“Along with changing sheets, vacuuming is my least favourite household task”, says Aggie MacKenzie, standing on a piece of carpet which has been befouled with sawdust and pet hair. “Lugging it up the stairs, changing the sockets, tripping over the flex: it’s annoying. I don’t even bother vacuuming stairs, I use a dustpan and brush.” It is comforting to hear this confession from the UK’s most recognisable cleaning authority, who for six years fronted the exuberant Channel 4 show How Clean Is Your House?, with Kim Woodburn. MacKenzie, a journalist, is rigorous in her investigation of the five, top-of-the-range vacuums arranged around her. Suction power is important but MacKenzie has other considerations. “It’s no good hauling a huge thing around,” she says, prizing instead the sleek, the nimble and the user-friendly. A vacuum should also look “at least a bit appealing, because it’s not an appealing job. You’ve got to be able to open the cupboard without hating the sight of it.”

She concludes: “You need to feel at one with your vacuum.” This is very hard to push, and that’s maybe because you are actually turning the brushes manually as you go. In that respect it’s like the old Bissell carpet sweepers, although even those were less stiff to use. And we certainly don’t want to go back to those days. It also looks like a prototype, like it’s not sure what it is, so it’s hard to have confidence in it. It’s hugely expensive considering it’s got such a small dust compartment, and I think the user will get fed up. Suction 62g Noise level 82db I’ve never had a cordless vacuum cleaner before, but I think they’re the future. This isn’t a bad little number. It’s flimsier than the others but it’s simpler, and it’s the only one that doesn’t leave any kind of mark on the carpet. The battery only has a finite life, 25 minutes or something, which would spur you to be more efficient. You’d just whip it round and get it done rather than lingering over it.

The canister is nice and big, it’s light – why would you want a corded vacuum if you could choose not to? best value canister vacuum cleanersIt’s a huge step forward.best price bosch cordless vacuum cleaner Suction 36g Noise level 82dbbest vacuum cleaner for laminate floors This is the only non-bagless, and I suppose that makes it more expensive long-term, but if you’re somebody with very bad allergies it’s probably better to have a bag. best cleaning solution for engineered wood floorsEmptying a bagless vacuum is a messy business, and what if you don’t want to see all the stuff you’ve vacuumed up?. best steam for cleaning couches

This is a pleasure to use; it’s so effortless it almost leads you around the room.best steam mop for wood floors It may not have such strong suction as the Dyson, but I like it. I use a bagged cleaner at home and there’s something quite satisfying about throwing the bag away, when it’s all full and taut. Suction 59g Noise level 78dIt’s a blinking elephant! You wouldn’t need to go to the gym with this thing. What amuses me about Dyson is, whenever they bring out a new one, which is quite often, they say: “This one is the best Dyson ever.” It makes you think: “I bought the previous Dyson – now I’ve got an inferior model, have I?” This one’s big and scary and unnecessarily over-designed. The ball might seem like a clever idea, but it scores deep lines in the carpet. It really is an ugly bugger: very loud, very heavy. You wouldn’t thank anyone for it. Suction 102g Noise level 80db

These are supposed to be the most popular vacuum in Spain, and you can see the benefits: if you’ve got a dishwasher and washing machine, why do your own vacuuming? You set it to wake up and it’ll trundle out of its docking station, clean the floor and go back to charge. It’s only worthwhile in certain homes – no clutter, lots of floor. It can’t handle stairs, and even though it’s quiet, it goes on for hours, so it’s best when you’re out of the house. You also have to empty the canister fairly often, but for big, unencumbered floors, it would be perfect. Suction 41g Noise level 65db The suction trial was conducted on a 3m² carpet embedded with 200g of fine MDF sawdust. The results represent the weight of the vacuums’ contents after 30 seconds of hoovering. The Roomba, which moves slower than a human-operated vacuum, was given three minutes of roaming. Noise levels were measured in decibels from a 50cm distance. Carpet supplied by Islington Flooring Company, pet hair by Love Your Pets, sawdust by London Cabinet Makers.

Decluttering is an unending art form. Sometimes, the solution is to get rid of things you don't need, but other times you have to keep a bunch of stuff in a small space. If you find yourself in a cramped home, here are some ways to keep your things stored without contributing to a mess. Recently, my girlfriend moved in to my home before the current residents moved out. Suddenly, we were faced with a very serious problem: how do you store five adults worth of stuff in a three bedroom home? We were forced to find space wherever we could. While some costly solutions were unavoidable (we had to at least temporarily acquire a storage unit), we discovered (read: she taught me) a ton of ways to add space where we thought we had none. If you're renting, you probably won't want to do too many permanent alterations to the place you're living. mand hooks can turn any wall into storage. Purses, coats, hats, and anything else that can be hung can be placed on the hooks, saving space in closets.

We've also shown before how you can use them to mount pot lids to the inside of cabinets, as well as how to mount your router to the wall not only to save space, but to improve Wi-Fi reception. The space under the bed is great for storing things that you want to keep handy but don't need regular access to. However, the space underneath can get cramped. Bed risers can add several inches to the space underneath your bed. Once you've got the bed risers in place (which will probably require some extra hands to lift the frame), you can stack storage boxes on top of each other or utilize bigger bins. We've shown before how you can use hanging shoe organizers for more than just shoes. You can use them for storing cables, growing herbs, or even storing bathroom supplies. Particularly in studio apartments, or half baths where space is at a premium, a shoe organizer is perfect for storing all the various lotions, creams, and bottles that would otherwise be sprawled across the counter.

Also, depending on where it is in the house, you can potentially pull double duty on a bathroom door. Hanging a shoe organizer on one side and a door hook for a bathrobe on the other doubles up your space saving. Of course, if you're going to start hanging things from your door, you'll need to be careful that you don't overweigh the hinges. If there's one pattern you should pick up more than any other, it's that the more stuff you can hang, the better. To wit: tension rods add extra storage to cabinets and closets can give you a place to store your spray bottles and wash cloths. This also helps in your closet. If you have the space for it, you can create a second clothing rod to hang more clothing, or just belts, scarves, and anything light, if there isn't enough room for more. Just be sure to leave room for any important clothes to hang loosely so they can dewrinkle after the wash. This solution may not be available if you're renting (unless you get approval from your landlord), but there is plenty of space to be utilized within the walls of your home.

While it's not quite as simple as hanging an organizer over a door, you can build shelves into your walls to add extra storage. Of course, with great upsides come great downsides. Depending on where and how you decide to do this, you may reduce the amount of noise insulation in your home. Obviously this works better on walls that separate kitchen and dining rooms than it does separate bedrooms. That couple of inches between your fridge and the wall are just a waste. Fortunately, with a little wood working skills, you can build a slide out shelf unit that fits between the two to store spices, canned or boxed goods, and other non-perishable food stuffs that aren't that large. Place the shelves on wheels and they can be pulled out when you need it and slid away when you don't. The project is fairly straightforward, but it does require a little bit of work. It's pretty cheap, too. All you really need is a bit of wood, some dowels, a handle, and a couple casters to put the whole thing on.

More importantly, it doesn't require any risk to your home, so if you're renting, you're in the clear to add a bunch of extra shelf space. If you already have a TV, it may not be worth it to trash it and buy a projector, but if you're looking for something (and you can block out the light to your entertainment area), projectors can provide a high quality entertainment system while taking up comparatively little space.Which projector to get is a huge discussion unto itself, but in general, you can get a decent high quality unit for under $1000 (or less, if you're willing to stick to 720p). More importantly, you can mount them to the ceiling while mounting the screen to the wall. This cuts down on space normally dedicated to an entertainment unit. It may require a somewhat long room, depending on the size of the display you want, but when you turn it off, your floor space is completely free. Just about everyone has some magnets on their fridge to place coupons. However, the utility of magnets doesn't end there.