Last week we covered the basics to re-organizing your life starting with the space surrounding you. The gradual change that you’ve gone through with the surrounding space is now calm enough to first, take care of the tiny details that need some TLC, the key word here being TLC. Second, get a hold of yourself and reorganize your priorities, and third, accomplishing goals that are long overdue due to stress overload.
As mentioned earlier, decluttering your home is essential. The clutter can make your home feel messy, chaotic and a bit suffocating, which puts a lot of stress on you. We’re striving for peace here, not stress. So, first things first, take care of the tiny details that can drive anyone nuts! Starting with the living room, since it’s the second room in your house or apartment that you most feel comfortable in after your bedroom, the arrangement of your furniture plays a major role in comfort. Check the lighting, check for shadows that could dampen your mood a bit and most important the light coming from the outside. Sun light is known to be a mood lifter, not to mention cost effective (will definitely make you feel lighter just like your electricity bill). Natural sunlight is a mood enhancer and helps increase your Vitamin D levels, which in contrast can help fight away the blues, and surely increase your serotonin levels. Who knew sunlight can help both your physical and mental health. Change those dark drapes into light see-through drapes, push back the heavier drapes to the side for decor, move around the chairs and sofas and remove all tiny objects from your reach. Why? Because they’re messy and either they’re placed in a certain order or risk daily rearrangements, we’re trying to prevent that here. Place them on a shelf or two, they’re decorative so place them in your bird eye’s view for pleasure.
On to the next, your bedroom. Stand in the middle of the room, check out your surroundings and start picking up those small objects laying around all over the room. Bedside tables should be clear of any clutter, a bedside lamp and a book should be the only objects there. The vanity should be pretty, add a candle or two, a small plate for your daily valuables, your morning and night creams and your favorite perfume or cologne. Why take the minimalistic approach? To save your time from looking for your things. Have your makeup, creams and tidbits in a drawer or two, color code your closet, place your corporate clothes on one side while dresses are placed on the other side and in the middle have your daily go-to items, this is essential to make it easier to choose your outfits. Shoes, heels on the bottom shelf, flat sandals on the top and flat shoes in the middle, and daily slippers should be kept near the bedside table for easy reach.
Personal bathrooms, keep it clean, keep it light and simple. Forget the hanging bags potpourri, tiny figurines and products around the sink area, remove all items unrelated to the bathroom and provide enough storage space for all your hygiene products, tissue rolls, towels and what not, one storage cabinet and that’s all you’re going to need. Arrange your products by type, fold your towels with the fold facing outward for easy handling, smaller face towels on top of the larger bath towels centered in the middle and so on and so forth. An organized cabinet will not require prolonged periods to search for an item, you’ll only be opening the cabinet, reaching out for your desired item and shut it nice and easy, see nothing to it.
Ah the kitchen, my favorite place to organize and be creative. This specific area doesn’t require much organizing as the other rooms, all you have to do is throw away the expired items, goods that are rotting in the fridge, spices you will never use but bought “just in case” and please get rid of the endless and mindless wicker baskets lining the top of the kitchen cabinets, it’s not 1970 anymore! Each cabinet shelf should be organized and categorized, whereas spices should have their own special spice rack to fit them all, serving plates should be on their own away from the regular plates, no need to hang your wooden spoons and serving spoons because all you need is a wide drawer divider and just place each item with its similar kin (spatulas go with lasagne server…etc.). Lastly, leave the surfaces lemony fresh clean and clear at all times for your next cooking episode, trust me, it’s better this way.
Now that all is well in your home, time to focus on you and your goals. These two important factors go together hand in hand after desensitizing your home and adds momentum. This momentum includes creating an edited list of priorities that were set before heaving out all that is unimportant. There is now more time to focus on yourself, your health, both mental and physical, more time to spend reading a book or relaxing with your children. An organized daily schedule can help in setting forward an easy going routine that all the family can participate in such as helping in the kitchen, reading bedtime stories, homework or just fun family time for those with children. It’s all set in motion once your surroundings are in their proper places.
Creating more “me time” can do wonders, you’ll be more relaxed (you wouldn’t want stress lines early on in life would you now?) and more free to enjoy what life has to offer, hey you only live once, right? So de-stress your life by decluttering and get organized again for your sake. You come first, when you’re happy, everything else around you will be well.
You can now do your victory dance.
As mentioned earlier, decluttering your home is essential. The clutter can make your home feel messy, chaotic and a bit suffocating, which puts a lot of stress on you. We’re striving for peace here, not stress. So, first things first, take care of the tiny details that can drive anyone nuts! Starting with the living room, since it’s the second room in your house or apartment that you most feel comfortable in after your bedroom, the arrangement of your furniture plays a major role in comfort. Check the lighting, check for shadows that could dampen your mood a bit and most important the light coming from the outside. Sun light is known to be a mood lifter, not to mention cost effective (will definitely make you feel lighter just like your electricity bill). Natural sunlight is a mood enhancer and helps increase your Vitamin D levels, which in contrast can help fight away the blues, and surely increase your serotonin levels. Who knew sunlight can help both your physical and mental health. Change those dark drapes into light see-through drapes, push back the heavier drapes to the side for decor, move around the chairs and sofas and remove all tiny objects from your reach. Why? Because they’re messy and either they’re placed in a certain order or risk daily rearrangements, we’re trying to prevent that here. Place them on a shelf or two, they’re decorative so place them in your bird eye’s view for pleasure.
On to the next, your bedroom. Stand in the middle of the room, check out your surroundings and start picking up those small objects laying around all over the room. Bedside tables should be clear of any clutter, a bedside lamp and a book should be the only objects there. The vanity should be pretty, add a candle or two, a small plate for your daily valuables, your morning and night creams and your favorite perfume or cologne. Why take the minimalistic approach? To save your time from looking for your things. Have your makeup, creams and tidbits in a drawer or two, color code your closet, place your corporate clothes on one side while dresses are placed on the other side and in the middle have your daily go-to items, this is essential to make it easier to choose your outfits. Shoes, heels on the bottom shelf, flat sandals on the top and flat shoes in the middle, and daily slippers should be kept near the bedside table for easy reach.
Personal bathrooms, keep it clean, keep it light and simple. Forget the hanging bags potpourri, tiny figurines and products around the sink area, remove all items unrelated to the bathroom and provide enough storage space for all your hygiene products, tissue rolls, towels and what not, one storage cabinet and that’s all you’re going to need. Arrange your products by type, fold your towels with the fold facing outward for easy handling, smaller face towels on top of the larger bath towels centered in the middle and so on and so forth. An organized cabinet will not require prolonged periods to search for an item, you’ll only be opening the cabinet, reaching out for your desired item and shut it nice and easy, see nothing to it.
Ah the kitchen, my favorite place to organize and be creative. This specific area doesn’t require much organizing as the other rooms, all you have to do is throw away the expired items, goods that are rotting in the fridge, spices you will never use but bought “just in case” and please get rid of the endless and mindless wicker baskets lining the top of the kitchen cabinets, it’s not 1970 anymore! Each cabinet shelf should be organized and categorized, whereas spices should have their own special spice rack to fit them all, serving plates should be on their own away from the regular plates, no need to hang your wooden spoons and serving spoons because all you need is a wide drawer divider and just place each item with its similar kin (spatulas go with lasagne server…etc.). Lastly, leave the surfaces lemony fresh clean and clear at all times for your next cooking episode, trust me, it’s better this way.
Now that all is well in your home, time to focus on you and your goals. These two important factors go together hand in hand after desensitizing your home and adds momentum. This momentum includes creating an edited list of priorities that were set before heaving out all that is unimportant. There is now more time to focus on yourself, your health, both mental and physical, more time to spend reading a book or relaxing with your children. An organized daily schedule can help in setting forward an easy going routine that all the family can participate in such as helping in the kitchen, reading bedtime stories, homework or just fun family time for those with children. It’s all set in motion once your surroundings are in their proper places.
Creating more “me time” can do wonders, you’ll be more relaxed (you wouldn’t want stress lines early on in life would you now?) and more free to enjoy what life has to offer, hey you only live once, right? So de-stress your life by decluttering and get organized again for your sake. You come first, when you’re happy, everything else around you will be well.
You can now do your victory dance.
