Give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread - Proverbs 30:8

Thursday, July 9, 2015

From Chaos to Calm - Creating a Space for Me

It's so easy to imagine living in a calm, uncluttered space. I often daydream about what my living space would be like if I were the only one living in it.

As it happens, I share my living space with three other people so the calm, minimalist space I dream of isn't always my reality.

One of the spaces that bothers me the most is the laundry room. I really struggle to keep this space clutter free. As I was heading into the small room earlier this week to tidy up I realized that 99% of the stuff in there was mine. And I am the person who uses that room 99% of the time.

I made a decision right then and there to clear it and clean it - to transform it from chaos to calm - and to do it for no one other than myself.


Before




I literally took everything out of the room - including the cupboards. Then I cleaned it from top to bottom, and very selectively put things back. I was amazed at some of the things I had shoved into those cupboards.

I'd love to give this space a complete make-over, but I think keeping it clean and clear is a good start. I'll probably hang something above the sink to brighten up the room. I'd love to add a reading chair so I could escape to my calm space for something other than laundry, but it's not big enough. Maybe just a big pillow in the corner on the floor would suffice (I'm kidding - sort of).

After




So far I found that one family member had thrown something on top of the dryer. I simply threw it back out into the hall and later found it had been put away. No one (including myself) is going to mess up this space again!

3 comments:

  1. "I simply threw it back out into the hall" Love that response. Especially since it worked. :)

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  2. Haha - my mom used to throw it back in the hall! Good for you!

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  3. OH MY WORD......if you only knew how desperately my basement laundry/hot water heater/oil tank/utility shelf room NEEEEEEEEDS this to happen to it!!!! #afteroregon

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