Banana Web

Assessing the Possibilities

Having established what you need and how much space is available, compare the two to assess how closely they coincide and what adjustments are needed to balance them. You should distinguish between your genuine needs and more superficial wants, and try making a few sacrifices to make the most effective use of space that you have.

Make a list of activities and items that you want to make space for-cooking, eating, entertaining, office work, creative work, relaxing, playing games, playing musical instruments, exercising. Now, divide this list into two: ‘a must have’ list for the absolute essentials and ‘a would like’ list for the things you want space for if at all possible. This may seem obvious, but it is very subjective process and will throw up surprising variations from one person to another. You are the only one who knows whether or not you can live without your piano or multigym, and how many people you need to fit regularly round your dining table. Be sure to consult all members of the household to get their views, too.

If you cannot decide which list a particular item belongs in, give it a mark out of five, where five equals maximum need. Relegate anything scoring three or less to the wants list and use as reserves to be slotted in if there is room later.