Dear Cristina, During the winter my family and I were stuck in our house more than usual. Now that we have time to relax, I’m looking at a lot of clutter and mess and it’s making me loca. I don’t have any money to remodel, but I want a fresh start on a budget that’s mostly going to be hard work rather than cash. Where should I begin? Ana Louisa P.
Have you ever moved and noticed that after you unpacked your things and put them in your new home, you saw your belongings in a new light? The process of moving is all about preparing for a change. You probably had a garage sale or giveaway before you left your old house, taking a look at your things with the view, “Do I really need this?”
The good news is that you don’t have to move to get a new view of the same old stuff in your life. The easiest way to focus your vision is to clear out the clutter. Without the distraction of clutter you’ll be able to see what you have to start with so you can determine the best way to begin a big change.
This change won’t have to cost you a dime, though you will have to work hard. You may even make some money if you sell your discarded items.
Working from where you are and with what you have can bring about amazing results, whether we’re talking about fitness, emotional growth or home décor. You always have more than you think – just not in the way you usually think about it.
Focusing on what you really like and want to continue to live with won’t stop at your home décor. Even more surprising is that changing your home on the cheap can be a creatively challenging project that will not only result in a “new” way to live in your home, you’ll discover talents you didn’t know you had. You’ll quickly realize that refining your focus will extend to other areas of your life, maybe even including your work and personal relations.
Organize Your Stuff
Storage containers are available online and at most any household variety goods store.
If you don’t want to spend anything, make your own storage containers from cardboard boxes, plastic bags, plastic milk jugs or whatever it takes. Spruce up your homemade organizers with spray paint and stencils.
Pretend to Perfecto!
Clear a messy shelf (or set of shelves if you’re brave) and set everything on the floor. Pretend you have a great job staging houses or building window displays at your favorite store, and this shelf will be the showplace for your design skills. Now, start putting things back on the shelf, being sure that the placement looks good. If you have small or un-tidy items that look junky, gather them in an attractive container. When you’re satisfied with the shelf, put any leftover things from the messy shelf into an appropriate drawer or closet.
I Can See Clearly Now, the Stuff is Gone
Clutter is a form of visual noise that distracts you. Clearing spaces will give you the visual quiet you need to let your imagination run free. And there’s nothing like freedom to enhance creativity. Here’s how to start:
Really see what you have: Take everything you can out of a room that you don’t absolutely need. Set it into boxes for a couple of weeks in an adjoining room. Clean the room thoroughly. Paint the room if you have the funds and want a quick update.
Then, as you need something go to the box to get it and add it to the room. After a few weeks, revisit the boxes and decide which items will permanently return to the room; which items are better in another room; and which items you can sell or give away.
Organize items that tend to turn into clutter: Make a designated place for keys, mail, wet clothes, and other things that tend to pile up.
Green-Washing isn’t really Green
Just because a company jumps on the “green” marketing bandwagon to promote a product doesn’t mean that they are dedicated to the philosophy of sustainability from which the concept of “green” emerged. When a corporation’s product line is marketed to mislead customers as to the true sustainability or eco-friendly virtues of the product, what they are doing is often called “green-washing”. Green-washing misleads consumers. Long before it was cool and groovy to save the planet there have been people and companies that were leading the way and continue to dedicate their efforts to positive environmental change. Bruce Sullivan and Beth Magee are two of the pioneers in the marketing of sustainable green home energy and building products. Check out their website, Oikos.com. It’s a web portal to all things green and sustainable in home building and design.
Save the Planet and Your Money
Saving energy can equal saving money. Though I’m the biggest fan of beautiful design, if your home looks good, but it’s drafty and dated construction wastes energy, your home won’t be as comfortable as it looks. Investigate updating insulations, duct work, etc. You’re spending your time, money and personal energy decorating, so be sure to include changes that also save fossil fuel energy. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S.Department of Energy have teamed to form the Energy Star website.
It’s one of the best places to start learning about the small changes you can make in your home that will add up to big results in both comfort and energy saving. They even have a Home Improvement tab including remodeling tips. Saving energy doesn’t have to cost a lot of money. Some states have regional Energy Trust grants so that you can get a professional Home Energy Auditor to visit your home for free! www.EnergyStar.gov
Cristina Acosta welcomes your questions and comments. She is an artist, author, designer and color consultant. Read more of her articles and see her design portfolio at www.CristinaAcosta.com. Please send yours before and after jpeg photos of your decorating efforts with your contact information to editor@latinastyle.com
[This article has been
edited for
www.latinastyle.com. For the full version,
check out the September/October issue of LATINA Style.]
