This is really exciting!
You’re here because you want to see a change in your daily life.
You want to stop feeling stress over the piles of mess you see all around you.
You’ve completed Step 1! Congrats! Let’s keep the momentum going with Step 2.
Step 2
Brainstorm and Dream
Imagine this: You sit down on your couch in the living room. You look around you. You see a set of cubbies meticulously organized with different activities for all the members of your family (and those cubby boxes you found are so cute!) Next, you see your entertainment center. Movies, video games, ALL THE CORDS…tucked away and/or on neat display for your next movie night or your son’s upcoming gaming party. Everything has a place and everything in its place. It’s a wonderful site. It’s a wonderful feeling!
Ok. Back to reality. Those spaces aren’t going to create themselves. It’s up to you to make those changes. Before we get into the heavy lifting of organizing let’s step back into our fantasy of organized bliss.
First, go to that specific area of your house (or office or garage or wherever) that you chose in Step 1.
Second, stay in that space for a few minutes.
How does it feel? How do you WANT it to feel?
How does it currently function? How do you NEED it to function?
Thirdly, close your eyes and envision how the space would look if you could snap your fingers and have it magically organized before your eyes.
Now, open your eyes, grab paper and pencil (or the note-taking app on your phone) and start writing down ideas.
Sidenote: At this stage of the organizing process I like to write down dimensions of things as well. For example, I want to put a desk in a certain spot. I measure the spot and the desk if I already own it. OR We need shelves in this space to make it function better. I measure the location where I want the shelves to go to get ideas for what will fit there.
This is my favorite part of the Kickstart process! I love just sitting in a space and imagining all the different possibilities. I go online (usually Amazon) and search for products that will help improve the space. Often that search gives me ideas for items I already own that will help in the space. Also, Pinterest…need I say more!
I am all about being thrifty. Organizing can get expensive if you want to go all out, BUT to make a space function better you don’t have to break the bank. Repurposing and the Dollar Store are two of my favorite things in the world when it comes to getting things organized.
Be as detailed as you want with this idea list. Don’t worry too much about making any concrete plans for the space yet. Let your mind go wild with what you would like to see take shape in the space.
If you’re getting stuck and coming up blank, go back to the basics. What NEEDS to happen in that space? Always go back to the necessities of function if ideas get short OR even if you have too many ideas and need to narrow things down. What needs to happen in the space to help the house function more efficiently?
Another tip for brainstorming is to turn to tools like Pinterest or Amazon and look at other people’s ideas and possible products for inspiration.
Ok! Progress is being made! It all starts in the mind with an idea and then making that idea a reality. Once you are satisfied with your list of ideas check out Step 3 of the Kickstart Plan to make them happen!