ABOVE: Less is more: This custom-built shelf displays the owner’s favourite few objects. Carlyn Yandle photo
Last week in this space I made the link between contending with the blues and living in a cluttered, cramped space. This week, some hope for those who feel hopeless about their homes.
Say it with me: I deserve a nice home. Say it as you purchase several packets of flattened file boxes with lids, repeat it as you call that one non-judgmental friend to lend a hand for a designated day. By the end of that day you will have created one room for all the things you used to like to do in your home, whether it’s reading, sleeping, watching TV, socializing, or making stuff. Envision yourself enjoying that clear, restful space.
Start the day by putting out the tea and cookies and putting on your favourite music. Carve out one space for stacking boxes. It will probably be the dining area, since the table is likely too laden down with stuff for actual dining. Move the table into the living room and tape four pieces of paper in a line on the dining area wall: Keep, Throw Away (for trash or recycling), Give Away (to friends or goodwill), and I Don’t Know.
Roll up your sleeves and get ready to tackle the tsunami of stuff in that one room that will be your sanctuary. The goal is to empty the room — quickly. Assemble four boxes, label each one according to the wall signs, and place them on the floor.
Without deliberating over each item, or launching on the backstory of how it came into your possession, drop it into one of the boxes of your choice. When a box is full, put the lid on it and move it to under the appropriate sign in the stacking area, then bring in a new box. Repeat.
Next, the furniture. Decide what is vital to the future use of the room. Move the space-wasters out to the stacked-boxes area.
Take a tea break in the room and imagine the possibilities, then re-introduce only your favourite items and essentials. Set the room up as if for a magazine spread. Maybe take a picture.
Keep up the positive momentum and plan another day for another room so that in a few weeks you have worked through your entire home, clearing out the clutter and amassing a stack of full file boxes.
Next week: Banishing those boxes in time for the holidays.
