Lighten Up!

.Have you ever noticed how small changes can have a big impact? Tiny stars make the night sky seem bright. A silly joke can lighten an intense mood. In the spring, little purple crocuses poking out of the ground make the whole landscape prettier.

Little changes to the way your home is organized can make it feel lighter and easier to maintain.

While I love a big garage clean-out as much as the next organizer, it’s just as satisfying to realize that small efforts can still get you to your organizing goals.

​A PICTURE’S WORTH…

Before jumping right in, you need to identify the small projects that will make a difference in your home. One way to do this is to take pictures of your home. You’re used to seeing this stuff every day, so you have probably become a bit blind to the clutter and disorganization.

When you look at photos, the trouble spots will stand out.

Another way to identify problems is to think through “a day in the life” of you and your family. What gets in your way? What frustrates you?

It was just two days ago that I finally identified and fixed my husband’s morning coffee frustration. You see, his coffee prep stuff is housed in a lower corner cabinet along with water bottles, lunch boxes, and more. The cabinet door is one of those double-hinged folding doors and he had to fuss with fully unfolding it to get to his coffee grinder and press.

Inspiration struck when it occurred to me that if I swapped the coffee stuff with the less-frequently-used extra water bottles, he’d only have to open the first half of the door every morning. If you’re a coffee drinker, you’ll know that reducing this frustrating barrier between my husband and his morning coffee was a BIG deal!

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OUT WITH THE OLD
Once you’ve identified your trouble spots, make small shifts like I did with the coffee stuff.  Keep the goal of lightening your load in mind and you’ll be more willing to let go of excess stuff and/or old ways of doing things that are getting in your way.
Perhaps you have a disorganized coat closet that makes it tough to get out the door and to come back home. Think about what really needs to be in this space to facilitate your daily comings and goings.
Remove anything that doesn’t serve that purpose.

Can you let go of a couple of coats? Can you move the beach toys to another space? Can you gather sports gear into grab-and-go tote bags? Can you hang hooks at different heights to make it easier for different family members to reach their belongings?
Don’t think you have to solve the whole coat closet situation at once. Instead, change one or two things and then see how that helps. Little by little, you can make your home a place that supports the life you want to live.