ReDESIGNS by Ava
Make Room for What You love
“Clutter is a stealer of joy and contentment. Your home should breathe happiness into your family’s story, not slowly suck the life out of you.” ~ Melissa Michaels
You bring clutter into your home one piece at a time…so slowly, you hardly even notice you are cluttering the environment where you live. I have often said, “The only good thing about moving is you get to clean out closets and declutter whether you want to or not.” I’m not looking to move anytime soon but I help clients with relocation moves and with downsizing. You don’t realize how much you have until you move.
Getting rid of “stuff” you don’t need and creating order with the “stuff” you do will bring serenity to your life. When I do an Interior Redesign, this is one of the reasons I clear the room first. Then I bring items back into the room that will help it to function better. In the end, the room is more inviting.
Clutter brings stress, and a home without clutter feels so much better. Getting rid of clutter can help you make more room for what you love.
You all know the rule: keep, trash, donate or sell but to declutter, you may need to go beyond that. It is not always easy to let go of things. Holding on too tight? Ask yourself a few questions: “Why do I have this?” “Do I really need this?” “Do I have room for this?” “Does this item bring me joy?”
Dale Carnegie said, “People rarely succeed unless they have fun in what they are doing.”
Joshua Becker gives some fun ideas to encourage you to take that first step in decluttering in “10 Creative Ways to Declutter Your Home” on becomingminimalist.com. One of Joshua’s creative ideas: “Take the 12-12-12 Challenge. A simple task of locating 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home can be a really fun way to quickly organize 36 things in your house.”
Remember that clutter came in one piece at a time; it will take some time to let it go. Make a plan and decide what areas need to be decluttered, organized, and cleaned up. You might want to try tackling the easiest areas first to achieve a feeling of accomplishment quicker. Don’t try to tackle the whole house in one day.
Once you have prioritized…get started! As Joshua Becker says, “The goal is to take the first step with excitement behind it. There is a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind that clutter. How you remove is up to you.”
Thank you for reading my article each month. ReDESIGNS by Ava’s goal is to help you create a beautiful place where you and your family can come to be loved, refreshed, and encouraged.
If there is room…. a couple of quotes:
“If you have to buy stuff to store stuff, you might have too much stuff.” ~ Unknown
“A home filled with only the things you love or use is a home you will truly love to use.” ~ J. Becker