” clutter and mess build-up, but how to handle it “when” it does. When you have fewer things, and it all has a place, it’s so much quicker and easier to tidy up.

If you’ve been around here long enough you’ll know how much I love the concept of ‘home’ and my conviction that what we put in them, and how we organise and style them, has a huge impact on our happiness. Part of that for me is encouraging ethical consumption where possible. Fast interiors are following swiftly on the heels of fast fashion with its impact on the environment and the fact it disproportionately affects BIPOC. Building a home (or wardrobe- two of the main ways we express our identities) on those foundations feels… not ideal. I’m not directing this at people who genuinely don’t have the funds available, and the odd piece here and there might be a good in-between option for folk who are transitioning to more ethical choices. Anyway- back to the point of this post! My favourite place to find interiors treasures could be summarised as second hand; whether via shops and markets or second hand selling sites. But more specifically, I have found lots of lovely things recently on Facebook marketplace. In the images below, the collection of vintage fans were from Facebook Marketplace last year (for £6 and a 20-minute drive, not bad eh?), and last week I spotted this framed Picasso print for £10! I couldn’t believe it and the lovely seller even dropped it to my home.

Meet the result of Lockdown and cabin fever: our new pallet seating area!

It really feels like a whole new room has been added to the house. We knew we wanted to create a seating area here but we had a few limitations. We rent so couldn’t make any permanent changes, we had a small budget, and there is a flower bed along the bottom of the wall on the left. Where possible we wanted re-use or recycle things. We also wanted it to feel really comfortable and luxurious- like a proper outdoor sofa. So here’s what we did!

I really believe in the power of our homes. Our environment has a huge effect on our happiness and the happiness of our families (even if they don’t consciously realise it!) and the science backs it up. Home is where we are spending more time than ever before, thanks to COVID. So when that space is cluttered, messy, and joyless, it’s not surprising that it affects our mood and brings us down. Clutter has a really dampening effect on our energy levels and the way our homes feel.

often mainstream advice about decluttering and home styling is a little bit overwhelming for those of us who are juggling work, childcare, health conditions, and overwhelm. My approach to decluttering and home styling can be summed up as:

This Saturday is the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year, and it’s s wonderful thing to Celebrate. I usually suggest having friends over, and whilst this may be possible with social distancing, it isn’t for us with the kids, so it’ll just be the 4 of us. This is how we’re planning to celebrate it! My newsletter subscribers got this first (are you signed up yet?) but I wanted to put it here too.

I haven't sent one of these for a while. After lockdown, I wasn't sure how many lovely things there were to celebrate each month, or how welcome this content would be at this time, especially as so much of it I connected to nature. But after doing some soul searching, maybe this is exactly the sort of thing we need at the moment. Maybe some pure nature shaped escapism can provide a much needed respite from virus doom. So here I am, with a slightly different version of my monthly newsletter; things to make, do and celebrate in this month of May. Because it is a very sweet month.

With many of us in our home more than ever before, LOTS of folk are looking to refresh and revamp things a little. Kitchen and bathroom salesrooms have been overrun with enquiries and online Home & Garden retailers have experienced a huge spike in traffic and sales. It makes sense doesn’t it?! We’re more aware than ever of the parts of our homes that need attention, are stressing us out, are no longer working, or we’re simply bored of!

I‘ve created two new offerings, a free decluttering and home styling challenge called The Fresh Nest Challenge , and a brand new e-course called The Fresh Nest (doors close Thursday!) that goes into lots more depth on everything we touch on in the challenge. I created both of these way before lockdown, but they feel more necessary than ever.

The live challenge is officially over 😭but I have turned it into something people can sign up to anytime. Join here https://hannahbullivant.com/challenge-page for 7 days of emails that will help you to declutter and style your home. Each day has 2 versions of the homework- a quick win (doable in 10 mins) and tasks for those with more time. That means it’s great even for those that are feeling really overwhelmed right now!