Simplify your home, save your sanity.
With the new year a lot of us naturally start thinking about improvements we want to make in our homes in the coming year. If you spend a lot of time indoors in winter, it can be a great time to work on your space, and one of the first things I recommend doing is to simplify your life by getting rid of things you don’t use or love.
A lot of people use the word decluttering to describe this process of elimination, but that word hits me wrong. I’m very particular about word choices because I like to find words that inspire me, and decluttering doesn’t work. It sounds like something that I did wrong letting things get cluttered. Instead, I prefer to think in terms of simplifying because it gets to the heart of what I want to accomplish. I want to let go of things that aren’t serving me to allow time and space for things that will.
I don’t consider my self an minimalist, and no one would call me frugal. I love beautiful things and I encourage everyone to surround themselves with things they love. That is not what this is about for me. For me this is about keeping what I own at a level that is manageable so I have more time and energy for the things I really enjoy.
Part of the beauty of simplifying is that it makes everything so much easier. If the kitchen counter is cleared off, it’s easier to make meals. If you simplify your wardrobe, it’s easier to make choices and get ready for your day. If you simplify your kid’s toys, there is less to clean up at the end of the day when everyone is tired and you are trying to do bedtime.
Now I know this is easier said than done, and you may feel like this is something you’ve tried and failed at before, but I’d encourage you to stick with it and build upon any progress you’ve made in the past. Revisit the ideas that have resonated with you in the past. Maybe you read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up and got inspired by that? Maybe there is someone that you like to watch on YouTube but you can’t quite get to where they are, or their approach doesn’t totally work for you. Wherever you are at, there is one thing you may not have considered that may be the key to finding your simplifying groove. Surprise-it’s your mindset!
So many of us get so up in our heads about our stuff, and that makes it so hard to get any leverage over it. I know this all too well because I’ve been working at this for years. I used to go in other people’s homes and wonder how they kept them so clean all the time. Over the years I’ve come to realize that the cleanest homes are the ones with the least amount of stuff. They have what they need and use, but nothing extra. When I show homes to my real estate clients, the homes with less stuff put people at ease and give a sort of breathing room that buyers absolutely love.
If that’s what you aspire to but you’re not there yet, what are some thoughts and general rules you can adopt to make it easier to get down to business and start simplifying your space? Here are a few of mine that have really helped me make progress in this area. If you struggle with this, focus on the fact that the less stuff you have to manage the easier mom life will become. Simplifying your home really can help save your sanity!
Keep in mind that as you simplify, you will eventually be able to start to envision how you really want to make your space look and feel, and that’s when the fun really begins. But for now, let’s just talk about how to start or continue the process from wherever you are in your simplifying journey.
5 Thoughts to Help You Simplify Your Space
1-You can’t clean or organize clutter. That’s probably the only time I will use that word LOL. I’m not sure if there’s a better way to say that no matter what you do, if you have things you don’t need you will constantly be frustrated with them. One simple way to know if you’re using something is by seeing how long it’s been sitting in the same spot. If something has just been laying around not getting used and not moving, that’s probably a sign you don’t need it. At least you don’t need it out in plain sight every day.
(I’m not talking about your toaster here, I’m talking about that picture frame you bought at Target and left sitting on the counter until you could get to it someday. Put it away with your pictures or return it, just don’t let it take up valuable counter space for one more day.)
2-Make sure everything has a space and fits in its place. If you have a space for games, pots and pans, books, socks etc. limit yourself to the number of things that will fit comfortably in that space and let go of the rest.
It is so refreshing to go to put something away and not have to cram it in, or have to rearrange the space to make it fit. If you limit what you buy and store to what fits well in your space, cleaning up becomes a breeze and you always have the best things at your fingertips.
3-Clearing out the things you don’t use or love makes space for the things you do want in your life. Once you make space you can intentionally begin to create spaces you love over time. Giving things away is an act of kindness that blesses you, the giver, and blesses the receiver. I like to think of some industrious thrift store shopper finding some nice thing that I donated amidst all the stuff on the thrift store shelves. Thinking that way really inspires me to let things go so someone else can enjoy them.
I heard it said once that when you open your hands to give, you are also opening them to receive. When you give away a few shirts that aren’t quite right for you, you make space for a new, better fitting, more flattering shirt to come into your life. I’ve had this happen so many times where I’ve found something just right after I gave away things that weren’t quite right. It seems like more things don’t want to come into my life when there isn’t a place for them. Really Don’t be afraid to donate or discard items first before you find replacements. Doing this can really help you gain clarity on what you want so you’ll know when the right thing comes along.
4-If it’s not a clear yes, it’s a no. This thought can really help but it might scare you a little. But just try this when you’re asking yourself if you should keep a wardrobe item or something you found under the bathroom sink (or whatever). I’ve heard that a lot of people only wear about 20% of their clothes. I suppose that depends on how many clothes you have, but I know I have been able to eliminate 50% of my clothes without really missing anything. There is often so much in our closets, kitchens, and storage spaces that we don’t even know we have. If we don’t know we have it, we won’t miss it when it’s gone!
If it kills you to get rid of something you paid good money for, remember the first rule of economics…sunk costs are sunk. You can’t get your money back by putting that old makeup back in your drawer, and holding onto those jeans that don’t fit will not add to your bank balance. If you have really nice things, go ahead and consign them or sell them online. Whatever you do, just don’t keep burdening yourself with overstuffed closets, drawers, bookshelves etc.
When considering if you want to keep an item, ask yourself if it’s a clear yes. If it’s not, let it go.
5-Things like to be used and appreciated. A few years back when I read The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, this principle really resonated with me. Author Marie Kondo says, If you were a book, you’d want to be read. If you were a game, you’d want to be played. If you were an item of clothing, you’d want to be worn. (You get the idea!)
Ok, I know that things don’t really have thoughts, but humans do, and thinking this way really inspires me to let things go when they are no longer serving me. Some things are easier than others. For example, I have a huge collection of Barbies and Barbie stuff from when our three girls were growing up. I feel like it kind of fills a hole in my heart from when I was little and always wanted Barbies but didn’t have them. My collection drives my husband crazy, and I think he would love to throw them all away when I’m not looking, but for the most part they have a place and they fit in the space, so I choose to keep them. Besides that, my grandkids enjoy them and that makes me happy.
When you are going through this process don’t feel like you have to jump in with harder things like sentimental items. Marie Kondo has a recommended order that might work well for you. This is not a plug for her book, but there are a lot of things I really liked about it. She always says you should only keep things that “spark joy”. I just can’t get there with all my things, especially clothes, but I do try to apply that principle as often as I can because it really is wonderful when you have at least some things in your home and wardrobe that spark joy.:)
So anyway, don’t feel like you have to apply this rule to every single thing in your house, but go for some easy wins with one category like clothes or books and see how much progress you can make. Marie Kondo says when you decide to let something go, thank it for being in your life and send it on it’s way.
Start Simplifying Today
Try out these thoughts and see if they help you start to simplify your surroundings. As you do, I promise you will start to feel lighter and home life will become more peaceful. When you have less stuff to deal with, you have more time for what really matters. And it is so much easier to do your daily tasks when you don’t have to clean up and clear things away before you get started. I’m sure that every mom out there could use a little less of a mental load, and this is a great way to start to achieve that!
If you’re already really good at this, I’d love to have you share your thoughts and what motivates you to keep things simplified. Were you born this way, or did you adopt this approach over time?
Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below or emailing me at rachel@mom-mindset.com. I’d love to hear from you anytime.
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XOXO
Rachel
