Ever since Stacey Solomon moved her family into Pickle Cottage in 2021 – her and husband Joe Swash’s idyllic country home in Essex – I, along with the rest of the internet, have lusted after her homely, organised aesthetic, which she shares on social media with her 6m followers.
While they share the house with five children – Stacey’s sons, Zachary, 16, and Leighton, 12, and the couple’s three children, Rex, five, Rose, two, and Belle, one – it always looks immaculately styled, and she’s become known for her impressive seasonal front door decorations.
So, I’m extremely happy that the Sort Your Life Out presenter has launched a third homeware collection with George Home at Asda for autumn and winter, combining her aspirational style with super-accessible price points.
The collection includes gorgeous ginghams, calming neutral tones and, of course, handy storage solutions. Because while we lust after her home style, it’s Stacey’s organisational and decluttering advice that’s most sought after. I sat down with her to discuss her biggest decluttering lessons, how to not let getting organised overwhelm you and how she plans to style her new collection at Pickle Cottage.
Hi Stacey, congratulations on the new collection! Which pieces in the range do you see yourself getting the most use out of at home?
The glass storage jars. I like to use them for the things I use the most often. Tea, coffee and sugar get the most traffic in our house, so they’re in the small jars on the kitchen shelf, then pasta and rice are in the medium-size jars and laundry detergent and washing tablets are in the large jars.
There are so many plain storage jars that you can buy, so I wanted to create something a bit different. We found a way to have the inside of the jars ribbed but the outside smooth, so you get the effect of the texture but can easily stick labels on the outside.
You’ve become synonymous with decluttering and organising – what are the biggest decluttering lessons you’ve learned over the years?
You can’t declutter if you have too much stuff. One of my problems is having too many clothes. Now, when I go to buy clothes, I give myself a reality check first and think, ‘Do I really need new gym kit?’ or ‘Why do I want a new pair of jeans?’ Is it because I’ve bought 10 pairs that don’t really fit me? Then I should invest in one really decent pair that I’ll wear all the time instead.
The other thing is to find your happy medium. After organising an area, it looks perfect, but it’s never going to stay like that. My happy medium is not immaculate, but also not so much of a mess that I’m buying stuff I don’t need because I can’t find what I’ve already got. You can’t beat yourself up about things being a bit messy.
What are your top five-minute, one-hour and three-hour decluttering jobs?
My best advice is little and often. If the breakfast cupboard’s getting a bit messy with cereal everywhere, take five minutes to give it a quick sweep over. If you do little jobs every so often, it won’t ever amalgamate to a huge overwhelming task.
If I have an hour, I’ll sort out the kids’ wardrobes, getting rid of anything that doesn’t fit them any more.
And if I had three hours, I’d probably do the whole kitchen, but when does anyone have three hours to devote to decluttering? It’s more realistic to take 20 minutes while the kids are sitting down for breakfast to quickly clean down the fridge, for example, than to take the whole day off to sort out everything. That sets you up to fail because most people don’t want to spend that amount of time organising.
How do you get the kids involved in cleaning up?
Joe and I both have full-time jobs, five kids to look after, school runs to do and no nannies, so everyone has to pitch in. I’ve got teenagers and toddlers, and what I will say is take advantage of the toddler stage – they love a Hoover, mop or sponge! It’s harder with teenagers, but my boys know if they don’t do their laundry, their clothes aren’t getting washed. I don’t want my boys to live with somebody in the future and that person to feel like they’re having to pick up after them – no way!
How do you style home accessories without your house feeling cluttered?
My house is cluttered! I don’t believe in rules – if it makes you happy when you walk into your house, then absolutely do it. There are people who say you can only have three things next to each other because of the rule of three, or you can’t have lots of stuff out on the counter, but I think it’s your house and you deserve to enjoy your space. The only rule you should live by is do what makes you happy.
Where’s your favourite spot at home to relax?
If the kids are awake, the downstairs toilet! I’ll sit there for ages – it’s all blue and I love it. It’s also freezing cold so no one else ever uses it, which means it’s always tidy.
Shop Stacey Solomon's new autumn winter homeware range
