Furthermore, now that the New Year has here, is a fantastic moment to check in with yourself. Do you serve your house, or does your home serve you? Will your house provide you with the room you’ll need to make pleasant, healthy experiences and tales in the upcoming year?
Most people don’t ask themselves these kinds of questions, but we should.
After all, our houses are designed to fulfill a certain function in our lives by serving as both the place we return to and the place we leave each day. In a sense, the cornerstone of our everyday existence is our homes. This has been particularly true during the past 12 months as we have experienced COVID-19.
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
— Hans Hofmann
If your house is doing its job, it should be a haven from life’s storms where you can unwind, rest, and have meaningful interactions with family and friends. When you’re prepared to navigate the turbulent waters of life once more, it’s a safe port of departure. When a property offers you both of these advantages, it serves you the best.
When a home complicated your life and demands more from you than it delivers, it is not serving you.
Your scarce and priceless resources (time, energy, and money) end up being spent taking care of your house when it becomes your primary priority.
You know you are serving your household when it happens.
Because you’re spending more time cleaning, maintaining, and repairing your home—and maybe paying a sizable mortgage or rent for the privilege—you’re spending less time enjoying the life you desire.
It doesn’t have to be that way, which is wonderful news.
It’s possible to live better with less possessions.
It’s a purpose-driven manual for simplifying, decluttering, and refocusing your life so that your house works for you rather than the other way around.
It acknowledges the possibility of each of us loving the place we call home.
21 CHANGES TO CREATE A HOME THAT BETTER SERVES YOU
1. Get your head straight about what matters, and what in your home is distracting you from what matters.
The majority of us find that having too many material stuff does not make us happy. Even worse, they are removing us from those activities. We can pursue everything that truly matters once we let go of the things that don’t matter. Additionally, sometimes giving up material goods means putting an old goal to rest. However, there are times when this is good. Because occasionally, in order to truly appreciate the person we may actually become, we must psychologically and emotionally give up the person we intended to be.
2. Remove decorations that no longer inspire you.
You don’t have to preserve something just because it brought you joy in the past. Perhaps it’s time for the decoration to change now that your life has advanced. Things and images that no longer inspire you should be removed. Or perhaps the ornament you acquired once when it was on sale. It will make them shine if you just keep the things that matter the most to you.
3. Reject the convenience fallacy.
We frequently leave things out for convenience in particular areas of our houses, such as the bathroom sink, a stack of beloved DVDs in the corner, or kitchen gadgets on the countertop. We believe we are saving time and simplifying our lives by leaving these items out. The convenience fallacy is that. Sure, we might gain a few seconds, but 99.99% of the time, those objects only take up visual space and become a distraction. Keep your convenience supplies in a cabinet or drawer and out of sight if you aren’t utilizing them at least 50% of the time that they are available.
4. Distinguish between simplifying (or minimizing) and tidying up.
A neat space does not imply that it is uncluttered or that it fulfills its intended function. Even neatly arranged clutter is still clutter. Never arrange something that you won’t even use and can simply be donated to someone who will.
5. Count the “clutter cost.”
Getting rid of something you spent a lot of money on might be challenging. However, maintaining items you don’t wear, use, or love has a cost as well; every object has a burden in addition to a benefit. The amount of money, time, effort, and space an item requires from you is known as the burden or “clutter cost.” Consider the benefit-to-burden ratio before deciding to maintain an expensive item you don’t use—or any object, for that matter—if you’re having problems getting rid of it.
6. Free up closet space.
The lack of adequate closet space is one of the most common complaints about residences. If you’ve been feeling as though you need larger closets, sometimes all you need to do is right-size your clothes; as a result, your closet will appear larger over night.
7. Donate clothes you don’t love.
You won’t have tension and indecision when getting dressed in the morning after organizing your closet since there will be more room and calm. Additionally, giving your old clothes to a neighborhood charity is an easy yet significant way to give back.
8. Declutter duplicates.
This is one of the simplest ways to advance quickly and is sometimes referred to as a minimization accelerator. Consider opening your linen closet. Do you really need so many additional pillows, linens, and towels? Cleaning supplies, gardening equipment, fashion accessories, home office supplies, toys, books, and kitchen appliances are other things that make excellent candidates for duplication elimination. Keep the items you use most frequently from each category and discard the rest.
9. Clear your dining room table.
Do you keep mail, bags, keys, and other items that need to be transported from one location to another on your dining room table? If that’s the case, eating from it could feel like more labor than it’s worth. Place the things in their proper places. Make your tabletop a spotless, spacious, and welcoming area.
10. Invite the right people to gather at your dining room table, often.
These are the individuals you enjoy being with, who adore and value you, and who motivate you to change for the better in fun and positive ways. They are the ones who energize you and help you embrace both who you are today and who you aspire to be in the future. The bottom line is that your efforts to declutter have allowed you more room to converse, laugh, embrace, and share experiences with loved ones, close friends, and neighbors. Remember to make it count.
11. Practice gratitude, in your home, daily.
It’s a good idea to take a break from your quest for a life that is easier and more structured at least once a day to take a moment to enjoy the life you have right now. In their enlightening book, 1,000 Little Things Happy, Successful People Do Differently, Marc and Angel share: “Take a moment to be grateful as you look around. for the welfare of you, your loved ones, your friends, and your house. Nothing lasts a lifetime.
12. Take down signs that don’t sincerely vibe with your present values.
“It’s challenging living in the fast lane when you’re married to a speed bump,” reads a sign in the laundry room of a lady I know. I see the comedy, but I’m curious as to how she could approach her marriage if she saw that sign every day. Don’t you want the words on your walls to lift you up and encourage you instead if you’re going to hang them there?
13. Calm a space for reading and being at peace.
You can “calm” an area even if you don’t feel like clearing out an entire room of junk. By reducing distractions, you may quiet a place. Pick a favorite chair, then clear the area surrounding it. Anything on the floor that isn’t furniture has to be removed. Clear the top of side tables or a coffee table by putting away remote controls, kid’s toys, pet toys, hobby supplies, old newspapers and magazines, mail, books, and other objects.
14. Clean out your entertainment center.
These big furniture pieces frequently conceal a lot of minor things we no longer need. Remove outdated electronic parts, wires you don’t use, and games and discs you never play. Recycle them responsibly, organize the gadgets you do use in a nice layout, and conceal their wires as much as you can to get rid of them.
15. Pare down your beauty and grooming supplies.
No matter how big your bathroom is, getting rid of the clutter will make it feel bigger and more tranquil. Clean out the drawers and cabinets. Keep beauty materials and tools (hair dryers, curling irons, etc.) apart (make-up, lotion, aftershave, etc.). Remove duplicates, discard damaged or outdated products, and get rid of things you don’t use anymore. After that, sort what you choose to preserve and wash your storage containers.
16. Tackle a junk drawer.
Many people have one. Small objects that have nowhere else to go by default rest there. Or for items we believe would be useful but can no longer recall what they are. You probably won’t miss much of what’s in there if you throw it out.
17. Set physical boundaries for your kids.
Give your kids some space, and let them take care of it anyway they see fit. For instance, your wife and you each store one shelf unit and one plastic container in your garage. The children keep the balls in the bin and the outside toys on the shelf. You ask them to decide what to keep and what to discard as things start to overflow. The same idea may be applied to a toy basket or a bedroom.
18. Clear space for your car in the garage.
If your garage isn’t housing your automobile, it isn’t doing its job and isn’t doing it properly. That’s not to imply that utilizing a garage for storage is improper; but, it is easy to overdo it, and many of us do. Get rid of all the items that are apparent candidates for decluttering, such as extras, leftovers, toys, sports gear, tools, spare parts, etc.
19. Leave space between everything you do in your home, too.
Make some additional room between your personal duties and tasks. Take a pause to stretch, go for a little stroll outside, sip some water, and possibly practice some easy deep breathing techniques. Enjoy and take a moment to breathe in the (emotional and physical) space you have made for yourself in your home. Remember that your main objective is to live a life free of the majority of the stuff that other people load it with, so that you have room for the things that are actually important. A life that emphasizes intentional reflection, creation, connection with the people and things you love, rather than continual bustle, haste, and stress.
20. Let go of mental clutter too.
Life is simply too brief. Try your best to let rid of any unnecessary drama, pointless distractions, or mental clutter that keeps getting in the way. Once more, it’s time to let go of what doesn’t important and concentrate more on what does in the next year.
21. Be less “busy” and more purposeful in 2021.
There’s a significant difference between being busy and being productive, as Marc and Angel noted in one of their most recent email newsletters. Do not conflate movement with advancement. A rocking horse continues to move but never advances. Therefore, in 2021, try to avoid becoming the rock in your personal life.
Of course, you might not be able to do all 21, but how about starting with two or three?
A lovely thing is a house that serves you well in the coming year. It’s less noisy and more tranquil, which makes it enjoyable to return to and a motivating spot to go from. Don’t put off having a house that provides more than it consumes.