'Desperate Houses!' presenter Clodagh Conroy is a whizz at getting rid of other people's clutter. She shows Eoin Lyons some of the tricks she uses at home.
OFFICE At the end of Conroy's garden is a newly built room that she uses as an office. "It's a way to create a lot more storage, because it's a whole other room. But you're not creating another space to clutter, because this has a purpose. It's not somewhere to dump stuff. The basic idea could be achieved with a Barna shed - basically a wooden shed with windows. What we've done is mid-range, employing Whelan Construction [087-6800322]. It cost about €20,000. At the top end, Shomera [www.shomera.ie] does purpose-built extra rooms from €35,000."
KITCHEN Conroy suggests the Panelling Centre (1850-212214, www.panelcentre.ie) if you don't have a lot to spend but want a smart kitchen. "It's hard to spend €10,000 there, and you'll get a galley kitchen for about €3,500. In the mid-range price bracket, I like Delgrey Kitchens [ 01-2871072, www.delgrey.ie] in Wicklow for a bespoke Irish-made kitchen. They did my kitchen, which cost about €22,000. For expensive but beautifully designed and engineered kitchens, go to Bulthaup at KitchenHaus [ 01-6770101]." Rules for a clutter-free kitchen are to keep as much as you can off counters, be ruthless about throwing things out, and clear out one or two presses often rather than rely on rare bursts of effort.
LARDER A tall pull-out unit behind one door acts as a larder. "This kind of storage makes it easy to get rid of things that might be out of date or open too long, because you see everything each time you pull the door open."
HIGH SHELF Behind a door to one side of the kitchen is a tiny room that Conroy uses for her fridge and wine rack, as well as extra china, glasses and napkins on a high shelf. "The high shelf means everything is totally out of the way but doesn't take up any space in what is really a walk-in cupboard. The high shelf was traditional in old Irish houses, and it's still very practical."
DRAWERS "In the kitchen, drawers are the way forward," says Conroy. "If I designed these units again I would have nothing but drawers. They are fantastic, because nothing gets lost at the back, as happens in cupboards, and everything is easy to see and access, so you don't have to get down on your hands and knees to root."
SINK The sink includes an In-Sink-Erator waste-disposal unit. "It gets rid of all organic waste, with a rotating blade, and flushes it out into the water system. It will cut down on your bin rubbish, and because it gets rid of leftovers straight away it means there's nothing smelly in the bin." In-Sink-Erators cost about €500, although they are not advisable if you have a septic tank. Also, composting is more ecological.
BEDROOM In Conroy's bedroom, floor-to-ceiling wardrobes line one wall. "Everyone's ideal is a walk-in wardrobe, but this is the next best thing. Go right to the ceiling, to create space for suitcases and things that aren't in use every day. Have plenty of drawers and a built-in shoe rack. I go though my wardrobe at least three times a year and take a refuse sack of clothes to the Simon Community. You don't have to completely purge; just aim to keep the level the same. We all buy so many inexpensive clothes now, from Zara or wherever, that when new clothes come in, old stuff should go out. I use the same suppliers for wardrobes as kitchens; at the Panelling Centre you can get a wardrobe for about €600."
LAUNDRY On the first-floor return, Conroy had simple MDF units made to house the washing machine and tumble-dryer. Next to them is storage space for laundry. "People always think you need your utilities in the kitchen or beside it, but the best place is upstairs, near the bedrooms, so you don't have to carry things up and down the stairs. A good handyman or small builder will put these together for you. On Desperate Houses! we use David Gallagher [086-8099636, or 086-3629818 for his colleague John Mannion] for this kind of thing. He's very good and will do small domestic jobs, including electrics, plumbing and painting." She recommends Atlantic Homecare (www.atlantic.ie) for storage boxes.
HALL An oak chest from Habitat, sitting in an alcove under the hall stairs, holds toys for Clodagh's daughter, Catherine. "If the box is nice enough it can sit anywhere in the house; it doesn't have to be in the playroom or bedroom. Toys create awful clutter, but kids often want to play where you are, so having a few boxes around the place helps. You can tidy the toys away and reclaim the space in the evening."
Desperate Houses! is on RTÉ 1 on Thursdays at 8.30pm