5 Simple Ways To De-Clutter Your Room

The idea of de-cluttering your living space is appealing to everyone. However, if you do not want to stress yourself, and still get rid of all the junk lying around, follow these five simple tips to change the look of your room instantly. The de-cluttering journey is not that painful, it can be extremely fun and creative if you get a few things in order.

Let’s get started with these 5 steps:

Make List— Create a list of places and identify the problem areas. Don’t fret; just remember the de-cluttering process can be extremely joyful if you start with a list. Start with one room and de-clutter one room at a time. The cleaning will give you a sense of accomplishment and will motivate you to continue with more! Also, involve your kids who can help you in cleaning closets, cabinets and desks and will learn the value of a clean living space.

Set a deadline— Give yourself a date and make a chart or mark dates off on a calendar. Trying to clean all at one go will stress you out, instead take time out and de-clutter for 15 minutes every day. Setting a deadline and cleaning rooms according to the list will help you in getting rid of things which you don’t need without tiring you out.

Sort out clothes, shows, bags, accessories individually— As you set out to de-clutter your cupboards and closets, sort out clothes and divide them into categories. Plastic organizers are a great way to keep clothes sorted and in place. You can also adopt the 3-box method to de-clutter your closet. Get three separate boxes; trash, for-keeps and to-relocate. As you fill each of the boxes with individual items, you know which ones are trash, what to keep, and what needs to be relocated. This way you have to clean less and at the same time not feel guilty about owning too many unwanted things.

Use trash bag to de-clutter your room— Its simple! One of the favorite de-cluttering techniques is to keep a trash bag handy, where you can collect and fill all your trash. While most of it will be trash, some can be recycled for better purpose. Without a trash bag, cleaning and keeping it in the same place will double your work and clutter your room further.

When in doubt, don’t throw it out— Remember your old trouser that you haven’t worn in six months, the dress that was discarded since last year, the top that was gorgeous but not fitting you anymore? It’s time to re-think, will you ever wear them in the future? If your answer is no, instead of discarding, why don’t you give it away to people who need them more than you do? This way you won’t even feel guilty about discarding things and you will make someone smile!

Trend Alert! Hottest Home Decor Trends This Season!

Do you like coming back every day to a non-descript home? A house with a drab ambiance can make you feel gloomy for the whole day…time has come to reinvent ways to add charm and that extra spark to your home! Check these latest home decor trends that have gained popularity in the last couple of years which can do wonders in making your home a paradise!

Paper your walls with wallpapers- We Indians are alien to the concept of using wallpapers, rather we prefer painting our walls every Diwali. But wallpapers are suddenly being considered as a preferred option as it looks chic and requires less labour work as compared to paintings.

The old the better, Vintage can do wonders- Don’t you find vintage artifacts desirable? Try the new age vintage collections, paintings, ceramic artworks, tribal cushions. Vintage is not only in vogue but aesthetically pleasing which adds modernity to your conventional spaces. Moreover, you get to have your moment of pride as guests keep on asking you, where did you get that? 

Remove those age old furniture and welcome contemporary furniture- Fusion is not only contemporary, but pleasurable to the eyes too. Contemporary trendy furniture offers you the rawness of organic wood and modern styling of acrylic which is light weight and adds to your décor. 

Boycott those white and grey shades; try bright red colour paint- Gone are those days when walls were just coloured white and pale yellow to give it a decent touch. Try shades of red, burgundy and mauve! The bold colours are sure to add that missing spunk!

Let your walls speak! - Sculptural pieces and artworks add dimensionality to your walls. It’s better to replace those conventional frames and paintings with sculptural artifacts which can add texture and unique focal points on your walls.  

Union Budget 2015-16: The Halfway Reforms For Real Estate

Recently, The Economist claimed that it was India’s chance to fly. The report argued that even as the economies of China and Brazil were on the trajectory of slow growth, it was actually a moment of reckoning for India to accelerate its economic growth. The much-anticipated Union Budget 2015-16 is now tabled. While the jury is still out on the big bang reforms expected from the Budget, lets takes a quick look at the measures that could have a direct or indirect bearing on the real estate sector:

In the Union Budget presented today, the FM proposed many reforms that might strengthen the real estate sector, but there still isn't much clarity on building smart cities

1. Infrastructure: The Narendra Modi led NDA government has proposed raising the investment in infrastructure by Rs 70,000 crore and also has plans to revive the private public partnership model of investment in the sector. The proposed Rural Infrastructure Development Fund will also see an investment of Rs 25,000 crore. These measures to boost infrastructural development come even as the government still grapples with fiscal deficit. In the past, governments have often slashed spending on infrastructural projects to make way for subsidies. This year, however, infrastructure is a sure shot winner.

2. AIFs: Finanace Minister Arun Jaitley has announced FDI in Alternate Investment Funds (AIF). An AIF is a pooled-in investment vehicle for investing in real estate, private equity and hedge funds. The government will also eliminate categories such as Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) and Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) to encourage more foreign investors to invest in the markets in India. Infrastructure funds are Category 1 AIFs. So, this will encourage more investment in infrastructure development projects too.

3. Black Money: To curb transactions in black money in real estate, the government proposed to introduce Benami Transaction Prohibition Bill. It also proposed that using Rs 20,000 in cash for purchase or sale of immovable property should be disallowed. The monetary transactions in the Indian real estate markets often involve black money, and this prevents many investors and homebuyers from investing in property. Transactions often involve black money because the sellers often pressurize the buyers to understate the value of the property to evade capital gains tax. But, as the government has proposed an overhaul of the same, this is likely to bring down transactions in black money in real estate.

4. REITs: The proposed REITs are likely to invest in income generating assets held by Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs). A barrier to the formation of the REITs is the taxation norms. The SPVs which exchange their shares for REIT units will have to pay corporate tax and dividend distribution tax, apart from capital gains tax while selling the REIT units in the future. The FM has proposed reducing the corporate tax from 30% to 25%, and this will reduce the tax burden on SPVs. The FM has also proposed reforming the capital gains tax rules to help the formation of REITs, though the specific reforms that are likely are not clear.

5. Wealth Tax: The Government has proposed eliminating wealth tax. In India, the wealth tax was 1% on net wealth exceeding Rs 30 lakh. This will encourage more investment in housing because housing prices are often much higher in many parts of the country.
6. Service Tax: The FM has proposed that the service tax be raised from 12.4% to 14%. While buying houses, the homebuyers are expected to pay service tax, apart from value added tax, stamp duty and registration charges.  So, hiking the service tax will discourage investment in the housing segment.

7. Smart Cities and Rental Income: Real estate players had expected the government to announce deductions on rental income to boost investment in the rental housing segment. The budget, however, was silent on this. The government did not announce measures that would bring in more clarity on building cities either, though investing more in infrastructural projects will improve outlook for the real estate sector in India.