The following is a guest post about how to create a vision for your home from regular contributor, Kristin at The Gold Project. You can find Part One right HERE.
Last month, I shared my word of the year for 2020, which is intentional or intentional living. Intentional living means making better decisions so that you are a happier person and have no regrets. But, how do you do that? What decisions need to be improved? How do I live with more intent?
Once I decided on my focus for the new year, I did some research on the topic and found some amazing information that is already helping me live an intentional life.
I am calling this image my roadmap that is helping me navigate my life this year. Every area that I am focusing on under the intentional living umbrella is on this diagram.
I could write an entire post about each section of this diagram, but I want to focus on one part today. This is something I feel like we could all benefit from doing even if intentional living is not your focus for 2020.
Create a Vision for Your Home
Have you ever thought about your vision for your home? How do you want it to feel when you walk in the door? Before this year, I wanted my house to feel like a cozy cottage. In my brain, every time I made that statement, I thought about the cottage in The Holiday with Cameron Diaz and Kate Winslet. It is one of my favorite movies and I absolutely love the cottage in the movie. But, I realized that it was very cluttered and I can not breath when clutter is around me.
So, I have decided that I want the feel of a cozy cottage without all of the clutter.
Over the past couple of months, I have worked really hard at eliminating all of the unnecessary and unloved items in my home. This has included furniture, knick-knacks, and even some of my Rae Dunn collection.
Today, I wanted to share the three steps that I am taking to create this vision for my home.
#1 – Clear off the Kitchen Counters
I have been watching a lot of decluttering and organizing YouTube videos lately. One of the best pieces of advice I have received was to clear off your kitchen counters. Even when you have decorative elements on your counters, your brain still thinks it is cluttered. When I was told that it was okay to place my standing mixer in a pantry or cabinet it was like a light bulb moment. I do not use the mixer every day, so why I am taking up valuable space with this item?
I can tell you that my standing mixer is one appliance that I have to continuously clean even though I don’t use it often. So, by moving it to the pantry, I have less clutter on my counter and less cleaning that needs to be done.
I was skeptical, but decided to implement it just to test it out.
My kitchen has been this way for a month and it has never felt better. My husband even complimented me on the difference it has made to him.
If you are skeptical like I was, just give it a shot. You might be pleasantly surprised too.
#2 – Evaluate Organization Systems
My husband and I have lived in our home since 2015. There are many organization systems that worked back, or that we thought worked, that are just not working now. So, I am slowly going through our home and evaluating all of the systems we have in place.
For example, our kitchen is just not functioning for us. I did not realize this until I reorganized my spices. You know how it goes. You start with one project, which leads to another and another and another. Once I got those organized, I realized they were located in the wrong drawer in the kitchen. So, I moved them to another drawer. Then, I realized my utensils should not be across the room from the oven where I use them.
Long story short, my kitchen cabinets and drawers are in the process of getting a makeover and better organization systems.
#3 – Consider Parting with Unloved Decorative Elements
I was raised on the belief that a bookcase should be full. It didn’t necessarily have to be books either. Honestly, most of the bookcases I have seen do not contain a lot of books. Most of them contain decorative elements like picture frames, vases, and figurines.
All of these items are wonderful if they are pieces that you truly love. I have kept so many random items because they were filling up space, not because I liked them. So, I started asking myself why I was keeping these items. Why am I spending valuable time dusting decorations I do not even like?
One by one, I am taking time to evaluate all of the decorative elements that are living in my home. So far, I have gotten rid of many Rae Dunn pieces because I honestly got caught up in the hype. Why do I need a mug that says grandpa on it? Also, random vases, picture frames that just aren’t my style, and figurines that I have outgrown have made their way to the giveaway pile as well.
Slowly but surely the vision I have for my home is becoming a reality: one organization project at a time.
Do you have a vision for your home?
My name is Kristin and I am a middle school career education teacher by day and a mommy/wife/blogger by night. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have two loving children. We recently made a life-changing move to Arkansas, so our new house is always under construction. I get excitement out of finding new creative, functional, and cute ways to organize things! I also enjoy writing and documenting life as it happens. So, I put these loves together and created The Gold Project. With the help of my husband, I am attempting to turn our house into a home. So, check out this special place of mine and take this journey with me!
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