How to Become an Event Planner

Looking for how to plan an event, or advice on event planning? 

 

You’ve come to the right place. 

 

We’ve seen a lot of organizations’ events over the years, and there are ten steps we’ve identified as key to a successful event. 

 

While we can't identify all of the details you’ll need to think about, since much of it will depend on the type of event you are holding, we can suggest some best practices that are important to follow for any event. 

We've also put together an easy-to-use checklist so nothing falls through the cracks. To identify the timeline, start by working backwards from your event date. And if you're planning a virtual event rather than a traditional in-person one, we have a downloadable Virtual Event Checklist, as well!

We hope the following provides a starting point for your event planning – and without further ado, here are the ten steps! 

1. Develop Your Event Goal and Objectives

The very first step in planning your event is to establish a tangible goal and objectives. 

 

First, start by asking yourself: Why are you organizing this event, and what do you hope to achieve?

 

If you know your organization’s key goals before planning, you can ensure that every part of your event is optimized for success. 

 

Are you trying to raise awareness for a cause, or collect a predetermined amount of donations for your next project? Are you hoping to attract 50 guests, or 500? 

 

Setting a goal with quantifiable metrics of success will make it easier for your team to ensure that you reach them. 

2.  Organize Your Team

Any event takes a concerted team effort to handle all the details. Consider identifying one key Event Manager or Event Chair as well as individual Chairpersons for subcommittees, such as:

• venue management;
• speakers;
• entertainment;
• publicity;
• sponsors;
• and volunteer management.

 

Assigning individual roles to team members creates a system of accountability, as well as preventing tasks from falling to the wayside. Plus, it’ll allow you to delegate – but don’t forget to account for committee meetings in your event plan timing! 

3. Establish Your Budget

Establishing your event’s budget is one of the most important parts of planning an event. I’ve seen many great ideas fall by the wayside because the team who originally came up with it forgot to take their budget into consideration before beginning to plan. 

  Some of the critical expenses you need to include in your budget are:

• Venue: This cost should encompass the rental as well as any insurance you need to purchase. 
• Food and Drink: This field is pretty self-explanatory. However, remember that the amount you can afford here might also dictate the number of tickets you’re able to sell. 
• Entertainment: This field can be customized however you need it to be — whether it’s allocated for speakers, a DJ, or even a talking pig, make sure you have wiggle room for travel and accommodation costs as well as any compensation.
• Décor: Will you be going with a DIY mason-jar theme, or one that’s a little fancier? Establishing the costs upfront will help you determine which one you can afford. 
• Staff: This category might often be forgotten, but it’s key to account for the transportation and lodging costs of your staff, especially if you’re headed out of town. Even budgeting staff time (what would they be spending time on if they weren’t working on this event?) can help you decide whether that extra meeting is worth it. 
• Marketing: Whether you decide to promote your event through Facebook or go old-school by putting flyers up all over town, 
• Software: If you’re not already paying for any kind of event management software, consider incorporating it into your event planning. 
• A/V: From projectors to wi-fi to speakers, this category encompasses a wide variety of costs. 
• Miscellaneous: Even the best-planned event will have some additional costs come up. Accounting for them in your budget will ensure you’re not caught unawares. 

Even if some of these items aren’t fixed costs yet – for example, if you haven’t yet picked a venue – it's important to keep the maximum that you can afford to spend in mind before making those decisions. 

4. Set the Date

The date might already be pre-set for a recurring event, but if this is a new event, be sure to consider the following before firming up your date:

• Give yourself enough time! Ideally, you should have 4-6 months to plan, if not more (depending on the nature of your event)
•  Be aware of statutory and religious holidays
• Avoid school holiday time periods (winter, spring and summer holidays)
• Check dates with key participants – speakers, presenters, VIP guests, etc.

Once you’ve set the date (and have already outlined your budget), you can start booking any external staff (such as caterers) you need right away.  

5. Create an Event Master Plan

Once you have a good idea of all the costs and the timeline associated with your event, it’s time to start the real plan! Creating your event master plan will allow you to ensure every aspect remains on track, as well as making it easier to coordinate with volunteers and event committee members. 

Your event master plan should encompass all aspects of the event, including:

• Venue, logistics, & catering management (contracts, permits, insurance, etc.)
• Speakers and presenters (identifying, confirming, logistics & management)
• Activities and entertainment
• Publicity and promotion (online & off-line, such as web page & online promotion; events calendars; printed programs; media relations; signage; social media, etc.)
• Registration (online sign-up, payment and tracking; on-site sign-in, etc.)
• Sponsor and partner management
• Volunteer management and responsibilities 

While planning your event, consider also creating a detailed timeline, so that everything moves smoothly. Include when any permits or insurance policies need to be submitted, when registration ends, and a detailed timeline of the day-of.

  
Although it might be tempting to say, “It’s all in my head! I”ll be fine!” and not be concerned about writing it all down, beware: this kind of mentality will make it much more difficult for you to assign accountability. It’ll also make it more difficult to remember what you did for the next event – so do your future self a favour and keep everything written down. 

 

Finally, if you or your organization has run previous events of a similar type, reviewing any documentation that exists at this stage can help you ensure you’re not missing anything. 

6. Book Your Venue

Once you have the date nailed down, it’s key to book your venue as soon as possible. Your event has to have a date and location nailed down before you can begin advertising, so this task needs to be completed as early in the planning period as possible.

 

(Note that some flexibility around the date might also help you out at this stage and open up a wider variety of venues.) 

 

Some things to consider when picking a venue for your event are: 

• Accessibility. Does the venue have accessible entrances and elevators? Are there all-gender washrooms? Will you have space for interpreters? This and many other factors go into choosing a space that all participants will feel comfortable in. 
• Size. An event for 50 people will need a very different space than one for 500. Additionally, consider whether or not you’ll need separate rooms for breakout sessions or the like. 
• Parking. Is there a parking lot, or is it easy to access via public transit? 
• Insurance. Will you need to purchase separate insurance? What are their liability rules? 
• AV. If your event needs speakers and microphones, make sure it’s easy to set them up in the space that’s available. The same goes for wifi access (and cellphone connection!), or any other technological needs your event has. 
• Costs. How much of a deposit is the venue asking for? Will there be additional costs? How much will you get back if you (heaven forbid) need to cancel? 

7. Brand Your Event

If you want your event to stand out, you need to choose a timely and compelling theme that sets you apart from your competition. This means that you need to come up with a dynamic overall theme and you need to take great care with the actual name since it can be a key attention-getter, especially in online media.

• Brainstorm names: When you are brainstorming the event name, think about:
  • How is your event different from other events in your sector?
  • What are you hoping to convey through this event?
  • What are the main components of your event? 
• Create a tagline: Once you’ve come up with a name, also try to craft a tagline – a short, memorable branding slogan that describes the event. 
• Design a logo: The final step will be having a logo created to represent your event. A logo can be an effective branding tool – offering immediate recognition of your event in all your publicity and promo items (such as t-shirts, water bottles, bags, and more). 

Once you have your name, tagline, and logo, use it in all your marketing collateral so that people who are unfamiliar with your organization will start recognizing your brand – and remember that the event is happening! 

8. Identify and Establish Partnerships & Sponsors

Are there organizations that you could partner with or call on for sponsorships to defray the costs and increase potential participation?  Plus, when you involve other people or groups in your event, they have a stake in helping spread the word and making the event a success -- the more the merrier, right? 

You might want to consider:

• Seeking corporate sponsors to fund a portion of the event. This can range from national organizations that might want to sponsor a dinner, offer a door prize or a key silent auction item, to local businesses that might be able to provide goods or services, such as flowers for the tables, gift bag items, etc.
• Partnering with community organizations who might be able to offer a venue and/or assistance with organizing or staffing an event.

If you’re looking for businesses to sponsor your event, keep in mind that they’ll be more likely to do so if they can see the clear benefit to them. If you’ve had sponsors in the past who are willing to speak up on your behalf, so much the better – but if not, be prepared to craft a compelling case for support when you initially reach out.  

9. Create a Publicity Plan

Even with the most amazing speaker or entertainment line-up, you need publicity to get people in the door. Event promotion starts with the initial notice or page on your website, note in your newsletter or email to save the date, and then builds to include online and off-line publicity, media relations and on-going outreach to encourage registration. 

Some components you might want to include in your plan are:

• Web page announcement
• Social media
• Email blasts
• Press and media connections
•  Printed materials

Finally, no promotional plan is complete without the post-event thank-you’s, sponsor acknowledgements and articles about the event’s key messages or fundraising success.

10. Determine Day-Of Processes

Once you’ve prepared everything going on around the event, keeping track of the order of the event itself and planning out your program is the next step. 

To ensure you’re prepared for anything, prepare an agenda that will walk you through the whole day from setup to cleanup. Including every detail, no matter how small, will help you feel like you have it all under control! 

Here’s a quick example of what something like this might look like: 

5:00: Drop off silent auction items at the venue (Diana)

6:15: AV setup (Terry, Diana) 

7:00: Have quick volunteer coordination meeting (Terry + volunteers)

7:30: Attendees begin arriving

8:00: Hors d’oeuvres served 

8:30: Speaker 1 takes the stage

8:45: Break

9:00: Speaker 2 takes the stage

10:00: Awards presented (Diana) 

10:30: Mingling, silent auction bidding finishes 

11:00: Start clearing tables 

11:30: Bar closes

12:00 Event ends; all guests must leave

Identifying just who needs to do what can also ensure that there’s clear accountability leading up to the event. 

And as a bonus, you can also use a simplified version of this in any branding materials as your public-facing agenda. 

 

This Software Makes Running (and Filling) Events a Snap!

If you're sick of processing event registrations and payments by hand, there's a software that can completely automate the process for you online. It's called Membership Management Software and here's what it can do:

• Allow easy creation of online registration forms
• Put a calendar of events on your website
• Automatically update your website with upcoming events
• Deposit event payments directly into your account
• Send automatic invoices and event reminders
• Dump event attendee data directly into your contact database
• and more

Not only does Membership Management Software take care of all event logistics, it also makes running any sort of membership organization easier, because it automates a number of other administrative tasks such as managing your contacts, website, finances, and email communication.

https://www.wildapricot.com/articles/how-to-plan-an-event

The relevance of Jean-Jacques Rousseau 300 years after his birth

The life and work of the son of French refugees remain highly relevant to the work of UNHCR and other humanitarian organizations based in his birthplace.

GENEVA, June 28 (UNHCR) - “Man is born free but everywhere is in chains.” This quote made the Geneva-born political philosopher, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, world famous. But today, as we commemorate the 300th anniversary of his birth, is his thinking still relevant? And what can it teach us about the work of the UN refugee agency, which has its headquarters in Geneva.

Rousseau was born to a family of French Protestant refugees on June 28, 1712. Geneva, which offered shelter to thousands of persecuted Huguenots from the 16th Century onwards, left a deep impression on him. Not only did he dedicate his second “Discourse” to the Swiss lakeside city, but he also took every opportunity to sign his works “Citizen of Geneva.”

Even so, his relationship with his birthplace was not straightforward. Orphaned at an early age, Rousseau spent many years as an itinerant, living in the homes of different employers, patrons and lovers, working variously as a clerk, an engraver and a private tutor.

Rousseau was propelled from obscurity in 1749 when he won an essay writing competition, arguing that the progress of knowledge and culture lead to the corruption of human behaviour. He published his first major political work, the “Discourse on Inequality,” in 1755. Building on this he wrote “The Social Contract” and “Émile.”

Both works were scorned by officials and intellectuals alike, and were publicly burned in Paris and Geneva. Convinced of conspiracies against him he travelled around Europe, finally settling outside Paris where he died in isolation at the age of 66.

Although a product of his time, Rousseau made many key contributions to the theory and practice of modern politics. One question occupied his thoughts more than any other - How can humans live freely within society?

Rousseau’s thought stemmed from his notion of human nature. In contrast to some of his forerunners and contemporaries (such as Montesquieu and Thomas Hobbes), he believed that humans possessed a natural goodness and that caring properly for oneself did not exclude concern for the welfare of others.

The philosopher also believed that all men were socially equal. Inequalities, he argued, were the artificial creations of social systems based on private property and organized labour - systems that allowed the domination and exploitation of some people by others.

Although Rousseau has been seen by some as the father of modern democracy - and was undoubtedly influential in the evolution of democratic thought - he had very specific ideas on the form that government should take.

He endorsed direct democracy, in which every citizen had an equal responsibility to agree on the laws that governed them. He held Geneva up as the prime example of a small city state where this form of governance could be established.

Rousseau’s thought played an important role in promoting the notion of human rights, which is central to UNHCR’s work. Many previous philosophers, from Dutch jurist and philosopher Hugo Grotius to the Englishman Hobbes, had conceived of rights in terms of the possession of power or of legal constructs within society.

In contrast, Rousseau’s insistence on the fundamental freedom of human beings in their “natural state” contributed to the modern notion that people have inalienable rights, regardless of their place in society. This notion is clearly reflected in 20th century documents such as the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Rousseau did not set out a theory of international relations, but many of his underlying principles have helped shape modern thought in this area. At first glance, it looks as though Rousseau would have preferred states to remain as independent of each other as possible, because he believed that dependence was the source of all conflict. In situations of war, he was distrustful of rulers’ motivations and would certainly have been a critic of great power intervention.

The world has changed significantly since Rousseau’s time, and his ideals of internal unity and the independence of states feel outdated in a globalized world that is characterized by mass migration, diaspora populations and transnational social movements. It is therefore open to interpretation whether Rousseau would have embraced the notion of global governance or the establishment of organizations such as the United Nations.

Rousseau did not anticipate the concept of humanitarian intervention. However, he strongly believed in the intrinsically compassionate nature of humankind and the willingness of people to help alleviate the suffering of others. In that respect, Rousseau’s life and work remain highly relevant to the work of UNHCR and the many other humanitarian organizations that are based in the city where he was born.

GREAT THINKERS Jean-Jacques Rousseau

No other philosopher’s biography is perhaps so well-known as that of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, who made his own life the subject of a number of his writings, including his great autobiographical work, the Confessions. He was born in 1712 in Geneva. His mother died a few days after his birth, and he was raised by his father, a clockmaker, who cared for learning and had Rousseau read classical Greek and Roman literature. His father was forced to leave Geneva while Rousseau was still young. Apprenticed to an engraver, Rousseau eventually left Geneva in 1728, fleeing to Annecy. There at the age of sixteen he met Françoise-Louise de Warens, a woman who would become his benefactor and mistress. Over the next ten years, he earned money as a lackey, engraver, and music teacher. Mme. de Warens sent him during this period to Turin, where he renounced his Calvinism and converted to Roman Catholicism.

Rousseau moved to Paris in 1742 to pursue a career as a musician and composer. In Paris, he soon befriended Diderot, who would go on to fame as an editor of the Encyclopédie. Diderot commissioned Rousseau to write most of the articles for the Encyclopédie on musical subjects, as well as an article on political economy. Rousseau’s time in Paris was interrupted from 1743 to 1744, when he served as Secretary to the French ambassador in Venice.

Rousseau’s rise to fame came with the appearance of his Discourse on the Arts and Sciences, named the winning entry in an essay competition by the Academy of Dijon in 1750. In a famous letter, he describes how, on a journey to Vincennes to visit Diderot, he had an extraordinary vision upon reading the notice of the essay competition: “All at once I felt myself dazzled by a thousand sparkling lights; crowds of vivid ideas thronged into my head with a force and confusion that threw me into unspeakable agitation; I felt my head whirling in a giddiness like that of intoxication.” He claimed that this vision marked a fundamental turning point in his life, and foreshadowed to him the basic principles he would unfold in his First and Second Discourse and his Emile, which he called his three “principal writings.”

In 1752 his short opera Le Devin du Village (“The Village Soothsayer”) was performed at the French court, and his comedy Narcisse was performed at the Théâtre Français. The following year, Rousseau wrote his Letter on French Music (1753), which contrasted Italian opera favorably with that of France. The work sparked a public controversy and even resulted in Rousseau’s being hanged in effigy, as it was viewed as politically seditious.

In 1754, he completed his Discourse on the Origins of Inequality. He returned to Geneva and to the Protestantism of his youth, which allowed him to regain the right to citizenship he had lost with his conversion to Catholicism. In 1755, both the Discourse on the Origins of Inequality and his work Political Economy appeared (the latter in the fifth volume of Diderot and d’Alembert’s Encyclopédie).

In 1756 Rousseau settled in a cottage, the Hermitage, on the estate of Mme. d’Epinay, a friend of many of the philosophes. There he began work on his novel Julie, or the New Heloise. After quarrels with Mme. d’Epinay and with Diderot, Rousseau moved to the country home of the Duke of Luxembourg at Montmorency. In 1758 his Letter to M. d’Alembert on the Theatre was published. It offered a critique of d’Alembert’s article on Geneva in the Encyclopédie. This work made final Rousseau’s public break with most of the philosophes. Julie was published in 1761 and soon becomes one of the best-selling works of the century. Rousseau received thousands of letters from admiring readers, many of whom refused to believe that the characters of the love story were mere literary inventions. This period was to become Rousseau’s most productive. In 1762 both On the Social Contract and Emile were published. Owing especially to each work’s heterodox discussion of Christianity, both were condemned by the authorities and publicly burned in Geneva and Paris. The French government ordered Rousseau’s arrest. As a result, Rousseau fled to Neuchâtel, then governed by Prussia.

At Neuchâtel from 1763 to 1765, Rousseau, among other writing, drafted his Constitutional Project for Corsica. At this time he also began work on his autobiography, the Confessions. In the period following, Rousseau endured increasingly hostile attacks from various leading writers, and eventually decided to leave for England, accepting an offer from the philosopher David Hume to join him there. After two years in England, Rousseau, having quarreled with Hume, whom he (falsely) suspected of drafting an anonymous pamphlet attacking him, returned to France in 1767.

During his final ten years of life, Rousseau completed a number of other works. He composed the Considerations on the Government of Poland and Dialogues: Rousseau Judge of Jean-Jacques in 1772, although both were published only posthumously. He composed his final work, The Reveries of a Solitary Walker, in 1777.

Who İs Jean-Jacques Rousseau? | What is Jean Jacques Rousseau best known for?

Jean-Jacques Rousseau was one of the most powerful masterminds during the Enlightenment in eighteenth century Europe. His first major philosophical work, A Discourse on the Sciences and Arts, was the triumphant reaction to an article challenge directed by the Academy of Dijon in 1750. Right now, contends that the movement of technical disciplines and expressions has caused the debasement of prudence and profound quality.

How Do I Stop My Kids From Watching YouTube?

Youtube, where 400 hours of video are uploaded every minute around the world; it has become a screen process for both adults and children, where a significant portion of the day is spent in front of it. Although the time spent by adults on their work and overtime is more limited than for children, unfortunately children spend most of the day on YouTube. "How Do I Stop My Kids From Watching YouTube?" the question becomes more meaningful.

Teachers And Child Psychology

Teachers are the children with whom they share the most time after their parents. Even a child attending kindergarten and primary school sees his teacher more than his parents. While a father can see his child for a few hours in the evening, the teacher is with the children for at least six hours. The person who enters the child's life over such a long period of time has undoubtedly a great influence on shaping the personality-character and development of the children. 

The first expectation of a growing child from teachers is love and attention. 

Teachers are one of the people who will plant the seeds of love in the soul of the child whose basic need is love, compassion and compassion. Therefore, the first thing a teacher can give to children is love and compassion, even if it is not written in the curriculum. Meeting a child's demand for love and compassion is also important for healing the child's potential wounds in psychology. Lovelessness is a greater wound than ignorance. Some teachers may show more love to students who are successful, who are unwittingly involved in the lesson. However, students who seem irrelevant to the class in the classroom may need more love. Opening a channel of love for them is one of the best attitudes a teacher can do.

For a child, love is one of the sine qua non of this life and the other is trust. 

From birth, children want to trust the adults around them. Because this world is a very foreign place for them and the only place in which he can feel safe in the vast world is with adults. When the child cannot find the trust sought from adults, he falls into a big gap. The child wants to trust his teacher and give himself to him. It will not be difficult for the child to trust someone who respects him or her. However, the teacher's promise not to stop, to condemn the child, to criticize, to provide him with sufficient attention, to be unjust will break the child's trust over time. When the teacher creates the feeling that ta I am precious in the eyes of my teacher, he does not let me down, he is my supporter behind me, he is with me in difficulties, he does not give up loving me even if I know it wrong ”.

Even if we call everyone bulunan children Bir in a class, each of them is different. 

Every child is ic unique ile with his family structure, history, socio-economic status, abilities, emotions, learning style, learning speed and desires. It is undoubtedly difficult to teach such different children at the same time. Therefore, the profession of teaching is seen as sacred. Children are like different flowers that have opened in the same garden. Irrigating each flower separately without turning all the flowers into a flower is the job of skilled gardeners. One of the greatest things the teacher can do is to discover the different abilities each of the children have, and to make it noticeable to the child and then to his or her family. Every child has an ore. Academic achievement is only one dimension of success. The teacher is the one who discovered and raised the ore in the child.

The age of 6-12 is a period in which every child must experience success. 

If a child in this period does not experience success in any field, he may feel inferior and feel insignificant and insufficient in later years of his life. Some children are good in academia, some in sports, some in art, some in music, some in painting. Some children have good human relationships, others have high language or voice skills. Every child needs to make at least three to four sentences in the form of “I am good in this area için for healthy soul development. One of the greatest favors a teacher can do to children is to show them the areas in which they are good and to give them a sense of success in any field. In today's world where success is only reduced to course success, directing the child's attention to one area and giving him the message “You are good in this area, will be one of the greatest gifts a child will be offered.

Every human being, from an infant to an elderly, carries honor and glory. 

One of the greatest evils to human beings is to damage his dignity. When one's human dignity is destroyed and destroyed, that person loses his humanity. There is no difference between the honor of the child and that of the adult. Insulting an adult, ridiculing him, humiliating him in public, punishing him in front of everyone, and comparing him with another person is just as dishonorable as it is for children. Teachers sometimes have fun, sometimes to teach a lesson inadvertently damaging the dignity of children and may play with the dignity of the child. Not only as a child, but as a cherished person is one of the most beautiful features.

Children are influenced by the thoughts of adults and usually internalize them. 

If their teacher attaches labels to children such as bel lazy, sluggish, lethargic, clumsy, stupid, clumsy, clumsy, hyperactive, distracted, cowardly, timid çocuklar children really think they are. Over time, this label becomes part of them, an identity. After this stage, it is very difficult to remove the child from the effect of that label. A good teacher is not a labeler of children, but a person who removes negative labels attached to them.

Children are curious and curiosity is the basis of learning. 

From the moment of birth, the child can learn to walk, talk, the name of the objects and the world in a short time thanks to his curiosity. A child whose desire to explore is kept alive is always ready to learn. The most important thing that dulls the curiosity is not to allow him to wonder and to teach the child that they are not curious. The child learns that they do not worry, cools down without learning. Therefore, it is an important task for teachers to keep children's curiosity alive. While teaching, the children leave a treasure that they will carry for life, starting from these feelings. This treasure is that children enjoy their learning processes and experience the excitement of discovering.

Information learned during school years is forgotten over time, but the accumulated emotions are carried to the end of life. 

For this reason, the teacher should not only aim to transfer knowledge, but to the hearts of children rather than to their minds. It should be another task of the teacher to ensure that children leave the school process with positive memories and establish good human relationships.

The teacher guides not only children but also the whole society. 

Sometimes it is not enough to teach children in the classroom, but parents need guidance. It will be a good step for the development of society by informing parents about the approach to the child, the use of reward and punishment, and the exclusion of wrong parenting behaviors.

Yes, we expect a lot from our teachers. While a parent is having trouble taking care of their own children, we ask them to touch many children. We also know that this is difficult. We can only overcome this challenge together. As a community, we believe that when we take more care of our teachers and value them more, our teachers will do the best for our children, even under difficult conditions, and carry them safely to the future.

With respect and respect for all our teachers.

15 + Small kitchen ideas | Smart, Super-Organised

You can still be a master baker or chef in a little space. Small kitchens just need some clever design ideas to make them practical and stylish

Our small kitchen ideas are perfect for those not blessed with a large and sociable kitchen-diner. Sure, you might not have space for a kitchen island, range cooker, and dining table to cram guests around. But diminutive doesn’t have to mean drab. There’s a wealth of clever ways to make your kitchen scheme feel spacious…

Storage is one of the most important elements in a small kitchen. By maximizing every spare inch, reorganizing areas that don’t work as hard as they should, and adding extra solutions where necessary, you can turn a tiny room into a Tardis.

Start by thinking about how you use your kitchen and where everything needs to be as this will help you decide what sort of storage you require. For example, it’s best to store items by how often they’re used, so make sure that everyday dishes are on an easy-to-reach lower shelf with special-occasion pieces higher up.

Small kitchen ideas

1. Opt for a crisp color scheme

Make a small kitchen feel light and airy by opting for a neutral colour scheme. However, neutral doesn’t just mean beige or cream. Pair white pattern tiles and marble worktops with duck egg blue kitchen cabinets for a crisp colour scheme that will bounce light around, making the kitchen feel spacious.

2. Invest in flexible storage

In a small kitchen you need to think creatively when it comes to storage. Instead of investing in ordinary shelves, this wire panel shelving from string maximises storage by adapting to your kitchen’s needs. Add in or take away shelves, hang glasses upside down and even introduce  a wine rack. When space is at a premium you need to make sure every inch counts.

3. Distract the eye with bold flooring

In a small kitchen go all-out with bold tiling. A strong pattern on the floor distracts the eye and makes the room feel bigger. Every inch of this kitchen has been designed to make the most of the small space from the slimline appliances to the hanging pot plant. Hanging the copper planter is a great way to add some life and decoration in the kitchen with out cluttering work surfaces.

4. Swap an extractor hood for a combined extractor induction hob

This combined induction extractor hob is a great space saver in a small kitchen. It means you can swap a bulky extractor hood above the hob in favour of extra storage. If you don’t require an extra cupboard of set of shelves, consider leaving the area above the hob empty to give the illusion of a more spacious kitchen.

5. Swap a table for a kitchen island

Adding a kitchen island might sound like a terrible idea in a small kitchen. However in a long thin kitchen it is the perfect way to add in extra storage and surface space, whilst keeping the kitchen a sociable space. Choose an island like the one above with plenty of storage space underneath for stowing away vegetables and linens. A slight overhang from the counter top ensure than the four bar stools fit easily under the island, avoiding any potential trip hazards.

6. Paint kitchen cupboards to match the walls

Create the illusion of more space in a small kitchen by painting the cupboards in the same colour as the walls. This works really with a white or grey colour scheme, creating a light and airy space where the units blend into the kitchen walls. In this kitchen every spare inch of space is crammed with storage but a uniform wash of white paint keeps the space looking neat and spacious.

7. Turn an awkward corner into clever storage

A small kitchen requires you making use of every inch of storage space you have. If you have a small boxy kitchen, rather than cramming all your pots and pans into a deep cupboard that is going to become a nightmare when you need to find a particular frying pan, consider swapping a cupboard for a drawer. This clever pullout drawer maximises space and makes finding your favourite frying pan easy-peasy.

8. Consider compact containers

Put a windowsill, shelf or recess to work by adding a selection of strong baskets and use to stow bottles, packets or even fresh herbs in pots. Baskets are also a great way to store condiments, meaning you can take them all to the dining table in one trip.

9. Find a new home for the washing machine

You may think the kitchen is the obvious place to put a washing machine. But in continental Europe, you’re more likely to find it in a bathroom. So if you’re stuck for space, it might be worth relocating your laundry appliances elsewhere. If your bathroom is just as teeny, you might be able to squeeze it in a cupboard under the stairs.

Alternatively, if you have a separate washer and dryer, you consider keeping them in the kitchen but stacking them one on top of the other in a old larder cupboard. It hides them out of sight, saves space and helps streamline laundry days.

10. Supersize the sink

Your small kitchen might not have space for a dishwasher, so it’s worth finding room for a double sink. Keep one bowl for washing and one bowl for dirty dishes. That way you’ll have somewhere to stack mucky prep kit and plates out of sight, and without cluttering up the work surface.

11. Turn every corner into a storage space

Identify places where there’s wasted space, such as the gaps between shelves, at the back of cupboards, below the sink, unused corners and windowsills. Stack wherever you can and have a clear out of kitchenware that’s infrequently used or only has one purpose, so you have less to store.

Think also about relocating items that aren’t in everyday use, but you don’t want to throw out, to elsewhere in your home. Next, think about the space on your walls and doors – try adding a utensil rail or magnetic knife board, hooks on the sides of your cupboards or racks hung over a door. Extra shelves in corners or across alcoves will also come in handy.

12. Add storage helpers

Your cupboards and drawers are your biggest storage resource but it’s likely that they’re not being used fully. Internal storage solutions will make the most of them, so think about retrofitting wire racks that pull out of corners or slim cupboards, some plinth drawers, or using drawer dividers for utensils, spices, pans or plates.

Boost your storage further with a mobile solution, such as a trolley or butcher’s block on castors, or think about popping baskets or containers on top of your wall cupboards – just keep a sturdy stool nearby so you can reach them.

13. Clear away the clutter in small kitchens

Wall cabinets can really encroach on space, so consider doing away with yours. Open shelving can make a huge impact in a small kitchen, creating an open and airy feel, as long as you limit the amount of shelves you use, and what you keep on them.

14. Tidy your worksurface

If there are too many items cluttering up the worktops, consider clever solutions like wall-mounted magnetic knife strips, rails to hang utensils, pans, mugs, spice jars and cutlery bins. Also think about what you need to have to hand every day, such as chopping boards, wooden spoons, washing-up liquid, and what can be stored away until needed.

15. Keep your kitchen scheme simple

Nothing makes a room seem larger like simple white walls, so why not take it further with sleek, contemporary details that open up the space. Light, reflective materials and minimal designs are your friends in a small kitchen, so consider white or frosted glass cabinet doors, white stone or composite, or stainless-steel worktops, and white splashback tiling.

16. Look to portable storage

Consider a kitchen trolley on casters, which provides an additional prep surface when you need it, tucks away when you don’t and also offers extra storage for cookery books, pots and pans. You can even use it as a handy food and drinks trolley when you have guests.

17. Don’t let space go to waste

Not every kitchen will have room, but if your heart is set on having an island or peninsula, consider a slimline design. The central workstation shown here may be small, but it provides extra storage space and a useful worktop for food preparation.

18. Neaten up a compact kitchen

Not every home is blessed with a vast open-plan kitchen but, if your room is on the small side, there’s plenty to feel positive about. For a start, it’s easy to keep everything to hand, and you’ll find a wealth of storage ideas to get the very best out of your space. To avoid cluttering the worktops, plenty of cupboards have been incorporated into this kitchen design.

Opt for handleless designs for a sleek, steamlined appearance. Don’t overdo the materials in a small space. This kitchen features a maximum of three different materials, all in muted colorways.

19. Install floor-to-ceiling cabinetry

Think vertically by continuing your cabinets up to the ceiling but plan carefully to ensure the room feels as open as possible. Store less frequently used items in high cupboards. Add a breakfast bar if you can – the amount of storage and workspace it provides makes great use of the footprint and will ensure your kitchen is more sociable.

https://www.idealhome.co.uk/

5 Ways to Lift Your Mood During the Coronavirus Pandemic

1. Ask what made you happy before this started, then do more of it.

It’s getting really challenging to remember a time before all of this madness started, but it can be helpful to think back to your normal routine, pre-pandemic, and question what it was that brought you joy. That will look different for everyone, of course: It might include spending time with your family members, getting in a good workout, or connecting with your spirituality (for me, it's running.)

Once you identify what made you happy before all of this, make a plan to do more of it. "It sounds simple, [but] it's a type of treatment," says Dr. O'Neill. I'm adding an extra 15 minutes to my outdoor run, or my time spent on the elliptical if it's raining outside, but you could FaceTime your sister a few more times a week or extend your workout an extra 30 minutes. Think of what you like and want to do—and then do more of it.

2. Remind yourself of all you have to be thankful for.

Bad news is everywhere right now, and if you spend any time at all on the Internet, you’re likely going to confront a lot of horrifying reports. But you can intentionally try to balance the scale of positive and negative news in your life.

For this, Dr. O’Neill recommends an app called Three Good Things, which I downloaded almost immediately after talking to her. The app, she says, will remind you to log three things you’re grateful for every day (think journaling, but on your phone instead.)

There’s no shame in keeping it simple, Dr. O’Neill adds, explaining that you don’t have to come up with three big wins everyday—just three parts of your day that went well (mine: my mom is currently baking her oatmeal cake—one of my faves). If technology isn’t your thing, try jotting them down in a notebook, or just stopping to mentally count off three things you’re grateful for.

3. Treat yourself—especially first thing in the morning.

Being stuck in quarantine can cause you to develop a maddening sense of repetition. Getting up and doing the exact same thing day after day can be both exhausting and irritating, especially in the morning, when your'e waking up to this bizarre reality yet again.

A good way to counter this might be to treat yourself to something indulgent when you’re going about your morning routine. Dr. O’Neill recommends trying something you normally wouldn’t treat yourself to, like a new breakfast recipe or coffee creamer, for instance, or a spa-like shower instead of your normal 15-minute rinse off, so you start your day off with a positive outlook. You can also opt for a more mindful wake-up by starting your day with a morning meditation (like me).

4. Use any pent-up energy to your creative advantage.

I know: You’ve had enough of people telling you to just, like, start a puzzle or something. But doing something creative really can help you through this troubling time because it distracts you, especially if you pick a creative exercise that forces you to learn a new skill. “Creativity helps you focus on something that takes all your attention,” says Dr. O’Neill. If you’ve been meaning to teach yourself to knit, get to work on that coloring book you got for Christmas, or dig into more creative writing (guilty!), now’s the time to jump into it.

That said, don’t make whatever creative activity you try into a competitive exercise. Dr. O’Neill emphasizes that, while trying new things can be a refreshing distraction, it’s important not to get caught in the trap of comparing how you’re spending your quarantine down time with the way other people are spending theirs. Your number one priority right now (and always, to be honest) should be keeping yourself healthy and well—not racing to get ahead of the rest of the world.

5. Schedule time to worry (because you're going to do it anyway).

This might seem counterproductive at first, but, if done correctly, it can actually help you worry less. Scheduling time to worry is an evidenced-based practice used by some patients with anxiety, says Dr. O’Neill. But this doesn’t mean you can just pick random times throughout the day to wallow in the bad news you hear. Instead, the practice hinges on structure: Pick a 20-minute time slot each day to allow yourself to worry. Get as detailed as you can—even down to planing what chair you’ll sit in and what you’ll do during this time (such as journaling). Use your allotted worry time to fret about everything that’s making you nervous, but set a timer so that you know to snap out of it when worry time is over.

The key is to only worry during worry time—this won’t necessarily help you if you allow yourself to keep worrying for the rest of the day. If something worrisome creeps up later in the day after you’ve already had your scheduled worry time, remind yourself that you can worry about whatever this new problem is, but that you’ll have to do so during the next day’s worry time. There’s a chance that you will have already forgotten about it by the next day’s worry time—which might even tell you how insignificant it was in the first place.