Ask Maeve: My home is too small to get organized. What can I do?
Maeve helps an overwhelmed small home dweller feel better about her space.
Help! My home is too small, I can’t seem to organize all my stuff. I am overwhelmed by my things, but I'm afraid to throw anything out. What should I do? I feel immobilized, but also need to take action. Sarah, NYC.
Dear Sarah,
Thanks for your question! You are not alone in this feeling. First, take a deep breath. Second, understand that feeling organized is not always about finding a place for everything that you own. Sometimes it’s about owning only things that fit inside your space. If you owned fewer things, would your home feel so small? #breathe #perspective
Go ahead, imagine your home as bare as the day you moved in: nothing but floors, ceilings, walls and windows. Now, imagine filling it up with your bare essentials, like your bed, sofa, table -- you know what they are, only the things that you feel you cannot live without. Now, imagine adding more items -- pillows, artwork, knick-knacks. The moment you feel anxious about moving something into your imaginary empty home, stop. You've maxed out your home.
The secret to getting organized at home in a small space is to introduce items one at a time, and to press pause when it gets to be too much. We can have what we want in life, but we also must learn to live with what our space allows. I call this learning to live within our space means. When we weigh comfort and coziness over volume, cozy often wins out. #cozyhome. #presspause #smallspace #spacemeans
Try This:
Go around your home and touch everything once. Ask yourself, is this essential to my existence in this space? If the answer if yes, label that item in your mind 'needs to live here'. If the answer if no --- or maybe --- label that item 'not sure' and mentally tuck it aside. Then begin to decorate and organize your home using only the 'needs to live here' items. When the space feels maxed out, stop. You've found what makes you happy --- everything else is ancillary, so store it, give it away, #donate, or sell and make some money. #toucheverythingonce.
When the space feels maxed out, stop. You've found what makes you happy.
Trust me, it's better to live with a small clutter footprint and fewer things now rather than to hold onto things that don't support you and have to deal with them later. Learning to release and let go is a step towards healthy home living now, and in the future.
Bob and Alice faced similar issues in their homes. Visit #smallspacesolutions on our site to see how I helped them, and more.
I hope this helps - keep me posted!
