Furthermore, now that the New Year has here, is a fantastic moment to check in with yourself. Do you serve your house, or does your home serve you? Will your house provide you with the room you’ll need to make pleasant, healthy experiences and tales in the upcoming year?
Most people don’t ask themselves these kinds of questions, but we should.
After all, our houses are designed to fulfill a certain function in our lives by serving as both the place we return to and the place we leave each day. In a sense, the cornerstone of our everyday existence is our homes. This has been particularly true during the past 12 months as we have experienced COVID-19.
The ability to simplify means to eliminate the unnecessary so that the necessary may speak.
— Hans Hofmann
If your house is doing its job, it should be a haven from life’s storms where you can unwind, rest, and have meaningful interactions with family and friends. When you’re prepared to navigate the turbulent waters of life once more, it’s a safe port of departure. When a property offers you both of these advantages, it serves you the best.
When a home complicated your life and demands more from you than it delivers, it is not serving you.
Your scarce and priceless resources (time, energy, and money) end up being spent taking care of your house when it becomes your primary priority.
You know you are serving your household when it happens.
Because you’re spending more time cleaning, maintaining, and repairing your home—and maybe paying a sizable mortgage or rent for the privilege—you’re spending less time enjoying the life you desire.
It doesn’t have to be that way, which is wonderful news.
It’s possible to live better with less possessions.
It’s a purpose-driven manual for simplifying, decluttering, and refocusing your life so that your house works for you rather than the other way around.
It acknowledges the possibility of each of us loving the place we call home.
21 CHANGES TO CREATE A HOME THAT BETTER SERVES YOU
1. Get your head straight about what matters, and what in your home is distracting you from what matters.
The majority of us find that having too many material stuff does not make us happy. Even worse, they are removing us from those activities. We can pursue everything that truly matters once we let go of the things that don’t matter. Additionally, sometimes giving up material goods means putting an old goal to rest. However, there are times when this is good. Because occasionally, in order to truly appreciate the person we may actually become, we must psychologically and emotionally give up the person we intended to be.
2. Remove decorations that no longer inspire you.
You don’t have to preserve something just because it brought you joy in the past. Perhaps it’s time for the decoration to change now that your life has advanced. Things and images that no longer inspire you should be removed. Or perhaps the ornament you acquired once when it was on sale. It will make them shine if you just keep the things that matter the most to you.
3. Reject the convenience fallacy.
We frequently leave things out for convenience in particular areas of our houses, such as the bathroom sink, a stack of beloved DVDs in the corner, or kitchen gadgets on the countertop. We believe we are saving time and simplifying our lives by leaving these items out. The convenience fallacy is that. Sure, we might gain a few seconds, but 99.99% of the time, those objects only take up visual space and become a distraction. Keep your convenience supplies in a cabinet or drawer and out of sight if you aren’t utilizing them at least 50% of the time that they are available.
4. Distinguish between simplifying (or minimizing) and tidying up.
A neat space does not imply that it is uncluttered or that it fulfills its intended function. Even neatly arranged clutter is still clutter. Never arrange something that you won’t even use and can simply be donated to someone who will.
5. Count the “clutter cost.”
Getting rid of something you spent a lot of money on might be challenging. However, maintaining items you don’t wear, use, or love has a cost as well; every object has a burden in addition to a benefit. The amount of money, time, effort, and space an item requires from you is known as the burden or “clutter cost.” Consider the benefit-to-burden ratio before deciding to maintain an expensive item you don’t use—or any object, for that matter—if you’re having problems getting rid of it.
6. Free up closet space.
The lack of adequate closet space is one of the most common complaints about residences. If you’ve been feeling as though you need larger closets, sometimes all you need to do is right-size your clothes; as a result, your closet will appear larger over night.
