How do you create spaces which work for you?

Hello everybody. I’m Lesley Beattie and I help people to create great spaces, both personal and corporate, that really work for them.

We all deserve a space that fully supports us and makes us feel good to be in and as the research is now showing, this isn’t just a nice to have, it vitally important for our emotional, creative and physical well being. So, if you feel that your space isn’t supporting you; that it’s full of “stuff” or that it lacks organisation, then please read on. Hopefully I can help you know what you want; why you want it; how to get it and how to keep it that way.

As busy mums or women in general the tighter the ship we run the smoother the day can flow, especially if we have children. If we have the offer of some help then it’s lovely if we can accept and make the most of it by being able to point to exactly where everything “lives”. So things can be easily found and easily put away again by anybody.

Bliss when we can delegate a little. Clutter is the enemy of our time, our organisation and quite possibly our sanity! ??

So, firstly, let’s take a look at what clutter is....

• It’s things in our space that we don’t use or love
• It’s anything that is untidy or disorganised
• It’s too many things in too small a space
• It’s anything that is left unfinished.

Clutter and disorganisation is also wherever we feel it.... sorry to break it to you ladies, but don’t think that if it’s out of sight....ie in a cupboard or loft space.... it’s out of mind and won’t be affecting you. Our body knows it’s there and will be reacting to it whether we realise it or not.

When I do a talk or a workshop I often get people to close their eyes and think about an area in their home or office that they know could be a lot tidier. Without fail their shoulders always begin to rise and the effect of the stress that this area is causing can be seen easily in their body’s response. I then ask them to imagine that space clear and organised and just as they would love it to be. Without fail their body relaxes. They are not aware what has been going on until I describe it out to them.

The stress is there whether we acknowledge it or not. The carrying of this stress saps our focus and our energy and we are also showing ourselves that we’re not really giving ourselves the level of self love and self care that we all deserve and need, to not just survive but thrive! And if we don’t do that, who will?

Decluttering in all it’s glory is about letting go , both mentally and physically and stepping out of the old into the new.

So, come on, let’s step up and step into doing what we truly deserve and desire.

If we’re going to really tackle the clutter and be able to organise our space it helps to recognise some of the reasons why we keep things. When I work with women I always hear at least one, but usually several, of the following explanations as to why they have kept things....

“Just in case it comes in handy and I need it at some future point;

My auntie Ethel/ mum/dad/ Grandma etc left it to me and although I don’t really like it I’d feel guilty if I didn’t keep it;

I paid a lot for it and even though I no longer like it/use it I don’t feel as though I’ve had my money’s worth from it;

Just looking at it takes me back to a specific time and place in my life, happy or otherwise;

I’m afraid how I will feel if I start to sort it out and emotions come up;

I know it needs done but I haven’t got the time to do it.”

Do any of these sound familiar? I’ve been heard to use most of them in my time ??

The reality is that it is more important than anything and more constructive to a happier, lighter life, to change the way we’ve been thinking about things and to start to actually do what brings us joy and peace and fulfilment.

A great way to tackle the above reasons when we’re starting to clear the clutter is to ask ourselves three questions.....

1. What is it costing me to keep this thing.
2. What would I gain if I let it go.
3. What is the worst that could happen?

I’d love to go into each of the above reasons in detail but I’m afraid I haven’t the time in this article, but to put them all into perspective, I truly believe that we have an emotional attachment to every single thing that we own and it is this that causes us to feel “weighed down” as we start our decluttering and organising journey. But on the plus side, once we’ve taken the steps needed and have severed some of these ties and let things go, we automatically and without fail feel “lighter” again ?. Great news and something to keep us moving in the right direction as we begin to experience it.

Obviously not all of our stuff will cause us enough emotional conflict when we think of parting with it, for us to need to ask ourselves these three questions. Always start with the easy, grow in confidence and positivity and then move on to challenge ourselves with the ‘harder” items is a good general approach.

So, where do we start in creating this new, user friendly, calmer, lighter space?

Well, the first thing to do is to see our vision of how wewould like it all to really be.

Then we hold on tight to that vision!

We decide which area is causing us the most stress at this particular moment....this is what I call our Red Zone and will make the biggest difference to us when we get it sorted. It might be our lounge....kitchen...playroom....bedroom......

Choose one point, it doesn’t really matter where, we just need a place to begin, in that Red Zone and start to clear and sort.

I always start by clearing cupboards and shelves, rather than surfaces, so that we are creating space for things to be put away. If something has a home then you always know where to find it and where to put it away again.

Unless we have a professional helping us, always start with a small area...a shelf, a drawer, a cupboard, and never pull out more than we can deal with in the time slot we’ve allocated.

The last thing we want to do is pull everything out, create an overwhelming pile and feel unable to, or run out of time to, carry on!

Move around our space in a methodical, clockwise direction until it’s all done.

Congratulate ourselves and enjoy! ??

Don’t let a perceived lack of time stop you from starting......if you can put a whole day aside, or half a day, then great, but even ten minute slots build up and make a difference. So set that timer and challenge yourself to see what you can achieve before it goes off.

Get help if you can......although choose carefully. Sometimes those closest to you don’t make the best declutter companions ??

Always be proud of whatever you manage to achieve and enjoy the feeling and the result!

Keep your vision at the front of your mind.

Remove any unwanted items from the house as you sort them...they don’t count as having been dealt with if they sit in your hall for the next six months ??.

Then keep your space as you’ve organised it by.....

Always putting things back in their “home” when you’ve finished with them

Deal with paperwork straight away....action; file; shred; recycle as soon as it comes through the door.

Let others know what your systems are so they can use them too...delegation!

Think before you buy....do you need it, do you love it will you use it?

Get rid of the thought “I’ll keep it for now”.

And finally, stop procrastinating and just get what needs to be done done! ? you’ll be so glad you did!

Lesley Beattie Your Organisational Angel