Introducing Project: Purpose
In the reader survey, pretty much everyone responded that they were interested in decluttering their homes. It is certainly something my home is in desperate need of currently, and I’m guessing a lot of you are in the same boat. So, with that in mind, I bring you Project: Purpose.
What is Project: Purpose?
The idea behind Project: Purpose is to only have things in your home that serve a purpose and additionally that you have on purpose. What I mean by that is going through our homes, we should see things and know we purposefully have chosen them to stay and remain in our homes. We should have a home that blesses us and everyone that lives in it as well as those who visit. So often, I look around and only see those things that clutter up my home and cause me stress.
The Process
It’s time to intentionally go through each and every thing and ask some questions.
Does this item currently serve a purpose? If so, is it in the best place in my home to serve that purpose? Is it easy to use and find when someone needs it? If the item does not serve a current purpose, will it serve a future purpose (for example, baby items)? Can it be packed away for the time being so it is not taking up space and not using resources (like needing to be cleaned or moved, etc.)?
What emotions does this item bring up in me? If you are indifferent towards it and it is not serving a useful purpose, perhaps it needs to find a better home where it can be utilized. If it is something sentimental, keep it but put it away for awhile. You can revisit it at a later time (maybe 6 months or a year later) to determine if you still feel the same way. Sometimes our attachment to things diminish over time. If an item makes you unhappy, evaluate why you are still keeping it in the first place!
If you are familiar with FlyLady, her suggestion is to have 3 boxes: give away, throw away and put away. Do what works best for you and don’t take on too much for the time you have allotted. You don’t want to become even more stressed in your efforts to destress!
The Plan
Each month, I’ll post an area of my house I’m working on. Feel free to work on the same area or choose another area of your house to work on.
August’s Focus
For August, I’ll be working on my Master Bedroom. Here’s how I’m planning on dividing it up. Obviously your room is not going to be the same as mine but I encourage you to take each week like I do below and designate what you want to work on. Having a clear outline of your intentions helps make it more doable and less intimidating.
Week 1 – Bookcase – It’s been driving me crazy for months so I’m doing it first. Jude has been pulling things off and just making it a huge mess basically. I never end up putting the books back correctly and just throw them back in however just so they aren’t laying all over the floor. I also need to take stock of what I have and what I can list on Paperback Swap.
Week 2 – Vacation – I’ll be at the beach all week so instead I’ll be reading our book club selection instead. 🙂
Week 3 – Dresser/Nightstand – My dresser has become a pile of stuff I need to go through. I go through my clothes pretty routinely but I’ll give them a good look as well. The nightstand is not very full at all but I need to go through and mostly throw things away.
Week 4 – Closet – This was actually pretty clean up until recently. Marcella got done a bunch of things and made a huge mess and I haven’t had the will to go through it all. I’ll be bringing in a chair and taking down everything on the shelves to evaluate what truly needs to stay as sell and reorganizing it if needed. I’ll go through the clothes as well as have Josh look through his.
Will you join me??