lessons learned from my january reset
We all have our days where we can’t get motivated to do the things we know we need to do, or even want to do, so I wanted my reset challenge to be as simple as could be. In just 15 minutes a day, sorting through a new category each day… it shouldn’t have been too drastic right?! Even in the organized life that I try to lead, there were definitely areas that caught me by surprise that I hadn't even registered had gotten so cluttered! But through dedication to each day, I was able to declutter my home and here are some lessons I learned from it!
Even if something is right in front of me, I don’t always see it
This is something I hear from clients a lot - everything needs to be visible or they won’t know it’s there. While I completely understand that (and did before this challenge) it was a good reminder that I need to keep in mind when working with people. But also, if I don’t even know if something is there, I probably don't need it! Going forward I plan on taking more time to really look at my spaces every so often and determine if I need everything in them.
It takes more than just a few tries for something to become a habit
While everyone is motivated in the beginning of the year to “get organized” or “get healthy” or “get (whatever)”, it’s a lot easier said than done. The point of the reset challenge was not to put pressure on yourself and have your home totally organized in 30 days, but more about taking time to be thoughtful with how you spend your time and use the space in your home. And then from there continue working toward being organized as a lifelong habit.
In 15 minutes a day, you can totally transform a space (without even organizing!)
By taking the time to really sit with the items in a small area of your home, you can really think about how your stuff is serving you. I found myself being reminded of the saying slow & steady wins the race throughout this month. By taking a little bit at a time, I was able to truly focus on what in each category really mattered to me.
The mental clutter that was cleared is worth everything
Everytime I went through another space, I would feel such a sense of relief and even lighter. I had no idea I was being bogged down by so many things in my home, because I do consider myself to be an organized person. But even being able to look around my home and know that everything has just been gone through, there isn’t anything here that I don’t use/wear/love, it’s a really amazing feeling that made the whole process worth it.
The first step is making the space, then you can create a home.
I try to get this point across to my clients, but it’s definitely a tough one to grasp when you’re attached to items, but I can’t make space appear out of nowhere! Space is what it is. Once we have decluttered and created space, that is when we can organize and create a home for everything to belong to. And only then will the organization you seek be able to be created.