Aire continues its meetings! Discover the interior of Aurélie Malau and her family. She had her house built according to her storage needs. You will discover all her layout and storage tips to make your living space warm and functional.
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Aurélie. I live with my two daughters and my partner in Vendée near Les Sables d’Olonne for 9 years. We are on our second construction project.
Why did you decide to create a YouTube channel about storage? How did the idea come to you?
Originally, my YouTube channel wasn’t about storage. It was a channel where I talked about topics that interested me. With the construction of our second house, we focused our videos on interior decoration and storage. I thought it was nice to document the renovation. It’s the kind of videos I like to watch on YouTube.
Our first house didn’t match our storage habits. That’s why we decided to build a new one. The first house was bought off-plan. The second was designed by an architect. It had to be adapted to the family’s needs. Everything was carefully thought out.
We feel much better in this house. We can organize ourselves better.
How did you come up with the ideas for layout and decoration? How did the process go?
This house was built based on what he we were missing in the previous one I knew we were missing a desk. We needed a piece of furniture to store my computer equipment and papers. So we imagined a large closet in the office when designing the house plans.
In your opinion, where should one start when wanting to redesign their space?
We have a fairly minimalist lifestyle. We don’t have a lot of furniture. We did a lot of sorting. The starting point is to say that everything must have a place . We knew what we needed. So we found furniture based on the storage we required.
There are storage solutions that can really simplify your life..
How do you make a choice when it comes to keeping and throwing away?
First of all, You should not keep things in duplicate. There are lots of clothes and toys in the kids’ rooms. You have to part with them, recycle or donate them when they’re no longer useful. You have to focus on the essentials.
What advice would you give a family so they don’t lose motivation halfway through their tidying process?
I really feel that minimalism adapts to everything. We don’t have to empty our house to become minimalist. To tidy up: You shouldn’t do it room by room, but piece of furniture by piece of furniture. The workload will be lighter. Let’s say that for a month, each week, we sort one piece of furniture. We won’t get discouraged.
I recommend making three piles:
- What we keep
- What we give away
- What we want to throw away
We renew the girls’ wardrobes as they grow. I wait a week or a month after to sort toys if needed. We wait for them to be there for the sorting. It’s more pleasant.
Dedicating a whole weekend to tidying up isn’t appealing. So we spend 3 hours a day on it, then come back later. The main thing is to do it well. It can take two months. It doesn’t matter. What counts is that we manage to have a tidy and organized home.
What are your rules at home?
I organize clothes by color. I don’t have a lot, so it doesn’t take me much time.
I sort the clothes :
- I put the strap tops in the wardrobe first, because they’re the lightest.
- Next, I put the short-sleeved tops.
- Then those with long sleeves.
What are the hardest items for you to store? What’s your tip?
Papers take up a lot of space in an office. The easiest way is to organize and store them in binders and elastic folders.
Kitchen utensils are also hard to store. The furniture isn’t always suitable. Shelves make organization complicated. I put everything in plastic baskets. It’s more practical and easy to clean.
I got small bookshelves for the shoes. Each family member has 3 or 4 dedicated shelves. It’s quite practical.
Which space do you find the hardest to organize?
We don’t have many pieces of furniture in the bathroom . Apart from a few beauty products, we try to focus on the essentials. So we have two pieces of furniture. I sorted my beauty items into dedicated baskets or jars.
Find the rest of Aurélie's interview by Aire In one week!
Interview conducted by Imane Charkaoui
Layout by Coralie Mottu
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