5 Tips for Organizing Your Home Like A Pro
We’ve all watched the home shows and thought to ourselves, “I wish my home were that beautiful.” Or, “Wow, they really transformed that space!” And many times, our follow-up thought is, “I could never accomplish that type of result.” But the truth is you can.
By following these 5 simple tips, you too can organize your home like the pros, and finally have the results you have always dreamed.
1. Vision Board
The first step toward creating your dream space is preparing a vision board with pictures from magazines or the internet that represent your dream environment. After you gather these pictures into one location, take a step back and view them as a whole. You’ll notice one consistent theme across all these pictures. No clutter!
We are naturally drawn to clean, clutter-free spaces, because it is less taxing on the mind and body. We perceive clutter-free environments as relaxing, calm, and peaceful. A living space where we can cozy into the couch or a favorite reading chair and just feel comfortable. Or a kitchen space where we can feel exhilarated to create and experiment with ease of flow. Even the presence of bottles with text displayed in an open environment creates stress on the mind, because it is a natural reaction for our eyes to attempt to read the text.
Your vision board doesn’t only display the colors, patterns, and textures you love, it clearly identifies the level of clutter you will feel most comfortable living in.
2. Evaluation
After you complete the review of your vision board and understand the level of clutter-free you are most comfortable living in, the next step is to do an evaluation of your home in its current condition. Sit in different locations within the room and write down your thoughts as you look around the room.
What makes you happy about what you see? What feels heavy to you? What brings you joy? What would you prefer to do without? And what do you hope to gain by the end of the clearing process?
Complete this process for every room in your home. Don’t disrupt the thought process by acting at this point. Working through the thought process is a major step in solidifying the organization plan going forward.
3. The Clutter
Once the evaluation of your home is complete, you are ready to begin the process of clearing the clutter. Set aside one full day, which you will devote only to accomplishing this goal. You can even go so far as allocating set timeframes for each room, as some rooms will be cleared faster than others.
Provide other people the opportunity to love these items as much as you did by researching donation locations for clothing, furniture, and household items, and arrange donation pick-up dates/times in advance of clearing day. Have snacks, lunch, and beverages on hand for minimal disruptions throughout the day.
4. Clearing Day
You have the possessions you do because of a desire in a moment in time. With that moment in time now in the past, you need to decide if the possessions are necessary to move forward in life with you. All possessions bring back memories and feelings but are they necessary in their physical form for your future.
On clearing day, always make decisions based on how you want to live from this day forward. Your mind must be stronger than your emotions. Choose only the items that bring you deep joy. Specify a “donation” location completely removed from the rooms you are clearing.
When clearing each room, immediately place all items in this donation location. Do not reset the room until all rooms in your home have been cleared. There will be plenty of time to “design” after the clearing is complete.
5. Planning
With the clutter removed from your living space, it is now time to set your dream home plans in place. Are you loving the current environment? Is this the clean and simple, guilt free home you’ve always wanted? Do you feel a renovation is in order? Are you ready to downsize/upsize your home?
Starting from a place of organization, you are better equipped to make these decisions. You may no longer need to expand the storage space throughout the home. You can now change that spare (storage) room back into a guest room, office, or living space. You may realize there is an abundance of space, and it no longer fits your needs for living comfortably.
Whatever your desired direction moving forward in life, an organized environment will help you do so with a clear mind. Our homes reflect everything else going on in our lives. How do you want to live?
If you need support in this process, I would be delighted to help guide you through your organizing projects while helping you create lasting habits and systems for long-term happiness at home. Reach out to me here and let’s see if we’re a good fit.
Yours,
Kristi