Fall is a time for change and I’m not just talking about the leaves changing color. With the kids going back to school and families getting back on a schedule, many homeowners are looking at their current spaces and what they might be missing in their home. I’ve been working with a number of clients who want to transform an existing room (extra bedroom or the room where everything gets dumped) into a place where they can fulfill a dream that revolves around a hobby, a passion, or a business.
Do you want a room where you can start sewing, doing crafts, getting out the scrapbooking supplies, or creating a new office for a home-based business? Sometimes a room has to do double-duty, but the main focus is to create a space to go to and get those creative juices flowing. Let’s break it down:
The first step is to decide which room is the one to transform. Your new room/space should:
- be on a floor that will be conducive to using it.
- have a window to look out of if you want one.
- have a door so you can close the door and leave things “out” and not put everything away when you have to stop for the day.
- function independently, or it can do double-duty (e.g. guest room/office).
The second step is to clean out the room you want to move into. First, sort through the items you can see. Sort the closets and drawers next. Set up a staging area on a bed, desk, or table to sort items (sorting from the floor kills your back). Make categories for:
- belongs in another room
- donate (to people and animals)
- sell on eBay, Craig’s List, or consignment
- return to/belongs to someone else outside the home
- trash
- keep in the room
Try not to leave the room while you are sorting. If you have difficulty making decisions on whether to keep something or not, do a quick sort first and then make a second pass at the more difficult items. After you are done sorting, take all items that don’t belong in the room to its new home.
The third step is to look at the furniture in the room:
- Determine what isn’t going to stay in the room and take it out.
- Bring in any furniture that you’ll be using for your new space.
- Try to remix, reuse, or repurpose things you already own instead of buying new.
Finally, organize the new room by zones:
- Working table/area
- Storage areas inside closets, on shelves, and in cabinets.
- Use room dividers or rugs to zone off the room if needed.
- Containerize your items by how you will use them: open, closed, opaque, solid, pretty, or utility.
Change the layout of your room as your life changes or as you change the projects you are working on. As the saying goes, life is not a dress rehearsal; don’t wait to follow through on those dreams and wishes for your home, especially if it’s just a matter of rearranging and not major construction. Don’t just dream about what your truest life could be, organize it to be so! Good luck!
Clutter Quote: “Our truest life is in our dreams awake.” Henry David Thoreau, American author, poet, philosopher.
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