On the Open Road to Organization
Clearing Your Home's Pathways
Imagine you are in a car, traveling down the road, carefree as you weave your vehicle past the odd “overly cautious” driver and box truck. You are keeping your speed steady, only slowing briefly to ensure that it is safe to pass these insignificant obstacles. You glide by them unfazed as you make your way down the road. It’s travels like these that beg the response “It was great, 70 all the way, no issues!” when asked about your drive to today’s destination.
Now that you have this blissful commute fresh in your mind, let’s take a look at why this commute was blissful, to begin with:
- There was very little traffic. Almost nothing was slowing you down! As is the norm on the road, you did have a few drivers who had different ideas of what a safe trip looked and felt like. However, you were free to avoid their agendas and blitz by, losing little time while accommodating them and moving along.
- Your vehicle was working properly. You had no technical trouble at all! Bobbing and weaving easily around the other drivers was not a problem. You simply checked your surroundings, changed lanes unobstructed, and maintained your general speed throughout the trip.
- You were in a pleasant mood. This part was not implied, but I’m willing to bet that while you envisioned your commute, the weather was lovely! Perhaps you imagined a cool sunny morning and nothing falling from the sky. Hopefully, your mood was generally a positive one.
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Among other things, this joy-ride mentality can be translated to the serenity of your home. Walking through your home should be as easy as “70 all the way, no issues!”. Just like a traffic jam, the objects in your home that get in your way could spell the end of your easy flow through your day. The ideal peaceful home is the same as the wide-open highway. There should be nothing standing in your way but a few pieces of furniture you effortlessly breeze past as you navigate from room to room. Let’s switch up our vehicles and try a different outlook:
I will now introduce an exercise for you to use in each room of your home. I call this the ‘“Train”-ing Exercise.’
Start at the door to your room, and look at all the destinations from the door. Begin walking, and just like a train rolling down the line on the floor, lay “tracks” to each spot in your room and take note of everything standing in your way of laying your “track” in a straight and unobstructed line. A shoe? Maybe a bag of things you’ve dumped? Take note of the things in your way that keep you from effortlessly moving toward your destination. These small things are like the rocks and boulders that must be removed from the path of a train before the tracks can be laid safely for the commute. These are easy to manage, just clear the path!
But what of the bigger things? The mountains in your way? How can we move those? Are they moveable to begin with? These are the things that take more planning on your part. These are the things that a professional organizer can help you with. Dressers, desks, tables, chairs, and anything else you might have standing in your way require attention and the layout of your room can be just as daunting as the clutter-boulders dotted about. Why are these things here? What purpose do they serve? Are they a catch-all for overflowing stuff? How can we change, eliminate, or repurpose things to simplify your route and free your path to rest and relaxation?
Get comfy, settle in, and let’s chat a little about how removing the traffic jams and boulders in your home can spell freedom and tranquility for you and your family daily.
The Living Room
Hop on your “Train” and let’s chug through your living room or family room. Often, these rooms have more than one path or doorway. If your living room has a door to the outside, try starting your choo-choo at the front door and start steaming in as a visitor might, or recreating how you’d enter after a long day. Where do you walk first? Do you have a place for your coat, wallet, bag, and keys? Do you take off your shoes when you enter? Where do these things live? Do you walk right into a couch or chair? What is the focal point of your room? Do you have a television or a fireplace? What boulders are in your way? What mountains do you run into?
Try removing a few of your clutter boulders and take note of where these boulders should live if they should have a home inside your home, to begin with! Are you happy with your mountains?
Now, take your train to your other doorways, and repeat the exercise with different eyes. You’re no longer a guest, or just popping home from work, you are now the conductor of your train and living life inside this space. Take note of your boulders and mountains.
The Bedrooms
Your bedroom is your retreat at the end of the day. It is where you are invited to relax, recharge, and recuperate after a long day in a world you can’t control. This space is 100% in your control. It should be mellow, forgiving, warm, and welcoming. The bedroom should be filled with things you love to look at, the fabrics you love to feel, the things you love to do, and even the smells that bring you peace.
Take the time to do a “Train”-ing Exercise. Do you have a surplus of clothing from your expanding closet bursting at the seams? Do you have laundry piled up in the chair or on the bed where you’re meant to be relaxing? What is standing in your way as you navigate your space? Jot down the things you observe. What are your boulders? What are your mountains? Try removing some of your clutter-boulders and try it again with a fresher set of eyes. Where did you put your boulders? On the bed? On the dresser? Do you have a permanent home for your clutter-boulder?
The Kitchen
Think of how you use your kitchen daily. Are you up at the break of dawn making coffee and preparing breakfast for yourself and your family? Do you set a timer on your coffee and ‘grab and go’ as you rush out the door? Do you prepare lunch? Dinner? Do you enjoy baking? Ponder how this room serves you and your lifestyle. Chances are, whether you live alone or have a full family to feed, you will use a plate, bowl, cup, and some silverware throughout the day. Move your train tracks to the countertops. As you move about your kitchen, doing whatever you do, what stands in your way? Are your drawers optimized for ease of use and convenient placement? Do you have to trek across the room to get a spoon for your coffee? How do you manage dirty dishes? Do you have a dishwasher, or are you the dishwasher?
Ask yourself what can take your kitchen to a more functional level. Do you have a rotation for your pantry and refrigerated foods? How are you storing fresh foods, and is this the most effective way? What do you need, every day, on your countertops, and what is collecting dust?
Laundry and Utility Spaces
Function, function, function! Lay the tracks through your laundry and utility area. Where do you start? When it’s laundry day having piles of clothes scattered around is expected. Especially if your cleaning schedule involves one day dedicated to the chore. Does this schedule work for you? Does this type of schedule leave you dreading ‘laundry day’ and how much time you spend finishing everything? Do you even finish? As you steam your way through your laundry and cleaning routines, move step by step through each chore and take note of boulders and mountains. Where do you fold laundry? Where does clean laundry live until it is put away? Do you put it away, or do you live from a clean pile in a chair? Does your laundry routine separate dirty and clean clothing so you can see what needs washing and what is safe to wear? Do you wash your bedding and towels regularly? Where do these live after they are clean? Is everything you need to complete your washing and cleaning conveniently located in the space so that you maximize time? What is standing in your way?
Kid’s Spaces
Children need form and function just as much as adults, sometimes they need it more! In a fast-paced world, children need a space to express themselves and recuperate just as much as you and I. Their spaces should be looked at from their perspective. As you hop on your mental train, do so at a child’s level. Toys, books, clothes, and other things can be as overwhelming as paper clutter from the mailbox and dirty dishes in the sink. Take note of how much your child is responsible for. Is it too much? Does everything have a home at the end of the day? Do they know where things go? Can they manage this space on their own? Are their clothes put away and easily accessible for the morning? Is their bedroom a welcoming and comforting place for them to fall asleep at night or at nap time? Is the space safe for them to play and move about without things falling or tipping over? Are there cords or strings from blinds and curtains lying on the floor? Are there any accidents waiting to happen? Are outlet covers in place and safe from prying fingers? At clean-up time, watch your children prepare to put the room to sleep for the day. Where are their boulders? Where are their mountains?
Once you have had the chance to lay the tracks through your home, putting ‘mountain moving’ plans in place can be overwhelming for anyone. Sometimes we are so used to how things run and flow in our home that we have a hard time seeing the things standing in our way. We become creatures of habit, and habits aren’t always the healthiest. This is where a professional organizer’s fresh set of eyes can help. We can take subjective views of your spaces and see what is hidden from you and your family. You don’t have to be complacent and let your home run you. You are in charge of your home and if you’re having a hard time finding solutions for your boulders and mountains, professional organizers can help.
Laying the railroad ties throughout your home using the “Train”-ing Exercise can open your eyes to boulders and mountains you had otherwise ignored. Hiring a thoughtful professional organizer is a great way to start removing obstacles and freeing your path so you can start living every day like you’re on the open road with no other vehicle in sight. If you do encounter another ‘vehicle’ or ‘boulder’ or ‘mountain’ in your path, having an otherwise free and open road ahead of you can help you breeze by them and find solutions that won’t trip you up or cause a traffic jam as you move.
If you are having a hard time finding the open road in your home, or if you keep bumping into boulders, give Rhapsody Room Organization a call. Together, we can lay the tracks and pave the road in every room in your home to a blissful, tranquil, and satisfying space to escape the traffic jams the world throws at you. Let us help you take control of your home, and leave you with sunny skies, happy moods, and endless possibilities to achieve or restore the free path to peace and relaxation.
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