IKEA has always kept the many people at the heart of its business. As we enter 2021 and with the aim of creating a better everyday life, IKEA is inspiring people to bring more ease and joy into their physical and mental space by reorganising their lives and a promise to provide consumers with ideas and solutions for every space; whether it is where the kids play, where they dress, sleep, eat or just life at home.
For the many, home is where the heart is. When it comes to life at home, people hoard on to things that are eventually hidden in drawers, cupboards, and closets or just kept in the open due to the lack of space. To understand the mindset of consumers and importance of decluttering in their lives, as a part of the launch of its new season, IKEA hosted an independent research of more than 1000 people. The survey revealed that on average, people in the UAE declutter their homes once a week. Respondents also agreed that a powerful way to bring more ease and joy into their physical and mental space is decluttering. Almost half of the respondents wanted to declutter to make their interiors more relaxing and one third (35%) would be willing to get rid of their unused belongings and rearrange to make a more airy and open space.
Leading Feng Shui Expert Shivani Adalja says, “Hoarding onto unwanted things is a sign of emotional baggage. The only way to move forward in life is to let go of the old, so that you can embrace the new. Throw away junk from your home. Donate books and DVDs. Give away old clothes to a charity. Opening up physical space around you, opens up your life to new opportunities and experiences!”
The pandemic impacted life at home for the many people. People started spending more time at home, sharing spaces and home décor became priority. Continuous investment on home interiors became an ongoing trend. With spaces becoming more functional, IKEA asked consumers why they would declutter their homes. More than half said this would increase their productivity while over 40% accepted being inspired by homes of family and friends and achieve better sleeping habits.
Amongst other things, working from home is increasingly common all around the world. One third of the respondents agreed to declutter in order to create multi-functional spaces where various activities can be incorporated such as work video calls.
Despite the changing trends, almost half of the survey respondents agreed that the Living Room and Bedroom remain the most important rooms to be decluttered. Amongst the items that are decluttered in these rooms, Clothes (57%) and Shoes (30%) topped the list. A third of the respondents also agreed that kid’s toys are decluttered as often as once a week but only 19% spend time decluttering this room. This highlights the need of inspiring people to invest in organising solutions that will help them maximize usage of space.
Of the different solutions available, 42% agreed to using shelves across all rooms to reorganize. Over a third (35%) of female respondents are using the extra space under beds and sofas to reorganise therefore making smart use of every area in their home.
Carla Klumpenaar, GM Marketing, Communications & Interior Design at IKEA – Al Futtaim, UAE, Egypt, Oman said, ‘’Through simple ideas that deliver a big impact, with inspiring experiences, seamless solutions, and smart ideas, we want to enable people to have a better everyday life at home. It was important to reach out to the many people to understand how we could help them replace chaos with order. The survey results made us confident of our initiative and through new ideas we want to motivate them to start cleaning out, sorting, displaying, hiding, recycling or even simply donating. We welcome you all to our stores; to a season of a more organized you!‘’
For more information, please visit www.ikea.ae