Peace of Mind Organizing

Decluttering Step #1: Create your vision

20 January 2014

This is the first part in a series I’m writing that will take you step by step through the process of decluttering. Each Monday for the next few weeks, I’ll offer a new step. Today we start with the first step, creating your vision.

When it’s time to declutter and get organized, is your first inclination to go to the Container Store or Target and buy organizing solutions? I understand that inclination. Buying that stuff can be really fun.

But that’s actually not a good first step. Purchasing organizing or storage solutions might become necessary, but the very first step when you’re starting the process of decluttering and getting organized is to create your vision for your space.

By creating your vision, you know what you’re moving toward. Your vision will be a compass, guiding your decisions about what to keep and what to let go of. For example, knowing that your vision for your space is one where everything has a home so your house is always company-ready will make it easier to let go of items that you don’t room to store.

Basically it comes down to this: When you’re trying to decide whether to keep something, you’ll ask yourself, “Does keeping this item contribute to my vision of [fill in the blank]? In my experience, that can be mighty powerful.

So how do you go about creating the vision? I invite you to sit down, relax, close your eyes and picture a room in your house. (Make it a high-impact room.) What does it look like when you’re finished decluttering it? How does your decluttered space make you feel? Can you put into words the feeling that you’re after?

Now, write it down. If you want, find an image or images in a magazine or on the internet that conveys your vision. Post it where you can see it. And remember it when you’re decluttering.

Next Monday, I’ll discuss Step Two, picking the space to start decluttering.

Tagged with: declutter, decluttering, declutter your home series, vision

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