6 Home and Workspace Organization Tips for Better Mental Clarity
Photo via @superfine_home by way of @warbyparker
The physical space we occupy day-to-day plays a huge part in our personal and entrepreneurial well-being. Good mental and business health requires that we proactively create a positive environment for ourselves.
Does a little closet purge or drawer organization really help with that? Professional home and life organizer and founder of Superfine Home, Josie Floyd, says yes, absolutely. Whether you have a destination office or you work from home, below are Josie’s tips to help you set your space up for better mental clarity.
As a professional home organizer, I often get asked for the gritty details of what I find buried deep in client’s closets. I’m sworn to secrecy, but the majority of us have some physical things tucked away to be dealt with ‘later’, some are just more extreme than others. The space you occupy, and the things that fill it, are deeply personal. I like to remind clients that the things you own should work on your behalf, not against you, and these physical things should also help you reach your goals, not hinder you.
Do you feel overwhelmed when you peer into your bedroom closet? Many people do! It’s not just the physical weight of these things that fill visual field, but they carry an emotional weight as well. Clutter is postponed decisions that build upon each other, until one day you look around and realize you have a problem.
Taking the time to proactively determine how we want to feel in our space can liberate us. We can free ourselves of that feeling that comes from experiencing excess in our spaces, by trying these organization tips:
1. Set intentions
Take the time for yourself and evaluate your space, mental state, and where you'd like to be. Do you like the clean lines of minimalist interiors, or prefer a more eclectic, colorful space filled with various items of interest for inspiration? Determine what you’d like to be surrounded by and then work towards that.
2. Take small actions
Set a timer for 10 minutes and tackle things in stages--focus on that unorganized bathroom shelf, or sort through that stack of unopened mail. Finishing just one small task can boost your mood tremendously. All the small steps you take add up, plus they’re great activities for taking a break from your business work.
3. Evaluate time and energy
Studies have shown we spend 2.5 days per year looking for misplaced items. If you get your physical things in order and create a home for everything--and return them to the same place after using them--you’ll save precious minutes every day.
4. Edit, edit, edit
Everything you own needs a home within your space, and guilt isn't a good reason to keep something. An important part of the process of setting up your space up for better mental clarity is finding the courage to get rid of what you no longer need and what’s no longer serving you. Practice ‘one in, one out’ mantra to maintain equilibrium and prevent overcrowding.
5. Quality over quantity
In any space, from your office to kitchen to utility closet, it’s imperative to remember that having more items isn’t necessarily better. Would you rather have 5 pairs of scissors that sort-of work, or one nice pair that works well? Choose to keep quality items and get rid of duplicates of things to clear up space.
6. Storage matters
After taking the time to sort, edit and purge your various spaces, spend some time considering how you can most efficiently store the remaining items so that they are visible and accessible. Clear storage bins, stacking items vertically instead of on top of one another, and utilizing vertical space all help keep you organized and make it easy for you to find things later on.
Josie Floyd is the founder of Superfine Home, a home and life organization service based in Seattle + Brooklyn, available anywhere. Follow her on Instagram for daily live-better-with-less tips and inspiration.