Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'

It all started with looking at blueprints and interior design ideas for a friend’s renovation project. Everything was so exciting, fresh, and new. Novelty! That’s what my brain craved. I knew I now needed to reinvent my own space. I wanted a fresh new look for the start of 2020. My new space would be in alignment with my future self. It would be neat and orderly, yet inspirational, natural, and fun. And so began the project of turning my guest bedroom into a home office while challenging myself to stick to a budget.  

In the meantime, my current workspace continued to accumulate stuff. What was the point of putting it away if I was just going to move it all anyway? The redesign project took one week, then two weeks, then three. My desk became a teetering mountain of paperwork, books, electronic equipment and miscellaneous junk. Help!

So, I decided to practice what I preach. I enlisted the help of a PAAC-certified coach. What could be possible when I had this new home office? Who could I be in this new space? In the simplicity and streaming sunbeams, what could the new me achieve? With my coach’s support, I came up with a plan, estimating that it would take me about three hours to organize my current desk. I pledged to spend 30 minutes cleaning it to an upbeat danceable playlist from 5:00-5:30pm for six days and check in with my coach daily.

Day 1 arrived, and I cued up Michael Jackson. I set my timer and went at it - tossing anything that I had not looked at in the last three months and anything that could be found in a digital format. Most of my mountain ended up on the floor and the rest got quickly grouped and filed away. Bam! I was completely done in 27 minutes. Shoving the discarded material into a giant black garbage bag took up the final three minutes and I was totally done! Then I snapped the most satisfying picture ever and sent it to my coach with a big smile emoji.

Here are the takeaways from my decluttering intensive:

• Get a coach

• Get clear on your purpose

• Set a SMART goal with just the right amount of challenge

• Split the work up into chunks

• Make it FUN (Michael Jackson playlist not required, although highly encouraged)

• SIMPLIFY = TOSS IT, then organize what’s left.

• Check in with your accountability partner

Reinventing your space allows you to reinvent your life. Clear your path of clutter to achieve your life’s purpose. Mamasay mamasa mamakusa.