SIX TIPS FOR A DECLUTTERED, MINDFUL SPACE
Guest Blog Post by Windcrest Studio – Fresca Clean Blog
Keeping a space organized is much like getting fit, it requires maintenance and time. The good news is that incorporating these six tips into your daily routine, you will manage and tackle clutter before it becomes overwhelming. So read along for some helpful ways to handle the little and "not-so-little" messes that happen in everyday life.
Make Every Trip Count.
Clutter follows us and those we share our spaces with as we move from activity to activity throughout our day. Make it a habit to always look around before leaving a room in your home to go to another and deal with clutter in bite-size bits. Pick up that book left in the living room, bring your coffee cup back from the home office to the kitchen, and take the kid’s Lego masterpiece back to their play space. The point of this habit is to make sure you always take something with you to its intended home as you move from one space to another. This will reinforce each item’s home base and before you know it, you’ll be doing it without even thinking about it.
2. Maintenance Time vs. “Recovery” Time.
It is easy to feel that tasks take longer when you tag on those few minutes of cleanup after each activity. But the truth is that devoting a couple of minutes to putting ingredients away as you cook, or wrapping up a movie night by taking away any dishes back to the kitchen and straightening the throw is all part of a maintenance mindset which as we pointed out before, helps break down clutter management into bite-sizex bits. If we leave clutter untouched, for a day, week, or longer, the amount of time it will take to clean up before that friend comes over for tea will be significantly longer than if we had devoted those maintenance minutes beforehand. Leaving clutter to pile up makes us feel overwhelmed, stressed, and anxious. Even when we don’t realize it does, the principle of a clean decluttered home has been studied and proven to have a deep effect on our mood and ability to cope with stress. So think of those maintenance minutes as a gift to yourself!
3. Think Before Buying
One of the biggest benefits to having an organized home is knowing what and how often things need to be bought to keep the pantry stocked up, or your closet up to date. Again, maintenance is key! And, by keeping spaces decluttered, you can think before buying something and make a conscious decision based on that thing’s purpose in your life and the space it will occupy. This contributes not only to keeping your spaces tidy but also to becoming a more conscious buyer, which is something we could all strive a bit more towards.
4. The 1 Piece “Yearly Review”
As we transition through the seasons, look at those sporting items or your wardrobe, and dedicate a few minutes to think about what doesn't get used at all. Have the kids moved on from the water blasters? Did you ever really go for that fuchsia cardigan that only worked while the color trended? Seasonal transitions are also the perfect time to do a bit of editing in your spaces. But the one place where this tactic works its magic is your kitchen counters. It seems no kitchen has enough counter space, no matter the size, so if it turns out your goal is to drink less coffee in 2024 then move that coffee maker down into a cupboard. If you miss it, you will be compelled to bring it back out, but if it sits there for months (like mine) that means you are probably ready to find it a new home. Less cluttered counters and more workspace are always welcome in any kitchen!
5. Identify the Signs of a Changing Space and be Proactive
Life has a way of introducing change into our lives, whether we like it or not. A person who barely spent time at home now has the option to replace some office hours with remote work, or perhaps you brought a baby home or a new pet. All these changes often translate into new demands for our spaces. We now need our den to function as a nursery, or our dining table as our office. The best way of ensuring these new transitions don’t overwhelm you and your space is to take the time to really look at your space and understand what no longer serves a purpose within it and what it needs to be replaced with. So, the den converting to a nursery, for example, is time to get rid of the tall shelves that house books you barely touch and make room for a crib and some toy/diaper storage. If you try and make those bookshelves work, chances are you will always have to adapt to what you can do with them. They won’t be deep enough for diapers, they won’t transition with a growing baby and soon enough you’ll start bringing in little drawer units, or piling boxes on the floor to make up for how those shelves are not serving you. So, save yourself the time, clutter, and trouble, and be intentional about the things that you allow to take up room in your home so that they are working for you and not the other way around.
6. Be Patient with Yourself.
Introducing these tips to your day-to-day routines will take time and patience, and you probably won’t succeed at all of them right away. I know there are days that I have a hard time keeping all the plates spinning! But the key is to remain patient and understand that if you’ve let things slip for a few days while you recovered from a cold, or got back into the swing of things after a vacation, as long as you can fall back into these tips/habits you will allow yourself to manage the clutter head on without feeling like it’s a part-time job!
I’ll close this up with a quote that speaks to what these tips are hopefully going to help you achieve:
“When there are specific parameters in your home that you set up, you’ll start to feel in control – and maybe even on top of the world!” Anita Yokota
Best wishes and may you find new ways to fall in love with your space as you implement these tips at home.
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