How to Move Forward

You've had a big life change or you want to propel yourself forward; but how? The space around you significantly influences the person you are and the person you will become. So, if you want to move onward and upward, start by looking around you.

Start by going through your decor and decide what no longer reflects the person you want to be. Take it all down and gather it in a pile. Look around for pictures, knick-knacks, books, etc. You can keep everything you don't want to let go of, but you don't have to display it. As for the things you're willing to part with, donate them to a local Goodwill or Salvation Army. Get a box to put your sentimental items in, label it, and store it in a safe place.

Next you'll do this with your clothes, and any wearable items. As you go through your things, ask yourself, “if I walked into a store today, would I still buy this?” We all have things just because we've always had them but that doesn't serve us. Let the item go to a new home to find a new purpose. Keep in mind your goal and start to envision the person you want to be and what kind of wearable items reflect that.

Lastly, take stock of your furniture items. Is there anything you want to replace? Consider taking this time to rearrange your furniture for better flow of your new energy. You can visit Facebook marketplace and post items for sale and find some new pieces that embody the environment you're creating.

The last step requires your utmost focus and attention; you'll now begin to replace your items. As you do this, to slowly and carefully through your home and make a list of specific things you want. Before you go to any store, you must know what you're searching for to avoid coming home with random items that don't belong in your new space. An item must be truly special to be brought into your space. Try to hone in on colors, style, and overall appearance of your new items. Once you've taken time to consider these things you can start filling your space again! Enjoy!

Create an Entryway

Create the perfect mud space/entryway with no built-ins! Having an entryway set up helps keep clutter out of other areas and it also helps you get out of the door faster. Have you ever wasted 10 precious morning minutes looking for your keys? Having an entryway will solve that. What you'll need: hooks, a mirror, a bench, a basket, and a rug!

When looking for hooks think of what you'll be hanging on them: jackets, coats, backpacks, purses, hats, keys, etc. Make sure you select hooks made in a shape that accommodates what you'll be hanging up. Hooks with an end too wide to get keys over usually also don't hold jackets well-they just slip off. You can pick individual hooks that you can screw in yourself or you can pick a piece of wood with hooks already attached. These can usually be put up with command strips if you don't want to put holes in the wall; just keep the weight limit in mind.

Next you'll need a mirror for your last minute check before you walk out of the door. Make sure it's big enough and make sure it's something that represents you.

When searching for a bench consider that you may put dirty shoes on it so make sure it's something you can clean easily. Some benches open up and you can hide the shoes inside. Think about what you would prefer and choose something that will suit your needs.

A basket can be for umbrellas, backpacks, bags, etc. Think about what you'll want to put in your basket before selecting one. An umbrella won't stay upright in a short basket, so you'll need to pick something tall. If you'd rather put your backpack in a basket than hanging it up (or if your backpack is too heavy to hang), measure the backpack before you pick your basket to ensure it will fit comfortably.

Now you'll pick your rug. Pick something durable and fun; it's the last and the first thing you'll see when coming in and out of your residence. Try to find something that will keep a grip on the floor when you wipe your shoes on it. As always, make sure to pick something that reflects you!

The fun part is hanging everything up and getting everything just as you like it. You'll be able to make tweaks to get everything just right-enjoy your entryway!

Moving In Checklist

Congratulations on finding your new residence! Now comes the fun part; making it your home. Before unloading all of your boxes make a quick trip to the store and get: cleaning supplies, dish soap, laundry supplies, a broom, a mop/Swiffer, a vacuum, hand soap, toilet paper, paper towels, some flowers, and a treat for yourself. Take this opportunity to clean the floors, doors, windows, drawers, and shelves/closets before you put all your stuff away.

You can tackle the next step one of two ways: distributing the boxes to their rooms or filling one room with all the boxes. If you've labeled all of your boxes take them straight from the vehicle to the room they will go in. If you havent labeled all of your boxes, drop them all off in the living room.

After all of your boxes are unloaded open them all! Every single one. This will prevent not being able to find something and therefore buying things we don't need. Moving is expensive enough! After you open a box, take everything out of it and pick one place to put your boxes. Go ahead and break them down so you don't accumulate a pile of cardboard. You can take a picture and post them on Facebook marketplace or craigslist and guaranteed someone will come pick them up shortly.

Now that the boxes are out of the way, start putting like items away. Start a list of small items you notice need like a paper towel holder, a utensil organizer, hangers, a shoe rack, a basket for towels, etc. If you don't know where something goes yet, try to group it with similar items and after grouping all the items consider if you would like a piece of furniture to house them, a basket or a shelf and add this to your list. When you start putting things away, really consider where you will need them. You may reshuffle things a few times but that's okay!

Don't know where to start? First, put your flowers on full display-nothing says welcome home like a fresh bouque Put your kitchen items away so you can eat-youll be hungry soon(thank goodness you got yourself a treat)! Then put your bathroom/shower items away because you're going to feel like you need a shower. Next, make your bed because you'll be tired tonight!

The first day is a big day so you probably won't get everything done in one day unless you have help. If you use anything that hasn't been put away yet, put it in its new place immediately after using it. You'll have all your things in their new place in no time.

Enjoy your home!

Personalize Your Space

Organizing is the ultimate personalization of your space. Its putting things in their place based on what you use and how you use it. It also means your space will better reflect you. So, how do you begin to personalize your space? Most importantly, spend time in the space and consider what works and what doesn't, what you like to look at and what you don't. Even if it's a mirror in your bathroom. Simple swaps leave you feeling refreshed and better represented. What does your home say about you? What do you want it to say? Do you want to walk in to one room and feel calm and another room and feel energized? Paint, furniture, and decor can help you achieve this. Be selective in what you display and know why you've chosen to display it.

Even changing the height of a shelf is personalizing a space. It's making items easier or harder to access based on how you use them. If something is frustrating because it's out of reach or you don't use things because they're hard to access, consider personalizing to your needs. Change a shelf, add a shelf, create new spaces for items with furniture. If you don't like the way something looks, consider finding furniture with drawers or cabinet doors. You can even find a cute basket to hide things in. Whatever it is, spend time making sure that each space in your house makes you happy and reflects you. If you don't know where to start, think about a space that you don't like to spend time around. What would make it better? Even consider colors that make you happy or little things like fresh flowers. You can do anything!

Clear Cluttered Drawers

We've all been there; cramming an item back in a drawer and slamming it shut before everything falls out. Typically, we only use the things on the top of our clutter because that's what we can see and that's what we have access to. We've all bought an item knowing we have one at home, we just can't find it. It's at the bottom of that cluttered drawer. We frustratingly paw through saying “I know I have one here”. Luckily for you, there is another way! It won't take nearly as long as you think it will and everyone can do it.

Dump the drawer on the floor. Yes, that's right. Dump the drawer upside down and get everything out on the floor. Now, remain calm. Spread everything out. Refrain from grabbing the item you've been looking for and throwing everything back in. Take everything that you know if trash and go put it in the trash. Next, check expiration dates and toss expired items. Now, take everything you want to keep in that drawer and place it on the counter. This is your opportunity to give it a good cleaning! Of your remaining items, decide if they should go somewhere else or if you'd like to sell, donate, or toss them. If you have a product you know doesn't work for you, don't hang on to it out of guilt for how much you paid, pass it along to a friend!

If the items you've decided to keep are scattered across categories, see if you can group them or maybe remove a category and put it in a different place. For example, if you have hair products, hair tools like blow-dryers and straighteners, skincare products, and makeup all together this can be too jumbled. See if you can relocate one or two of these categories so your drawer is more clearly defined. If youre able to further separate items into bins or boxes, great, and if not, that's fine too! Now when you get ready you'll be able to notice how much more relaxed you are and maybe even more punctual. Digging through drawers takes more time and energy than you think it does. Enjoy your clean and organized drawer!

Donation Options

So you decluttered; you've decided to part with your excess items and items that no longer suit your life. What now? Place all of your donation items in bags or boxes and put them straight in your car. Don't let them gather in the garage or by the door because that is where they will stay and linger at the back of your mind and add to your to-do list. Let's get this one done. Remember, the quicker you donate your items, the quicker someone else can benefit from them.

Make sure your donation items are not trash. Donation centers need to be able to give your items to those in need, not just fill up their dumpster. One stop donation options are donation centers that are already set up. Simply find one near you and drive your donations to their drop-off space and unload! Look for Goodwill, Salvation Army, habitat for humanity, or a local donation center sometimes run by a resale shop or church. You may have also seen a freestanding donation station in a parking lot. These are self-serve donation centers where you can unload your own items at any time so feel free to use them! If it is near the holidays, there may be a local donation drive for something specific like toys or bikes so if you would like to make a special trip, you'll be making a child very happy.

If you have items that are too large or too heavy for you to transport, take a photo of the item and post it on a site like Facebook marketplace or Craigslist. In the description of your item, be sure to specify that pickup is required. You can also search for companies like Thrive that will come pick up the item for you.

Once you've donated your items, take a moment to pay yourself on the back! Now you will be able to better appreciate the items you have chosen to keep in your home and you will be more aware of the items you bring into your home.

How to Organize Your Closet

To organize any closet, the first step is to understand what is in the closet. Make sure everything in the closet belongs in the closet. Take anything out that you do not want to stay in the closet. This includes any clothes you come across that you no longer want to keep. Set them aside for now and focus on the space of your closet.

Begin to consider how you want to group your clothing. When you get dressed, do you think of the color you want to wear? Do you think of the type of shirt you want to wear whether it's a sweater or a short sleeves shirt? Do you decide what shoes you want to wear before you choose the clothes? That is how you should organize your closet. Organize by the way you get dressed.

If you get dressed by color, begin to group all the colors in your closet. Organize them in whatever way makes you happiest, with your favorite colors first. If you get dressed by the type of clothing, begin to group all types of clothing that you have; crop top, short sleeve, long sleeve, sweater, jacket, coat, etc. Place the groups in whatever order makes sense to you. If you get dressed by choosing your shoes, begin to find an appropriate place to display them as the important step that they are. You can display them by color or type or whatever makes sense to you. If you need to go get shelving, do it. This is an important part of your process and it needs to be allowed space.

Now that you have everything grouped and in it's place take a few days and ensure that your morning flow has become easier or more enjoyable. Since you have taken the first step, you will be able to make tweaks to further streamline your morning process.

Make Space Intentional

All your things are in the room you want them in but now where do they go? The best way to get organized and stay organized is to make your space intentional. Start to think about what you will be doing in the room you are in and how things need to function for your benefit. For example, if you are putting your home office together to suit your needs, make sure your furniture pieces can store everything you need. Before you start putting things in drawers think about what you interact with most frequently and store those items in the easiest to reach places. If you notice that you leave the same thing out on our desk, like a pen, get a fun pen holder or cup to put it in so you can keep it on your desk where you prefer.

If you notice an area is cluttered, consider removing all related items and getting a new shelf or furniture piece specifically for those items. For example, if the area around your printer is cluttered or you find your printer is buried, find a small two drawer shelf that is the right size to put your printer on top. You can designate the top drawer to loose papers you aren't ready to toss and the bottom drawer to the copy paper and ink. In doing this, you've made your printing process more simple and made the space for it intentional.

How To Create Categories

A huge part of getting organized is creating categories. To create a category, you must understand the categories in your life. What do you do frequently? What do you accumulate based on your interests? For example, let’s start with coffee. If you are someone that enjoys coffee in the morning, this is a great category to start with.

Gather all of your items related to your morning coffee: cups, coffee maker, coffee beans, k-cups, filters, etc. Now, select a designated area for all of these items to be stored in. This keeps your category together rather than spread throughout your kitchen which helps with feeling organized. If you can’t find a designated space for all of these items to live within arms reach of each other, create one! Check out our instagram for an easy to follow coffee station creation for every budget.

Once you have your location set for all of the items in your category, the fun part can begin; decorating! Find baskets to place like items in, maybe a fun sign that declares what this space is for, placemats to put underneath your baskets, whatever makes you happy and feel ownership of this category. Place all of your coffee beans in fun jars or find a cute basket for your k-cups. Make sure everything is functional and the items you need easy access to are not blocked. Place your favorite coffee cups front and center, really make the space your own and show off your prized items.

Now that you have one category down, start to think about your daily life and what other categories you may have. Do you have pets? Now you can repeat the process for all of your pet items. Pretty soon, you will have a functional space for every category in your life. This process will also help you understand what you interact with and what fills your day. You’ll begin to understand yourself better through categorizing your items.

Moving Out Check-List

So you’re moving; it’s exciting, stressful, and it can be intimidating! There are so many pieces to put into place but when you take it step by step, you’ll be in your new home with your sanity intact. As soon as you begin to consider moving, begin down-sizing and clearing out the clutter. You will be amazed at what you have accumulated. Start in drawers, cabinets, and closets- this is where the hidden things are that you won’t be anticipating. Start to look at your belongings through the lens of “do I want to take this with me into my new home and my new life?”

All those unwanted items likely fall into three categories: dump, donate, and sell. If you live in a house or a rental that does not have a dumpster, order a dumpster! You may think this seems over kill but you may have noticed junk accumulating since you’ve begun decluttering. Dumpsters can be delivered to your house and stay for a week. This will help you to focus on clearing the junk out. During this time you can also begin listing things for sale online or plan a garage sale. Designate a space to put all of your sale items so you have them all in the same spot, ready to go. For all the items you won’t be selling, donate them to a local charity organization or ask friends/family if they would like the items.

Now that your home only has the items you have chosen to keep, begin researching movers and start getting quotes. If you get the quotes while your house is full of things that will not be going with you, it will be harder to get an accurate quote. Professional movers will help you to plan the financial obligations that moving will have. It will also help bring up important questions that you may not have begun to consider. You are not obligated to use the movers, and you may choose to schedule a u-haul or enlist the help of friends and family. Set your move date and communicate how you will be moving either by choosing a moving company or telling friends and family.

Time for packing materials! Check online to see if anyone has posted free packing supplies or purchase them at your local hardware store. Start packing the things you use the least. When you pack a box, make sure there are no loose items-give it a shake and if you hear rattling, add packing paper. Always label your boxes and try to fill the boxes with like items or things from the same room. Take all of your pictures down and wrap up any rugs you want to take with you. As you begin clearing shelves, wipe them down to cut down cleaning time. Once you have cleared a cabinet or closet, place some painters tape on the front so you know this area is done.

Time to go! You should be down to your bare essentials now. Gather all the items you need to have with you in the same area so you don’t leave anything behind. Go around and do any cleaning that remains and as you complete a room, take any blue painters tape off of the cabinets and closets, close the door to the room and put them on the door. On your last night, begin putting those essentials in your suitcase or in a box as you use them. When you wake up in the morning you are ready to go! You can now remove all the painters tape, no need to double check anything since you’ve done all there is to do. Say your final goodbye and thank your space for housing you, walk out the door and on to your next chapter!

Prioritize for Happiness

We know what we want to do, but we just don’t get around to doing it. Our daily activities may get in the way or we may get overwhelmed and avoid doing the thing we wanted to do because the things we had to do took up too much of our mental or physical energy. We have to prioritize what we want because what we want is just as important as what we are obligated to do. 

Maybe we are so out of touch with our needs that we aren’t even sure where to begin. Make a list of things you want to do as they pop into your mind. As you start considering this more, it will become easier and easier. Nothing lofty or expensive, just simple, attainable things. For example, go for a hike, plant some flowers, go to the local antique store, or finally go to the local art walk. Set a day and a back-up day for this. Just once per week, prioritize yourself.

Life has many different areas that come together to form our sense of overall content or discontent. Be sure to group these areas of your life and make sure no area is going neglected that matters to you. For example, our lives include social interactions, family/community connectedness, career, education, hobbies, physical health, mental health, adventure… ask yourself what matters to you and list all the things you do in a typical month that go into each category. Then, see if one is lacking and ask yourself if that’s okay. This will help you steer the course of how you spend your time. If educational fulfillment is what matters most to you right now, find a way to devote more time in that area. After a few months, you will see the greatest return on investment from the areas you gave the most attention to. Be intentional with how you spend your time and you can develop whichever areas you want. This should help with your sense of control over your life and your sense of fulfillment.

Schedule by Intention

Everyone has a busy schedule and sometimes the day slips by without us knowing where our time went. This results in minimal progress simply because we may be caught up in day-to-day habits without stopping to consider what is best for the long term. Is what you’re doing today going to amount to something in 1 year? Or will it be lost? A small step each day in the direction we want to go in will get us there in a balanced and sustainable way.

A standard schedule does not work for everyone because life gets in the way and things get pushed back repeatedly until we simply forget about them. Scheduling intentions allows flexibility without the guilt if those things are not accomplished in the way we hoped. Simply block out a time that you are going to dedicate to your goal. Even if you only accomplish something small during that time, you still took a step in the right direction. There are many small steps behind every big result.

Establish your intentions by setting daily minimums to alleviate the feeling that we did not accomplish enough at the end of the day or that the day slipped by. Break down all the different areas of your life. Now, what do you have to do in order to maintain each of them? For example, you may need to do 3 chores a day to maintain your home, send 1 text to a friend and 1 text to a family member to let them know you’re thinking of them, and study/ network/research for 1 hour to keep up with school or career development, and 30 minutes for physical fitness. This is just a basic example of how to delegate intention to maintain all the aspects of your life. What time you check off these daily minimums can adjust to your changing schedule, but at the end of the day, you’ll know all areas of your life are on track and heading in the right direction. Ask yourself where you want to be in a year and set time aside to grow that area. Don’t worry about your scheduled obligations! They will always be there but your time will not. You must have presence in where you are going or you will stay exactly where you are. In a year, you will be able to see how 30 minutes a day has added up and what it has amounted to.

How to Choose Color

Choosing a décor color for can be stressful. There are so many options, so many hues, so many mixes to match. But when we understand what color does and what space we are putting it in, it helps the decision-making process. Color has more power than we often realize, it influences the way we feel, how we perceive time, how we respond, even our appetite. We can walk in to a room and feel instantaneously at ease or suddenly agitated and overwhelmed. This can be attributed, largely, to color. A room can be neatly organized but still instigate anxiety just because it is painted in an agitating or overstimulating hue. So, ask yourself what would you like to feel when you enter a room and let’s get started!

• Red - appetite, passion, determination

  • stimulates urgency, caution

    • intense

• Pink - youth, caring, emotion

  • stimulates energy, action

    • friendly

• Orange - enthusiasm, optimism, adventure

  • stimulates freedom, curiosity

    • excited

• Yellow - communication, joy, attention

  • stimulates awareness, energy

    • joyous

• Green - health, nature, peace

  • stimulates encouragement, growth

    • refreshed

• Blue - calm, trust, productivity

  • stimulates productivity, order

    • calm

• Purple - creativity, wisdom, royalty

  • stimulates intuition, inspiration

    • powerful

• Brown - dependable, organic, stable

  • stimulates reliability, authenticity

    • stable

• Black - authority, power, mystery, elegance

  • stimulates authority, intimidation

    • confident

• White - simple, luxury, security

  • stimulates openness, timelessness

    • composed

• Grey - conservative, practical, formal

  • stimulates composure, maturation

    • balanced

Now that you’ve chosen your color, you can tone it down by opting for a more pastel version or amp it up by going for a more pure version of that color. Cool undertones lean more towards blue/green so keep in mind what the color blue evokes and warm undertones lean more towards red/yellow so keep in mind what the color red evokes. So, if you want to calm your color down, choose a cool undertone and if you want to wake a color up, choose a warm undertone.

How to Influence Change

Everyone has something they want to change. The ultimate goal is clear, it’s just the steps to initiate the change that seem blurry. There’s no roadmap with the ultimate goal as the destination so how do we draw a map? One direction instruction at a time. Just like every other map. Envision your goal: someone treating you differently, the addition of a new habit, the subtraction of an old habit, a change in lifestyle. Think of it as clearly as possible, how it would make you feel, how you would know it has been accomplished, what other people would say about it, what it would mean to your life. Go into detail and resonate with your goal for a moment. Now, what are you doing that doesn’t fit with that goal? What is the first step that you can take today that aligns with your goal? Lasting change doesn’t happen overnight. It develops slowly over time. You’ll know when you’ve created a lasting change because you won’t have to think about it, it will be thoughtless because it will be your reality. When we make sudden changes that aren’t true to ourselves it feels like a constant nag, like a “have to”, and it doesn’t last. Change is influenced, not enforced.

If your change is to be treated differently then you, not the other person, must behave differently. You cannot change another person, only that person can change themselves. So, begin to examine your interactions more closely. Hold your head higher, be more direct, speak with clarity, see how the world’s response to you changes. Envision the person that is treated how you want to be treated. Emulate that version of yourself and your reward will be a changed response. People who have become accustomed to treating you a certain way may need boundaries established. What you will and won’t accept must be communicated. People can accept this or they can become accustomed to a distance from you, initiated by you. You control your environment maybe not completely in what happens to you but completely in your responses and the direction you emit your energy.

If your change is a habit, for example, to keep the house more tidy, begin with your response to your house. Think of your home and understand the feeling that comes with your home. If you feel overwhelmed, begin to take control of your home one area at a time. Go you your closet and set it up exactly how you would like it to be and the next time you do your laundry, you will be encouraged to put things away how they were before because you chose that. You are responsible for the way your closet looks, you chose how it looks, and you make the decisions for the items that are there. For other people in your home, lead by example and guide them through the same process you went through. If your children throw their clothes on the ground, maybe it’s because they haven’t taken ownership of where their clothes go. If they are holding a shirt, do they know where they want to put it? Some people like to hang things and some people like to fold things. Which does your child prefer? Do they understand categories? These are not lessons we learn all at once, but over time. We develop our sense of what works for us and what does not work for us, what we like and what we don’t like.

Change your mindset by understanding why you choose an action. Why do we choose to leave a plate on the table? We walk away from the table anyways, why don’t we take the plate? We either put the plate in the sink/dishwasher now or later, why don’t we put it there now? Are we waiting for someone else to take the plate? If they haven’t established that habit before, why would they start now? Our expectation for others cannot be cultivated in our own mind without including the other person. If we reach a conclusion on our own and then hold another person responsible, that’s not fair to the other person because they didn’t come to the conclusion with us so they simply don’t understand the expectation we have reached. Once you understand your own actions, then you can begin understanding the actions of other people without blame. Start by establishing an expectation for yourself. Start by understanding why you choose an action without including others. Then, you will begin to understand your home more. If you find the answer is “I don’t take the plate because I just don’t want to deal with it right now”, you have just uncovered the first step in changing how you feel about your home; to reaching the ultimate goal of loving your home.

Psychology of Organizing

Organizing makes us feel good, we know this; but why? I believe that organizing is tied to our neurological process called “pruning”. Pruning is the process by which our brain clips off pathways to retrieving information we don’t use. The more we use information, the faster our mind can access the pathway that it is stored with. The less we use information, the less our mind attempts to maintain the pathway to that information. Think of a nature trail: the more a trail is used, the wider and easier it is to travel. The trail that is used infrequently starts to become overgrown and you have to push your way through the trail. Eventually, the trail becomes completely overgrown and is no longer able to be used. In our mind, each trail ends with information. Our minds are constantly evolving according to the information we use.

I believe that if we do not update our environment to match where our minds are that we actually hold ourselves back, to an outdated version of ourselves. Visually seeing something strengthens a pathway. Subconsciously, everything in our environment is tied to something. If we look at a photo that reminds us of a sad memory, we strengthen that memory and everything that goes along with it. If we switch that photo out for a photo of a happy memory or something aspirational, we are strengthening that pathway in our mind. Set yourself up for success by aligning you environment with the best version of yourself.

Look around your room. Check in with yourself and how you feel while in your room. Now, begin to think of how you would like to feel while in your room. Begin to identify objects that do not align with how you would like to feel. You’ve begun the process of organizing. Organizing allows us to go through our items and actively choose if we would like to keep them, how we would like to display them, or if they do not serve our purpose, we have the power to replace them with something ideal for our needs. This, I believe, is why organizing makes us feel better. Your environment is powerful and so are you. Ensure that your environment fuels your power and does not drain it.

How To Stop Buying Things You Don’t Need

Have you ever gone to a store, gotten excited about everything you’re purchasing, only to get home and ask yourself “why did I buy this?” This is something most people can relate to. The solution starts with understanding what you have. When you go through the items you own, you will be able to start appreciating what you have and being more mindful about what you bring in to your home. Gather similar items and understand whether or not you want more of that item, if the items you have gathered aren’t working for you try to understand why, also, do the items you have make you happy and serve their function. If you buy lots of jars but have nothing to do with them so they end up in a closet, this item is not serving you. Maybe, you would prefer to display the jars. Find your favorites and only display those and decide if you would like to part with the others. Now, when you see jars in a store, you will understand that you like them but they do not have a function and you will be able to compare the jars in the store to the ones you know you have at home so you avoid buying jars that are not your favorite.

When you familiarize yourself with clothing items you own, try to notice if there is any color or type of clothing that you are drifting away from. You deserve to wear clothes that represent you and the person you want to be. If you are looking at a grey sweater in a store, picture the sweaters you have at home. You can only wear one sweater at a time. Ask yourself if there a time that you would want to wear the one in the store more than the ones you have at home. Additionally, Try to avoid going to stores unless you know what you are looking for. Establish a need for something before you purchase it. When you familiarize yourself with the items in your home and you see the need for something, then you will be able to purchase something appropriate for what you need rather than getting home and realizing you have nothing to do with the item you purchased.

Be mindful of your reason for shopping. Sometimes it’s not about needing anything, it’s about filling time, escaping, or the thrill of finding something new. Perhaps in the time you spend familiarizing yourself with your items you will find that you have enough and decide to spend time honoring the items you have by rearranging, cleaning, or displaying them. If you are looking for an escape, perhaps you may discover that you are just desiring to be around people and you may be able to invest effort in looking for a social event. If you simply love finding something new, now that you have familiarized yourself with the items in your home, you will be able to accurately judge whether the item in the store is “better than” your item at home.

Maintain

Everything is the way you want it… for now. But what falls apart when life starts happening? No need to worry, it’s just a part of the process-the maintenance process. If you put everything in place and that area only stays the way you want it for a few days or even a few hours, then that system is not working for you. It is common to feel frustrated or discouraged for not being able to keep your space neat but this is not a reflection of you, just of the system you are using.

For example, if you can never keep on top of your clothes, look at your habits. If your dirty clothes end up in a predictable pile on the floor, put your hamper in that area. If you finish drying your clothes but don’t feel like folding them and putting them away, get a designated basket for your clean clothes rather than creating a clean clothes pile. It is important to contain everything so you don’t feel like your clothes are dirty by the time you are ready to fold them because they’ve been sitting out in the open somewhere. If you avoid putting your clothes away because you don’t know where to put them, don’t just throw them in a drawer. Take the time to look in your drawers and organize them according to what works for you. Every type of clothing should have a place. Find a home for everything and ensure it’s home makes sense for you and your habits. If you simply cannot get started on the laundry, time yourself. If you spend more time feeling frustrated by not having clean clothes, looking for clothes, or thinking “I need to do the laundry”, compare the time it takes to actually do the laundry to the amount of time spent on thinking about doing the laundry. Another trick is to add laundry to another habit. After you brush your teeth put clothes in the washer, before you leave for school/work put clothes in the dryer, before your bedtime routine, fold the clothes and put them away. Find what habits work for you to tie together.

Be gentle with yourself in finding what maintenance systems work for you. Notice how you feel after completing daily routines and take a moment to reflect on that feeling compared to the feeling of being overwhelmed by systems that don’t work. With the right maintenance you won’t feel overwhelmed because you know what to do and how to do it. Starting the process takes less time and doing the process becomes second-nature. It is totally okay to have an off-day and having the right systems in place help you pick right back up where you left off.

Let Go

The phrase “let go” strikes fear in the heart of many individuals but when reason and process is addressed, it becomes less scary, and eventually, very easy. Now that you have asked yourself who you want to be, the process of letting go is stitched in to the process of cultivating yourself to your ideal self.

Start wherever you want. Find something in your environment that reflects an old version of yourself, someone you don’t currently align with, something that does not hold a positive memory, and put it in a bag. Be active in your environment and actively choose the things you want to keep. We don’t need something passively hanging around for a random reason. We want things that we have chosen and said yes, I want this in my life. Many people have an article of clothing that they haven’t worn-it’s not ugly, it might fit if you put it on, but now you may look at it and realize you haven’t worn it because it doesn’t reflect you. It’s not who you are or who you want to be. Let it go.

As your bag of things from your environment begins to fill, look in it and reflect on any theme you see. What kind of person belongs with these items? Take the bag to a donation center. Come home, and notice is your closet brighter? darker? do you have space on a shelf or in a drawer? Take a moment to appreciate this. Appreciate the change or the space and then you may begin to consider what you would like in that space. Consider what you would like to display, what you would like to see regularly. If you found something that made you light up when you saw it, go back to it and set it on a shelf where you have space or hang it in the front of your closet. Display the things that most reflect who you are, who you are becoming, things that make you happy. Let the items you have chosen cheer you on. Letting go has gifted you this feeling and it is worth so much more than the items you were hanging on to.

Cultivate a Lifestyle

“Does my lifestyle reflect the person I want to be?” Is a question most people do not ask themselves. Most people don’t even ask themselves who they want to be. Living day to day without questioning whether we are aligned with our true selves can be a slippery slope; one day you wake up and realize you are massively unhappy. But this didn’t happen “one day”, this happened one day after another, small pieces at a time, over many years. If you take just one step in the wrong direction each day, at the end of the month you may not notice much, but after a few months or a year, you look around and notice you have walked yourself into a realm you didn’t necessarily ask to be in-it feels like you just fell in, over your head, and now you say “how did I get here?”

So, who do you want to be? Ask yourself what your ideal self looks like. What do you dress like? What do you do with your spare time? What do people say about you? Now, look around you. What in your environment does not reflect that ideal self? Look through your texts-are you engaging with people the way your ideal self would be? Look in the mirror and ask if you have presented yourself as your ideal self would be presented. Do this with every aspect of your life: friends, family, finances, hobbies, education, career, etc. This may be a lot to take in all at once but it doesn’t change all at once; it changes one step at a time, one day at a time. Take initiative on one thing today.

Once you start removing the things around you that don’t reflect the person that you want to be, you can start adding in the things that do reflect who you aspire to become. This will take many adjustments. You may initially envision yourself decked out in flowy Earth tones and becoming more calm and accepting, only to find that this is not your nature and when you wear Earth tones you don’t stand out enough. Simply readjust-finding yourself is a journey, allow yourself to see it through. You are worth discovering the treasure at the end. In a few months, stop and look around you-you’ve created your lifestyle.

Why Organize?

When most people hear about organizing, they aren’t quite sure what it is. It seems unfamiliar to invest extra time into the space around you when time is so limited as it is. Ask yourself: How much time do I spend looking for ___? How often do I get frustrated with clutter? Does my space reflect my interests/goals/values? Enter organizing-it looks different for everyone because everyone has different needs based on the questions above.

Organizing is simply intended to make your life more efficient so you can spend your time on the things that matter. Little frustrations add up throughout the day to cultivate your mood, your demeanor. To have something like counterspace influence the way you interact with the world around you is simply not acceptable. Oftentimes, we exist in our space and expect it only to shelter us leaving a missed opportunity to have our environment help shape our goals and strengthen our identity.

It may seem like a tall order but our brain picks up on cues from the things we frequently see. If you have a shirt that is tied to a bad memory and you see that shirt three times a day you are strengthening your bad memory. Make peace with the memory, honor the shirt for what it is and let it go; Let the memory go and allow yourself the space to move on. If you have a goal to do something social once per week, print a photo of yourself and friends or find a picture you like of people being social. Every time you see that picture in your living room, it will prompt you to seek out something social, text a friend, or make plans. Without you having to make a major change, you have just influenced your life trajectory by simply placing a photo out that reflects the person you want to become. You are in control of your life-it doesn’t have to just happen around you, dragging you in whatever direction it goes in. You can steer the direction of your life.