One of the most common reasons we choose to build or renovate our homes is because we want more space.  When I sit down with a new client, this is almost always at the top of the wish list and one of the driving reasons behind a decision to make a significant investment of time and money into building a new or improved home.

As we grow into our homes, our cupboards tend to swell up and our rooms start close in with a slow accumulation of more “stuff”.  With busy lives and lots of things going on around us, the lack of space can leave us feeling stressed, unorganised and with no room to breathe… sometimes literally – I get a tightness in my chest just looking at my son’s toy cupboard.  So the natural conclusion is to build more space.  Right?

In some cases, yes, this is a big part of creating a home that will support us to live a better lifestyle and help us to feel good in our homes.  But, if we’re going to build a bigger space to hold all of our stuff, shouldn’t we first be questioning whether it’s actually adding any value to our lives?  Are these things that we want and need to carry into the next phase of our life?

I know from personal experience that the things lurking in the back of my cupboards and filling up the garage are just things that I happen to own – very few of them actually add any value to my life.  They are just there.  For the most part, they are things that could be “useful” one day and too good to throw out, but they’re not things that I actually “need” or spark any joy.  In fact, I try not to look at them at all because they make me feel heavy.

But, as we enter yet another week of lockdown here in Melbourne, the messy cupboards I would normally ignore and the piles I would normally walk by are starting to bother me more than they normally would.  Amongst all the chaos outside our home, I feel the need to take control of something… even if it’s something as small as a cutlery drawer.

…and in a perfect stroke of synchronicity, Netflix released their brand new series “Get Organized with The Home Edit” this week.  I don’t know how I haven’t come across these ladies before, but let’s just say I’m a new fan – I’ve binged every episode already and it’s only been out a few days.  I’ve settled into new episodes each night like a comfort blanket – there is something very soothing and even slightly meditative in creating order and calm in a small corner of your house, especially when we’re living in such uncertain times.

So, if you’re finding yourself desperate for more space and wanting to carve out a bit of breathing room in your home, I’d encourage you to start editing the things that are currently taking up valuable space in your life and start your own home edit.

As Marie Kondo says… the question of what you want to own is really a question of how you want to live your life.

Hope that this gets you thinking about the things that you want to bring with you into your future life and which things you’re excited about leaving behind.  I’m off to clean out some drawers.

Amanda x

Featured image from The Home Edit.