You may not be moving to a new home this year, but does your home need some freshening up? Does it need more space and less “things”?
A new year is a great way to start something new, set new goals and even get a fresh new outlook on your life. It’s the most popular time of the year to join a gym, eat healthier, and to clean out that closest that you’ve been meaning to organize for months.
If you’re one of the 137 million streaming subscribers to Netflix, then you probably have heard of the name Marie Kondo. She is the star of her new show on Netflix titled, “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”. Her show has blown up because of her tidying methods and her infamous question ‘Does it spark joy?’ Thanks to Marie Kondo, thrift stores are being overloaded by all of the stuff that was once cluttering up consumers homes. You may have noticed the extremely long donation line at your local Goodwill!
For example, I am an eclectic person, I have so many little things that I enjoy that sometimes they swallow my space. I also am very creative and have ideas for lots of things to be restored or “made new” again and have found that many times I’ve not glanced back at those things in a very long time. I know that Chris would attest to this, we’ve been together enough years that he’s very familiar with my keeping of stuff. He prefers more space with very little personal decorative items around. Fortunately, we’ve found ways to compromise, but this has been an ongoing challenge for me to continually release the less joyful items or the “projects” I want to take on but still haven’t done……in years!
It isn’t necessary to move to get a “new home”. When we are an unhappy with our current living situation, let’s not jump the gun and think that moving to an entirely new home is the solution. There are a lot of expenses related to selling and buying a new home and when moving from one rental to the next. Some major money can be saved, as well as a headache by first taking a step back and asking ourselves, “What would make this home more enjoyable for me (and my family) to live in?”
When we can clearly identify what it takes for us to love our home again, we can set specific goals which will help us to achieve that happiness and home-love again. Whether these goals include purging our whole home of items that do not bring joy or they include hanging more family or inspiring photos on the wall, start small.
Start this process of getting a “new” home by choosing to do something small that would bring happiness. Clean out the fridge or paint that old piece of furniture to tidy up or brighten your space. Whatever it is, take a small step in the right direction and get one step closer to that blissful home.
This process requires us to give ourselves grace. Change doesn’t happen overnight. And if all else fails and the process is still overwhelming, pause take a breath, kick up your feet. Turn on Netflix and enjoy some inspiring tidying tips from the tidy queen herself, Marie Kondo.