Mid-Year Home Reset: What’s Working (and What’s Not)?
How time flies! July is here and somehow, we’re more than halfway through the year. Whether it’s a busy time at work, or you have your hands full with the kids enjoying their break, complete with sleeping in, sports, and camps, your home is now home base for more activity than ever. This time of year can reveal how your relationship with your home is working out for you and it’s the perfect time for taking stock:
What about your space is organized and running smoothly? What continues to frustrate you or confuse you?
Understanding what you want out of your home and what you need to do to get there is key to creating an organized and clutter-free home that benefits everyone in the family.
Give Yourself Time to Take Stock
You can’t decide what is or is not working in your home if you never slow down long enough to pay attention to how you feel when you’re in it. It might seem counterintuitive; the summers are often filled with plans and activities, and you’re busy keeping up with it all. Giving yourself time to reflect and pay attention to the day-to-day management of your home will help you connect with what works and what you want to change.
Is there a particular part of the day that seems to be stressful? Maybe you're always tripping on shoes when you walk through the door, or you can never find your wallet when you’re ready to leave.
Are there rooms in the house you avoid or find stressful because of the layout? Rooms that never feel clean no matter how often you put things away? Noticing these little things and even just writing them down gives you an opportunity to better understand your home and what you need out of it.
If there’s something about your home that is running smoothly or that you find doesn’t have these issues, what about it works? Ask yourself, “What do I enjoy about this space?” You may be able to apply what works in one space to other spaces in your home.
Use Your Mid-Year Reset to Find Solutions
Once you’ve taken stock of what is really stressing you about your home and you understand what needs adjusting, you can do something about it. You don’t have to achieve perfection. Some solutions are easy; if you’re always tripping on shoes when you walk through the door, reorganizing your entry and adding a shoe rack can quickly solve the issue.
Some solutions are more extended: you might decide to rearrange some furniture or declutter a room. Go through each of the spaces you’ve determined need work and ask yourself: What about this space bothers me? What stresses me out or continues to disrupt my routine? Think about what would alter the environment. It may take time to discover the root of the problem, and you might choose to revisit the space to take stock again. Finding a solution doesn’t have happen immediately, and you don’t have to do it alone. Talk to your family about your concerns and ask them for their ideas about how to create a space that is organized and works for everyone. You might be surprised by the solutions they come up with!
Pick a Starting Point
A mid-year reset is an opportunity for you to see your home in a new light and identify what is causing you stress. If every meal is stressful and chaotic, there’s not enough counter space, you can never find the utensils you want, and meals always start later than you’ve planned, a quick kitchen declutter and a pantry overhaul might make all the difference. If the kids summer break has turned into massive summer clutter, redoing the kids’ rooms or playroom can transform how you and the kids feel about the space. It doesn’t have to consume your summer; small changes cn have a big impact.
The summer is the perfect time to give your home some TLC. Understanding what you need out of your home and where you’re struggling is the first step in creating a space that is well-organized and ready to match your life and schedule. Paying attention to your daily life and how the spaces are used in your home will help you identify the problems you’re facing and turn stress into a well-planned mid-year reset that will carry you through to the holidays.