SIMPLIFY YOUR SPACE by Marcia Ramsland
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page i simplify your space create order & reduce stress MARCIA RAMSLAND The Organizing Pro 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page ii Simplify Your Space: Create Order and Reduce Stress! © 2007 by Marcia Ramsland All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or any other— except for brief quotation in printed reviews, without the prior written permission of the publisher. Published in Nashville, TN, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc. Published in association with the literary agency Alive Communications Inc., 7680 Goddard Street, Suite 200, Colorado Springs, CO 80920, www.alivecommunications.com. Scripture quotations are taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. The names and identities of clients mentioned have been changed or concealed in composites to protect their privacy. For those who granted permission to do so, their names and details about their lives appear as they happened. Acquisitions Editor: Debbie Wickwire Cover Design: [[to come]] Interior Design: Lori Lynch Artwork: Sabra Inzer Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data [[to come]] Printed in the United States of America 07 08 09 10 11 VIC 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page iii This book is dedicated . to my parents, who were always hospitable and made home a place to enjoy, to my twin aunts, Lor and Helen, whose home was always in order and full of joy, to our young adult children, Mark, Lisa, and Christy (and her husband Brian), who are establishing homes of their own, to my husband, David, who has supported me and our changing household over the years, to all the men who support the changing roles of the women in their lives—whether mother, sister, or wife—and the home reflected by it, to women who truly want order and freedom for the spaces they live and work in, and to you my new friend, as we walk side by side to simplify the spaces in your home. Change your space—change your home—change your life! 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page iv 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page v Contents Acknowledgments vii 1. Start Out Right 1 Simplify Your Visible Space 2. Kitchen 11 3. Family Room 22 4. Daily Paperwork 32 Simplify Your Personal Space 5. Bedroom 45 6. Bedroom Closet 55 7. Bathroom 65 Simplify Your Active Space 8. Laundry Room 77 9. Child’s Room 86 10. Office 96 Simplify Your Formal Space 11. Dining Room 111 12. Living Room 120 13. Guest Room 129 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page vi vi | contents Simplify Your Storage Space 14. Garage 141 15. Basement 151 16. Your Next Move 162 17. Simply Maintain and Multiply Your Success 174 Recommended Resources 182 About the Author 184 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page vii Acknowledgments creative book like this takes a team of people, and I was blessed to have the best! Debbie Wickwire, acquisitions editor, saw the vision clearly from the Abeginning for this successful book along with the first two books with W Publishing Group, now Thomas Nelson. Thank you, Debbie, marketing, and Thomas Nelson for believing in me and these three books. You have been a joy to work with in this endeavor. The partnership with Women of Faith’s LifeStyle line of product has brought me new friends I love, including every one of the speakers and staff! I even moved closer to headquarters in Dallas because I like you gals so much. This book had the outstanding feature of Sabra Inzer’s artwork, which helped us diagram the concepts so beautifully. You’re a pro, Sabra, at making my words come alive through visuals. Thank you so much. Decorating Coach Susan Wells, professional redesigner, stager, and speaker, helped us “tie the bow on the ribbon” with decorating tips at the end of each chapter. Special thanks to editor Jennifer Stair, who shaped the manuscript with her grammatical vii 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page viii viii | acknowledgments eye and good common sense. Thanks, Jennifer. You’re a true expert with communicat- ing through the printed word. Lee Hough and Alive Communications, thank you for arranging three books in the Simplify for Success series: Simplify Your Life, Simplify Your Time, and Simplify Your Space. We celebrate again. My personal thanks goes to my audiences and clients since 1985 who have been gen- erous and enthusiastic with their responses! Thank you for allowing me into your lives. My network of family, friends, my e-mail prayer team, San Diego Christian Writing group members, and AWSA friends have made the past seven years a wonderful writ- ing journey. Who says you can’t learn something new in midlife? I’m glad for each of you encouraging me and cheering me onward. Finally, I thank God for the blessings of creativity and the gift of making compli- cating things easier for people. Not only did God answer my prayer to help me get organized years ago, but He made me a messenger of hope to this generation of busy people. No generation before has seen so many demands on their time. I am glad to part of the solution to everyday problems. Finally, I want to acknowledge you, my reading friend, for your courage to make changes in your life. “The Decorating Coach,” Susan Wells, and I have taken the book a step further and included photos of the chapter concepts at our at our Web sites: www.OrganizingPro.com and www.TheDecoratingCoach.com.Visit us often as you simplify your space. 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page 1 1 Start Out Right With a good organizational plan, you can be sure to unclutter any area of your home. And if you maintain the neat, orderly space you’re created, you’ll always know what you’ve got—and exactly where to find it. —MERVYN KAUFMAN love the look of a clean home—and you probably do too. But wanting an orderly home and actually bringing it about are two different things. If you sometimes strug- Igle to maintain your space, you’re not alone. Most of us eventually have to admit, “I just have too much stuff!” I, too, didn’t realize the clutter I had collected until I opened my linen closet years ago and found twenty-six tablecloths. That’s enough for a new one every two weeks, and I didn’t even use tablecloths! That was the day I discovered what too much felt like. So I started to sort, and then I created simple solutions to control the clutter. As we all know, cluttered closets (like my overstuffed linen closet), paper pileups, and overflowing countertops gradually fill our homes for a variety of reasons, ranging from a busy schedule to other people to pick up after. Then, adding to our piles of stuff, we receive gifts, find great bargains, and purchase new things to enjoy without getting rid of the old. Before long, the clutter grows in every room and we feel out of control! If we don’t simplify the things we own, our homes become full of gathered belong- ings and we become “museum” keepers. And the more things we acquire, the more 1 00-01_simplify your space 4/9/07 5:04 PM Page 2 2 | simplify your space time we have to spend taking care of them. Without an effective system to organize our belongings, we spend many frustrating hours searching for important things that are lost or misplaced. Put quite simply, too much stuff complicates our lives. Get Things Back Under Control Perhaps things have gotten a bit cluttered in your life. If so, let me assure you that hav- ing too much stuff is not a character flaw! It can be the sign of a busy life, a sentimental attachment to things, indecisiveness, or reluctance to let things go. Whatever the reason, in this book you will learn practical tips to help you overcome your past and make a fresh start. There are simple solutions to getting things back under control. You don’t have to live in a complicated home. You can make changes . at your own pace. The dream of a simplified space can become your reality. The good news is that when you simplify your belongings, you will find not only clear space but also more time. You won’t be taking care of so many things, and that will free you to focus on what really matters. Now is the time to let things go, for your benefit and for others. Motivated to Change We all have personal reasons for wanting to simplify our space. Mine was embarrassment. My well-organized twin aunts were visiting from out of town for a week. I loved my aunts and knew they were neat as a pin at home and work. Thinking I could use a little encouragement from them on how to get organized, I casually asked as we were setting the table for dinner, “Aunt Helen, how can I get these papers on my kitchen counter in order?” She folded her arms, took a step back, and surveyed the situation.