Things

Decor is simply many small groupings or moments that are choreographed in a way that makes you smile. The atmosphere we all want to live in is different for each of us and your home is an extension of you. It's musical. It can be peaceful, loud, jazzy or smooth. And like music, we all strive for harmony. To me, this is the basis of what we do when we decorate our interiors. Harmonizing with our inner voice.

So, it isn't surprising when at the beginning of a brand new year, we hear that inner voice sing to us. The phrases may be different for each of us, but usually it is telling us to make a change or two. It can be to freshen a space by deep cleaning, redesigning the room, painting, remodeling, adding a specific item or taking away unnecessary...'things'. 

Things. They define us. Shape us and drive us. They help us make the music our inner voice is singing to us. We become emotionally attached to things and we have a difficult time letting them go. They then become clutter. Clutter can be incredibly destructive, causing anxiety and making us feel overwhelmed and tired. I'm sure you've all heard about the KonMari Method (Marie Kondo) that encourages keeping only those things that speak to the heart, and discard items that no longer spark joy. Decluttering things can and will make you harmonize with your inner voice again!

Starting small may be the best way to get you started and I've gathered a list of some things to remember to declutter in your home:

• The bathroom closet and medicine cabinet-travel sized toiletries, old make-up and brushes, anything falling out when you open the door
  
• Accessories in the hallway closet-all those extra hangers, mittens/gloves without a match, coats your kids have out-grown
  
• Old tech devices-old, laptops(erase the hard drive first), old DVD players. Your local waste services may offer an e-cycling event-dump it ALL off
  
• CD's and DVD's-heard of a Facebook group called 'Buy Nothing(enter your area)'-great for gifting to others
  
• Jewelry Box-donate old, unused pretties to local thrift shops
  
• Underwear drawers-get rid of yours and your kids that don't fit or are worn out
  
• Clutter under your bed-how many times have you stuffed an old t-shirt away thinking 'I'll make an afghan some day!' but, never do??
  

Short on time? Grab some of those Amazon boxes that we all have in our garages, tell Alexa to set the timer, (start small, say 1 hour), fill them up and donate, sell or trade. Have a friend come over to help you-there's nothing like a unattached buddy to help you ditch it! Do this a few times a week and you'll be amazed how quickly your inner voice will be harmonizing with you!