Wide Open Spaces

Even if you’re not from Texas, we can all appreciate the refreshing feeling of open space.  We create our own fences with our collections, mounds of laundry and clothes, piles of paper, and bins of storage.  Small furniture can become a navigational maze, much like bales of hay at a Fall festival. No matter if it is large or small, there is a sense of calm when you walk into a home that has clear counters, open floors and clean furniture surfaces.  

Let’s talk about door scans.  Not that you have to scan every person who enters for clutter contraband.  This is a visual overview of your space, when you stand in the doorway and just look.  What is unsettling, chaotic, cluttered, or just messy?  How do you feel when you come into each room?  Maybe your family and guests see and feel those same ways. Here are some ideas that will make your physical environment welcoming, serene and yet, energizing.

Begin with any collections you have accumulated.  Maybe you didn’t even want them, but you feel a need to keep them because they were meaningful to someone you loved.  Maybe they were fun in childhood, but not important anymore.  It could even be that you still like them, but now they don’t fit your decor or lifestyle .  Dust them off, and sell or donate them.

  I recently had a garage sale with a friend who was selling her mother’s collections – dolls, ceramic swans and dolphins, Sesame Street toys, and more.  There was an occasional single sale, but people weren’t much interested in purchasing whole groups of items.  Some people collect mugs, magnets, lighted houses, Christmas ornaments, glassware, signs, rocks, shells, stamps, cards and even money (that’s a whole different topic).  Gift yourself the space for their display and storage.

Next, hang or fold clean clothes. Maybe they’re draped over your treadmill, spilling out of a laundry basket, laying across the foot of your bed, or even still in bags.  There might be too many coats on hooks or hung on the backs of dining chairs. You might have a drying rack that looks like a store rack.  Try on new clothes and quickly decide if you like each one well enough to keep.  Whatever the case, give yourself about a minute to put each one away properly.  

For the ones that are not clean, go ahead and start a load.  Immediately, the surface of your bed and floors will begin to look tidy.  Not to mention the safety issue.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve nearly tripped by getting my foot caught on the loop of a shopping bag that was still on the floor.  

Paper piles can accumulate so quickly on kitchen counters, dining tables, and even floors.   Try to pick up a piece of mail, receipt, book, cookbook, and magazine just once, processing it immediately.  Gather receipts you are saving into a box, and store out of sight, maybe even in the car for return purposes. Put manuals in a folder in the shed or basement. Go through school papers every week, keeping one or two of your child’s best or most meaningful work; some weeks you may not keep anything at all.  Keep a basket or letter holder for revolving paperwork, like permission slips, bills, or greeting cards. 

Check the tops of bookshelves, coffee tables, kitchen islands, and nightstands for paper debris. Choose one book and one journal to keep handy.  If you have multiple journals, share one or two with friends.  Toss old sticky notes, expired coupons and old announcements.  Check under children’s beds for missing homework, crumpled artwork and old notebooks.  If you devote one hour to this today, your surface spaces will leave you breathing easier.

After ridding yourself of paper clutter, you will be able to see more clearly what is out of place.  Items you keep should have a permanent home;  if not, pick up one at a time until they do. This includes toys and games that might be on the floor or kitchen table, decor from the last holiday season, craft items that you haven’t worked on in months, and dishes you haven’t put away.  Scan the tops of dressers, shelves, the piano, consoles, buffets, TV trays, end tables and the top of the refrigerator.  What has been stashed, stored, forgotten, discarded, or given up on.  Choose whether each item is useful and whether it deserves to take up your space.  

No doubt you have found at least 2 items that can go.  You have also found that removing the fences of stuff from your spaces has created a sense of freedom.  Enjoy your wide, open spaces!

Health Tip

Hydrate with water after you wake up.  The body gets dehydrated overnight, and needs to replenish.  Unlike coffee, it also gives you sustainable energy and focus. See what the Mayo Clinic has to say here.