Do you feel comfortable in your home? Do you avoid coming home after a stressful day? Is the vibe and energy in your home making you feel depressed? Are you tired of feeling this way? If so, it’s time to make some changes.
6 Ways to Refresh and Recharge
- Be mindful. Think about the money you’ve wasted on impulse purchases. Do you have items sitting in closets in boxes that haven’t been opened in years? Do you have clothes hanging in your closet with tags still on them? Next time you go to purchase something, ask yourself if you really need it.
- Save money. How many times have you purchased a duplicate item of something you already own? If you’re disorganized, you probably don’t feel like scouring the house for a misplaced item, so you usually just purchase another. How much money could have been saved if you didn’t waste it on purchasing duplicate items? Create systems in your home by itemizing and categorizing everything so that when you need it, you’ll easily be able to find it.
- Get it out of the house. You’re holding on to items you’ve wanted to donate. You have items that don’t belong to you that you need to return. These items are cluttering up your home, and with that comes stagnant energy. If you’re holding things that belong to other people, go through the piles, make a list of all the people you have to return items to, and send them back immediately. Put the bags of donations in the car, get them out of the house, and plan to drop them off at a donation center. Take items you have to sell and make an appointment right away with a consignment store. Are you holding onto items with the hopes that you can pass them on to other family members? Does that person you’re giving it to really want them? They might not want it but feel bad and take it, and now it ends up in their home. It becomes a vicious cycle.
- Keep what’s important to you. When you have too much stuff, the sentimental items get entangled with the items that don’t mean anything to you. As you declutter, decide what will be useful, what is sentimental, and what is never going to be used. You want to be able to appreciate the sentimental items—don’t let them become part of the clutter.
- Tell people how you feel. If somebody wants to pass an item down to you and you really don’t want it, be honest with them. If you don’t like it, don’t take it. How many of you have taken an item somebody has given you and it ended up in the back of a closet?
- Organize. Once you declutter and get rid of items you no longer need, it’s time to organize. Remember to break this process down. Don’t look at the project as a whole or you will get overwhelmed, stressed, or frustrated, and nothing will get done. When you are organized, it’s easy to see what you have in your home. When you need something, you will find it immediately. You will be able to appreciate and respect your belongings.
Tackle one room a week or one a month. Watch how your energy will shift when you refresh your home and practice some of the above tips. People I’ve worked with describe this process as cleansing, cathartic, and freeing. Take note of how you feel once you’ve completed this project.
Kristin MacRae is an Award-Winning Organizing and Efficiency Consultant and Speaker. She helps her clients get organized, saving them time and money, decreasing their stress levels, and helping them become more efficient and productive. She is a full-time resident of Bonita Springs.
For more information, visit her website: www.kristinmacrae.com.