Less is More🧼🧹📚🌱

𝓦𝓸𝓷𝓭𝓮𝓻 𝓦𝓮𝓭𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓭𝓪𝔂

“Get rid of clutter and you may just find that it was blocking the door you've been looking for.” ~ Katrina Mayer

It feels like an oxymoron, but in order to have more, you need less.

Lately I have been in declutter/”get rid of” mode. I am taking into account the Marie Kando method- focusing on what brings me joy and what feels good in my life.

I have been living in my current apartment for 18 years, and it is a beautiful home. It’s filled with windows, light, space, love, history, and more… including all of the things I’ve accumulated over 18 years.

I happen to like beautiful things. I am an artist, a creative. I like books. I like glassware. I like napkins. I like art work. I like makeup. I like clothes… and the list goes on. But somehow, things were getting a little out of hand, and I was having a little too much of everything. My very good friend and neighbor, Barbara, came over for dinner one night, and said, “Oh my god, I can help you here! You’ve got to focus in, Betsy. You’ve got so many amazing things, but my eye goes all over the place. Focus on what you want. What you need. Put things into little categories.”

Barbara is a fantastic organizer and the President at Organically Organized NYC.

It happened to be the winter time when she came over, and I had, as my mother calls it ‘schmattas’ covering my chairs as I was trying to create the look of a warm inviting ski lodge. But with blankets and pillows strewn everywhere, it looked crowded and a true eye sore.

Barbara and I got into moving furniture, pulling off the schmattas, and rearranging my living room!

She has a great eye for what needs to go and what needs to stay- plants were moved, the coffee table was changed from a wooden topped rectangular box, to a glass oval sphere that opens up the space. Her suggestions were right on point! I then got the bug… and proceeded to go through every drawer, closets, and cabinet in my home.

Now, organizing and rearranging can get expensive, as you need containers, new hangers, and new ways to sort your belongings. So, I made a few choices, as pink gold hangers are matching in just one section of my closet. Uniformity is the key, but all in good time.

The big point of all of this is I feel like a weight has been lifted. I have let go of some of the past, made space living in the present and have become excited for the future. I can go to find something and it is in the proper place that it needs to be. Everything has a home, and a place where it belongs. It is giving me focus, not only in my life’s direction, but it’s making me feel more organized, happier, lighter and freer.

A few months later, Barbara came down and was in awe of how much I had done myself. she sat in my seat at my desk and said, “Oh my god, what a good job! Your apartment exudes positivity, light, and color.”

What this has really taught me is that by getting rid of so much stuff, it has cleared the path and created space for new things to come in, new objects, new clothes (even though I don’t need more clothes…), new endeavors, and maybe even a new beginning with someone.

Getting rid of things is really hard. You have to go back into your past and discard part of your history, but holding onto old things doesn’t bring you into the future- it only adds to more clutter and chaos in your space, in your mind, and in your spirit.

We have entered the time of Venus in Cancer- which is nurturing yourself and your home. This summer is about finding clarity, healing, and being free.

So, set yourself free. Start in your home.

Start small…

It can be as simple as your kitchen junk drawer or an end table. Do one thing a day and it won’t be so overwhelming.

Let go….

And soon you’ll see, by wanting more for yourself, the solution is having less.

Start Today.