I invite you to do a little thought experiment.
Imagine stepping into a home where every item has a purpose, where each space serves you perfectly, and you’re surrounded only by what you genuinely need, love, and use.
Today, let’s explore what a clutterfree home would truly look and feel like — and take the first steps to make this vision a reality.
Let’s imagine you are moving to a new place.
The new home is the ideal size for your personal needs, and it has all the furniture and storage space you need to organise your belongings in a useful and practical way.
However, so far, you don’t have any belongings. Your new home is completely empty.
It’s your task now to bring in all – and only! – the things that you truly love, need and use.
On DAY ZERO you are going to buy all the things you need
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- to prepare the first dinner in your new home (groceries, drinks, glasses, dishes, cutlery, pots and pans, appliances, gadgets, table cloth, napkins, potholder, kitchen towels, etc.),
- to enjoy the free evening time with your favourite leisure activity (a book, for example, or a TV, or your arts and crafts supplies, etc.),
- to get a shower and clean your teeth before you go to sleep (towels, shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, body lotion, etc.),
- to spend a good first night in your new bed (duvet, pillow, linen, bedside lamp, pyjamas, slippers, etc.),
- to get dressed the next morning (for example, a business outfit or whatever you usually wear during a normal day, a pair of shoes, a handbag or briefcase, etc.),
- to enjoy the first breakfast in your new home (coffee machine, mugs, breakfast groceries, etc.)
On DAY ONE you are going to add other things you need, for example
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- to prepare another type of dish (for example, kitchen appliances and gadgets you didn’t need the day before, additional spices, etc.),
- to have some friends over for dinner (additional plates, glasses, cutlery, perhaps a vase, some wine or other drinks, etc.),
- to get your washing done (washing machine, washing powder, basket, etc.),
- to do some sports the next morning (for example, running shoes and clothes),
- to put on fresh clean clothes the following morning (a second set of clothes, perhaps another pair of shoes, etc.).
On DAY TWO you are going to add whatever else you need to add to live your life in the way you want to live it.
And so on – day by day.
However – and that’s important! -, these are the rules:
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- You always check what you have before you buy something new.
- You never buy duplicates (no second pair of running shoes! No extra tubes of toothpaste, even if it is on sale today!).
- You only buy what you directly want or need to use (no hot water bottle in summer! No wine glasses if you don’t drink alcohol! Only the one book you wish to start reading today!).
- You don’t buy more clothes than you need for an exactly defined time period (for example, two weeks).
- Whenever you buy an additional piece of clothing, you sort out another piece of the same category.
- You also follow your own strict rules concerning things you get as a gift or inherit but don’t need/like (they have to leave your house again – immediately!).
- And you allow only those papers you must take care of to enter your home.
Can you imagine
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- to be surrounded by only things that really and directly serve you, that you truly value by loving/using/needing them?
- To know exactly what you own and where you can find it?
Now, come back to reality. ☹
It doesn’t matter if the current reality is not the ideal reality. You can change what is and make it better!
Your ADA Exercise – Awareness. Decision. Action.
Awareness
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- Walk around your home.
- Then spend some minutes in one of your rooms. In the kitchen, for example.
- Imagine what it would look like if it were a room in your new ideal clutterfree home.
- What could be seen on the countertops? And what would no longer be there? (Because you actually don’t love/use/need it?)
- Open a cupboard.
- What would be different if it were a cupboard in your clutterfree ideal home?
- Which items in your current store would not be in the ideal cupboard?
- Open a drawer.
- Continue this little awareness journey, and discover what is and what could be.
Decision
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- Decide now to change your current home into your clutterfree ideal home.
- For each room, decide on and write down three decluttering and organising goals.
- Decide how much time you want to invest, when you will start to work on this project, and how long your working sessions will be. (Tip: Don’t plan for longer than 15 to 30 minutes in the beginning.)
- Pick the room you want to start with and define the first action step.
Action
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- At the scheduled time (it might be even now!), go to the chosen room and do the first planned action step. And if you feel like it, do a second step.
- Finish your first decluttering and organising session on time.
- Look around and reflect: What has changed already? How is this starting to resemble your ideal home already?
- Celebrate! The first step is done! Now, it will be easier to keep moving.
- Schedule your next session and plan the next action steps.
This exercise will help you move into your clutterfree ideal home – step by step.