“Clutter is like dust; it collects without you realising, and everything feels nicer once it’s gone,” says writer and photographer Sara Tasker. Her whitewashed, linen-draped home is Instagram-famous (@me_and_orla has 128k followers). We take a look inside…
Sara Tasker is a writer and photographer. She lives in a village in West Yorkshire with her husband Rory and their daughter Orla, three. She blogs at meandorla.co.uk.
Me and Orla
Our mornings are… messy, loose and flexible. It’s possibly the biggest advantage to being self-employed.
My kid mainly wears… nicer clothes than I do, often by small makers and independent designers such as Christina Rohde, Mises en Scene, Panpantaloni and Boy + Girl.
I cope with clutter by… having regular and ruthless culls. Clutter is like dust; it collects without you realising, and everything feels nicer once it’s gone. Our home is painted entirely white with lots of natural wood and linen. I find the bright, clear spaces really calming, and the perfect canvas for the ever-changing view outside of our windows.
I never leave the house without… my iPhone charger, and an SPF lip balm. My first where can i buy diovan indicator of stress is dry and stinging lips.
When she’s not looking I… throw away the crafts and artwork Orla has amassed over the previous weeks. Sometimes I’ll take a photo first, if I’m feeling sentimental.
I encourage creativity by… holding back. During my time working as a speech therapist for the NHS, I learnt that, as parents, we’re often inclined to show our children the “right way” of doing things. I let Orla find her own way instead.
I’ll never be able to part with… the compact box of mementos from when Orla was born: her impossibly tiny hospital wristband; that flimsy first blanket we wrapped her in. I sometimes take them out and breathe in her baby smell, marvelling that she was ever so little.
When all else fails we… head for water. The village stream, the sea – even just a bath at a pinch. It never fails to revive tired and grumpy spirits, child and adult alike.
Follow Sara on Instagram: me_and_orla