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!

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!

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.