I recently moved in with my brother for some reasons, and I did a thing with his space, even though we had a tiny issue at the start.
In my space, I prefer that it’s spacious, free of unnecessary items because cluttered spaces have a way of clouding my brain, hence limiting my productivity. In fact, in a cluttered space, my brain practically remains at 0% until I fix it. That’s why I hate to visit people because I don’t want to be tagged “too know”, however, this is my brother, so it was easy to fight him to succumb to my ways.
He recently got an apartment, and he had a precious way he had arranged his space. About three chairs in the sitting room, including the workspace because he also works from home, and some other things that immediately clouded my head the moment I set my eyes on them. I just knew that for the period of over six months that I’ll be spending with him, I rather do something if I want to be productive, so I gave him a list.
The list of items that he could set up in his sitting room, and no where will look cluttered. The chairs he had before that he wanted to include here that he could easily sell off, and buy less expensive ones, then, arrange the space in such a way that is free, beautiful, attractive, and not cluttered with unnecessarily shiny chairs and other items.
It took a while before he listened, but he did, so we got to work and set up the space. A minimalist set of chairs in the sitting room, differently set up workspace, kitchen items remaining in the kitchen, and the bedroom having no bags lying around on the floor, clothes properly hung and neatly arranged in the wardrobe, and other items neatly placed.
When we were done, he said, “and it’s beautiful ooo”. Oh, well, it is and I’m proud of the touch of minimalism in giving him a clutter-free space.
My mum never liked cluttered spaces, so, I learnt that from her. In fact, whenever we had clothes that we’ve not worn for long, she would give them out because why are you not wearing them? That, I’ve learnt from her and it’s still in me.
I’ve grown to cherish properly decluttered spaces because it feels like my brain is crowded anytime I see spaces like that. I remember my friend always saying, “you can do this later” because we needed to go out, but I wouldn’t like to return home to a cluttered space. I would return home from a trip and because I stay alone, I would return to a less cluttered space, and that is a big flex for me.
Decluttering is a big part of me because I need it to be very productive. A free space helps me stay focused and I tend to get more tasks done by the end of the day.
I am the type that cleans every day, but despite that, I still dedicate a day to check through my clothes and household items to check for the ones I don’t need anymore and dispose either by giving them out or discarding them. Doing this twice a week helps me keep a free space, know the things I need to buy next, and make a good use of the few ones I have.
Images are mine.