Picture this: it's 1996, my hair is blonde, cut embarrassingly short and I am wearing teva flip flops and a gymnastics leotard, covered in chalk dust and heading to the laundromat at summer camp with the biggest grin on my face - the thrill of washing and drying my own things and then putting them all back exactly as I wished, was glorious. So yes, I've always been a serial tidy upper but in each stage of life, this manifests in different ways. Right now, I am a mother of three in the thick of chaos and I do not expect perfection, so when you spoke up on Instagram and insisted that I lead you on a de-cluttering challenge, I knew that I needed to go beyond the purge.
So how do you de-clutter your space but make it meaningful at the same time?
These next two weeks will not be filled with one million complicated organizing how-tos, but instead we will focus on things like defining a room's purpose, honing in on the ways that space could better support you in your daily life, making meaningful decisions about the things you chose to keep in your space, low / no waste ways to let go of clutter without the guilt and finally, simple ways to love the space you call home.I will be focusing on two main areas of the home - the bedroom and the kitchen, but my hope is that once you work through this process in one room of your home, you will be inspired to continue on. I will be walking through my personal closet de-cluttering process and how to organize your kitchen so that it's both functional and a beautiful space.
Simply, we will work together towards the aim of creating a #calmdwelling .
Here are the key areas we will touch on:
Defining a room's purpose //
What do you want to use this room for? To create, to rest, to sleep, to cook, to get work done?What is the room actually being asked to do currently? Is your bedroom your office? Is your dining space your laundry folding area?
Honing in on the ways that space could better support you in your daily life //
What could you change in your space today, to make tonight easier? Are there things in the space preventing you from relaxing in the room? If you rearranged the room, would it work better for your family?Making meaningful decisions about the things you chose to keep in your space //
How do you decide what to add, what to take away and what to repurpose?Are there patterns in your buying that are making life harder instead of easier?
Low / No waste ways to let go of clutter without the guilt //
What is your gut telling you about the things you no longer use in your home? Is something holding you back from de-cluttering the things you no longer love and need?Simple ways to love the space you call home //
Tips and tricks to increase your happiness in your home.How do you join in the de-cluttering challenge?
The challenge will run from January 7th to 18th on my Instagram account and a couple of guest features that I will share over the course of the 12 days. You can find the daily prompts below, as well as in my stories on Instagram. Please send me DMs with any questions you may have about that day's prompt.
I would love if you also share your progress by tagging me @ashleyizsak and using the hashtag #calmdwelling . I think it will be fun (and motivating) to see how you make this challenge work for you!
Daily Prompts
(January 7 - 18)
7 | Pick a room + define it's purpose OR better yet, make a list of every room in your home and map out what that space is for.
8 | Honing in on the ways that space can better support your life.
9 | Make meaningful decisions about the things you chose to keep in your space.
10 | Bedroom closet de-clutting process.
11 | Tips on how to de-clutter when you always have children around.
12 | Low cost / no cost organization systems.
13 | Tips to create a functional and beautiful kitchen.
14 | Tackling the stuff that comes with raising children.
15 | Low / No waste ways to let go of clutter without the guilt.
16 | Simple tips to increase your love of your home.
17 | My personal favourite home pieces that make my life easier.
18 | Ask me anything organization related.
Cheers to a low pressure (yet hopefully still life changing) January challenge!
