We can all agree we like this picture. (I think that would be a fair assessment)
But what would this place look like with dirty dishes on the counter, some lights burned out or mixed colors, plastic wraps, carton boxes on chairs, an overflown trashcan, and cleaning products on counters?
Then we can also agree the magic is gone!
I usually feature beautiful interiors and exciting buildings on my feed to get you in touch with that part of your soul that craves beauty and order. I always aim to demonstrate that great design can only shine in clean, uncluttered spaces. That type of space allows the mind to see the beauty of the design without the distraction of clutter.
Who doesn’t like a hotel room? Of course, we all like the newness of experiencing something out of the routine. But the neatness and simplicity of a hotel room have a lot to do with how we experience that space. That neatness and simplicity are no accident — it is by design.
Think about the magic that a staged model home delivers. Yet, even if you were to buy that same model home, furnished and all, as soon as the disjointed moving boxes and bags arrived on moving day, the magic would be gone instantly.
So, what happened?
No matter where you live or what you own, you can have a place that excites you to gasp. You can be in love with your own home! But it takes attention and intention. Unfortunately, these two things are pretty much neglected when it comes to the place where we live.
But why?
Many take their home for granted and stop paying attention to details, neglect to repair broken items, and use their home as storage spaces (instead of living spaces). Clutter creeps up when we stop paying attention to our environment and what we keep.
And we stop paying attention to our surroundings when we live mindlessly.
The level of clutter directly correlated to the level of disinterest shown in a home. It is easy to get to that point when we have so much stuff that we can no longer pay attention to anything. Nothing seems unique anymore. Consequently, we turn blind to mess and beauty alike. It’s a vicious cycle.
That makes me think of family relationships; after some years of marriage, some people start taking their partners for granted, stop trying, get bored, and don’t care. What if we tried to keep the magic alive?
So, is the grass greener elsewhere? Not necessarily. It is not always the case, and it largely depends on you.
So, keep your grass green; fertilize and water it, and enjoy it too.
Contact My Space Reclaimed, LLC, for inspiration. We can’t wait to show you that home you never knew you had!
When we have a dedicated guestroom, can we keep it ready to receive guests? It means keeping it empty of our stuff, decorated with a cozy atmosphere, and perhaps a couple of things to wow guests.
Maintaining our belongings out of the guestroom makes it easier to control our things. It simplifies everything. I can’t imagine the stress it would cause me to have random things in random places in my home, not knowing where’s what.
What The Guestroom Is Not
The guestroom should not be the dumpster for all the unwanted gifts you have received, your wedding dress or formal attire, gift-wrapping supplies, unpacked boxes from your last move, and old pictures in frames you’d rather avoid. Each of these things has a logical place – different from the guestroom.
If you’ve worked with My Space Reclaimedbefore, you know the logical place for each item in your home. But if you are still determining the best storage area for any of the stuff you want to store in your guestroom, I will be happy to point you in the right direction.
It is common for people to place random stuff wherever there’s space available. But this practice is incompatible with an organized home. So, for example, would you place canned food in a bathroom cabinet because it has some open space? (And if you answered yes, stop reading now – nothing here will make sense to you).
Keeping our belongings out of the guestroom also avoids the last-minute scramble to remove stuff from that space when guests come over. Or heaven forbids the need to make a little space for a guest or two so they can accommodate their things in the guestroom.
Please don’t do this unless you want your guests to feel unwelcome. The message given is that they’re interrupting how you live. I would not feel at ease as a guest in such a situation. I’d hate to feel I’m causing my host inconvenience or additional work.
What Every Guestroom Should Have
So, now that we know what not to place in that guestroom, let’s touch on what we should include.
Other than maintaining the room empty of our belongings, paying attention and intention to the guestroom makes total sense. We want to ensure the place is comfortable, aesthetically pleasing, cozy, and inviting. To achieve that, let’s use simple, neutral décor, and cozy ambiance, anticipate our guests’ needs, and implement details that truly make a difference.
We must consider the following elements to create unforgettable experiences for our home guests.
The Bed
Choose a medium-firm mattress (in whatever size you need the bed to be). If the bed frame does not have a headboard, create one, or buy a panel to install on the wall behind the bed. The headboard makes the bed feel warm and determines bed placement.
Planned Bedding
Choose white, solid sheets and pillowcases of the same set (try bamboo!). Get two additional pillowcases every time you buy a sheet set. In addition, invest in four firm pillows (two, if the bed is twin size), a mattress protector, and pillow protectors (waterproof but that don’t feel plastic). Use the bed recipe for that upscale look. https://www.stagingstudio.com/bed-recipe-video
Minimalist Furniture
Include one nightstand for a twin bed or two nightstands for a double bed, queen, or king size. Include a full-length mirror, whether heavily framed, on the floor against the wall or a simple long mirror installed inside the closet door or wall. Don’t forget a dresser!
Window Dressings
Choose simple curtain panels and modern-looking hardware. When deciding on panel measurements, consider that those come in standard sizes and that the appropriate length for these is touching the floor and lightly pooling at the bottom. Choose darkening / temperature-regulating curtain panels for added convenience for your guests.
Temperature Control
The darkening / temperature-regulating curtain panels will help control the temperature in the room. Also, because chances are the guest bedroom does not have a separate thermostat, ensure that the room’s overhead lighting fixture includes a fan—the least number of items you need to add to the room, the better. Floor fans and space heaters do not contribute to an enticing look in a room.
Reading Area
Space permitting, include a comfy wingchair with a small ottoman, a mini side table, and a floor lamp with directional light behind the armchair. (That’s cozy on steroids!)
Wall Décor
Include limited wall décor that is simple, size-appropriate, and not about you, your family, politics, or religion.
Strategic Lighting
Lighting is crucial for ambiance and functionality. In bedrooms, warm (yellow) light is the way to go. Install warm light bulbs on the ceiling fan light fixture. Also, add a table lamp on each nightstand, plus another on the dresser. Use warm light bulbs on all light fixtures in the room. Replace any burnout lightbulb at once. Do not mix different kinds of lightbulbs (color or power).
A Well-Appointed Bathroom
Place perfectly white (preferably new) bath towels or sheets on towel bars and hand towels on towel rings by the sink. Ensure the toilet, sink, and shower/bathtub work well without annoying leaks. Add a size-appropriate shower mat or rug in front of the shower and the sink area. Do not use toilet covers or mats around the toilet! Include a 3-8 gallon trashcan and line in with a transparent trash bag of the appropriate size. If the bathroom has a shower, install a new liner for its shower curtain. Better yet, consider a hookless shower curtain (eliminating the need for hooks and including a removable, washable fabric liner). Choose a solid shower curtain in white, preferably. Fit the countertop with a tissue box cover and a matching soap dispenser. (Place a tissue box in the dispenser and fill the soap dispenser).
Selected Travel-Sized Toiletries
Your guests will probably bring their toiletries. However, you want to be prepared for those impromptu stays and unforeseen mishaps. Consider buying these items in travel size: Q-tips, cotton, toothpaste, toothbrush, mouthwash, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, disposable razor, hairspray, shaving cream, nail clipper, mini brush, mini comb, moisturizing lotion, feminine supplies, tissue, wipes. Organize these neatly in drawer organizers (inserts) in one of the bathroom’s most accessible drawers.
Paper Supplies
Stock the bathroom cabinet over the toilet with extra rolls of paper (without the plastic wrapper!) and a couple of tissue boxes. If the bathroom does not have a cabinet over the toilet, use another nearby cabinet area).
Available Closet
Include 10-12 wooden, sturdy hangers in the closet. Add a skinny square or rectangular hamper that complements the room décor. Include 1-2 additional pillows (with pillow protectors and corresponding pillowcases) and a blanket.
Cleanliness
It goes without saying, but the bedroom, the closet, and the bathroom should be spotless. Look up to see that the fan and air vents are dust-free. Pay attention to baseboards and crown moldings. Avoid plug-in scents and candles since these items require monitoring and can trigger allergies in sensitive individuals. Also, scents are very personal, subjective elements.
Electronics / Safety
Add a charger for your guest’s electronics on one or both nightstands. Include a small flashlight in the nightstand drawer if the power goes off. Use a plug-in nightlight in the bedroom and the bathroom and a couple of these in the hallway from the bedroom to the bathroom (when it’s not inside the room) and to the kitchen. Include a home automation device (such as Amazon’s Alexa or Google Home).
Coffee / Water / Snacks
Space permitting, place a coffee maker with a few hot-cold disposable cups, stirrers, and individual serving format coffee accessories (sweetener, cream pods). Add a small decorative box or basket with prepacked snacks (such as granola, cereal bars, and individual-size packs of almonds or peanuts) and two water bottles.
Final Details
Add a clear vase with fresh flowers (minimal leaves) filled ¾ with water. Add a white or beige bathrobe and plush socks or sandals to the closet.
So, to provide your guests with an unforgettable stay that could become the stuff of legend, pay close attention to those guestroom details and anticipate their needs.
That buzz in your head… Could it be clutter chatter?
Cheap Thoughts and Stuff
Making that noise disappear probably requires a commitment to live a simpler life with fewer, although higher quality, things instead of hoarding cheap, unnecessary stuff.
Refrain from fooling yourself into thinking that you save money when you find something at a low cost and buy more than you need. Money is spent when you buy stuff, not when you get rid of it.
When you buy cheap stuff by volume and refuse to discard or donate what you don’t need, you continually waste money and reject better possibilities in your life.
We All Know This Person
Here’s an example. Consider someone who finds no money to have some home repairs done but has bought all gadgets sold by infomercials between midnight and 5 am for the past year.
This person now has every possible iteration of cat litter boxes, 18 different lines of weight loss products and programs (because nothing works), seven different mops, laptop gadgets, several high-end electronic toys, four Roomba vacuum cleaners, and three other systems of oil diffusers, to name a few.
If added on a whole year, the amount spent on all those things could be enough to tackle significant repairs or upgrades in the home and buy the top-quality item in every category they genuinely need.
Yet, they continually spend their money on useless things (on sale), continue living in a house that is falling apart due to lack of maintenance, and continue hoarding cheap, low-quality versions of items they might or might not need. Does that make sense?
And remember that the more you have, the more you need to keep up with, more to clean, more to store, more effort to find what you are looking for, and so on.
Ah, let’s remember the cost of storage. You pay for every square inch of your home, which should be living space, not storage space. And the monthly fee for a storage unit? Do not even go there! Why do this to yourself and your family?
Turn Those Feelings Around
It seems very hard for people to let go of useless things accumulated in this manner. They might need to shift their emotions around stuff and money if they wish to break this spending cycle and upgrade the quality of their life.
Shifting how they feel about money and themselves would be a fundamental change if they aspire to live a simpler, stylish life that makes them proud.
Please understand that an elevated lifestyle has less to do with your financial situation or the size of your home. Instead, it is about your mindset, priorities, how deserving you feel to receive the best of life, and where you direct your attention to and your intention from now on.
The ability to notice details and the willingness to tweak little things creatively are crucial to achieving the perfect space when organizing.
Organizing takes skill, patience, strategy, time, and attention to detail. Those are a Professional Organizer’s tools of the trade.
But Organizers are exceptional at developing systems that take organizing to the next level. Systems usually increase efficiency in utilizing the space available.
Consider the kitchen cabinet and notice all details involved in the process resulting in an organized, functional space. But organizing this cabinet also resulted in two efficient systems.
The Kitchen Cabinet Situation
this cabinet had lots of cookbooks and recipe binders
it also had a myriad of serving items
books stacked sideways because some did not fit the space
recipe clippings were sticking out of books and binders
nothing was labeled or had hand-written Post-it notes
Also….
recipes were hard to remember, identify, or use
meals were boring, repetitive, and unhealthy
medicine and supplement bottles occupied the lower shelf of this cabinet
taking meds and supplements was inconsistent because of the sorting and opening of bottles required, and it was hard to remember who took what and when
The kitchen cabinet needed some tweaking to become a functional cabinet with valuable, organized content.
The Process
removed all cabinet contents
sorted through contents and removed what was no longer wanted or needed
adjusted shelves to fit even the tallest book
allocated specific areas for things that stay
created a recipe use and management system
recipes photocopied, cut, and pasted on 4″ X 6″ index cards
index cards classified by dish type and organized in index card boxes
recipe boxes labeled with the recipe categories it contains
system benefits: mixing/matching cards create a week’s worth of healthy, varied meals
pills presorted in bags according to dosage/time of intake for each person
pill bags divided into baskets for each household member
system benefits: a streamlined process where everyone knows where, what, when, and how when getting their meds
The development of systems improves efficiency in the use of your space. Therefore, designing systems that increase productivity and make life easier is one of the most valuable benefits of working with a Professional Organizer.
If you want to experience some Organizing magic, let’s talk! We’d love to hear about you and see how we can help.
23 Things To Make 2023 The Best Year Ever offers ideas to enrich our lives in the next twelve months. And as we know, getting organized can improve our lives immensely. So, LocalProfile Magazine invited My Space Reclaimed to collaborate on this article.
Ringing in the new year with a clean home is necessary for most households. However, cleanliness does not always equal organization. Maristella Bertram, the owner of My Space Reclaimed, is a Professional Organizer who works with clients to find the root cause of disorganization in their homes.
“Lack of awareness results in us putting things down instead of away.” Instead of just rearranging clutter into bins, Bertram offers guidance to clients who typically feel “perfection paralysis” and guilt over not organizing on their own. If this is you, don’t hesitate to ask for help.
