Steve Jobs once said, “Your time is limited, don’t waste it living someone else’s life.” These words carry profound wisdom, urging us to embrace our uniqueness and craft a life that resonates with our aspirations.
At the heart of decluttering your home and living a joy-filled, organised life lies the crucial step of vision setting. It's an exercise I wholeheartedly encourage you to undertake, as it lays the foundation for a life that aligns with your values and dreams.
Many people dive straight into their decluttering and organising journey without setting a vision of their ideal lifestyle. They jump into tidying their wardrobe or their papers, only to reach a difficult point where they get overwhelmed and often stop. However, if you start with your vision, you have an end goal to strive towards. Your vision becomes a guiding light that motivates you to keep going, even when faced with challenges along the way.
Think of vision-setting like browsing through a recipe book. Most recipe books have pictures of the delicious meal you're about to cook. The picture serves as your end goal. Similarly, your vision is the picture of the life you want to create. When you encounter a challenging point in your decluttering journey, your vision encourages you to keep going, reminding you of the joy-filled life waiting for you on the other side.
Your vision is deeply personal, a reflection of your innermost goals and priorities. There's no right or wrong answer — only your answer. Set some time aside to delve into your thoughts and let your imagination soar.
Here are 3 tips to help you:
1. Setting the Scene:
To begin, find a space where you can focus without distractions. Create your own oasis of calm and creativity, whether it's a peaceful corner at home, a tranquil library or your favourite spot in the garden. This sacred space will serve as your sanctuary for introspection and vision-setting.
2. Minimise Distractions:
Next, set boundaries with technology to minimise distractions during your vision-setting time. Consider silencing notifications on your phone or setting it to "Do Not Disturb" mode, allowing you to stay fully immersed in the process.
3. Establish a Ritual:
Finally, create a pre-session ritual to prepare your mind for reflection. This could involve lighting a scented candle, listening to calming music or going for a walk, whatever works for you. Engaging in this ritual consistently will help you ease into a state of focus, making your vision-setting sessions more effective and fulfilling.
Here are some guiding questions to aid you in this introspective journey:
Some of the questions to ask are surface-level. Think about your ideal living environment, but go beyond the space in your home. Define your vision to reflect your goals & priorities.
How do you want to spend your time?
Do you want to make space for new activities or people?
Do you want to make more space for yourself?
Delve beyond the surface and envision how you want your life to feel:
What emotions do you want to cultivate? Whether it's a sense of calm, control, sociability, confidence, or relaxation, let your vision embody these feelings.
How do you envision your interactions with others? Consider whether you want to spend more or less time with people, nurture better relationships, or minimise conflicts in your home.
Remember, your vision isn't just about your current lifestyle — it's also about shaping your future. People frequently struggle with decluttering because they're holding onto their past life and not making room for the future. As you embark on your tidying journey, you'll learn more about yourself. This will help you to refine your vision further.
Once you've explored these questions, it's time to take action:
Document Your Vision: Write it down, sketch it out, record it or create a mood board — whatever works for you. Display it prominently in your home – stick it on your fridge door or somewhere you will see it as a constant reminder of your aspirations.
Share Your Vision: Communicate your vision with those you live with. Explain why it's important to you, and ask for their support on your journey towards a more organised and fulfilling life.
How my vision transformed my lifestyle:
Setting my own vision completely transformed my relationship with cooking. Before I used the KonMari Method to organise my own home, I frequently found cooking a chore and relied on ready meals or a handful of recipes. For variety, we ate out but often I felt that the experience was unmemorable, unhealthy and expensive. My vision was to eat wholesome home-cooked food sitting around our kitchen table. Having an organised home means I am much calmer and have found room for creativity in cooking. Sharing my vision with my Husband inspired him to get involved. We now meal plan together, so that shopping is easy and we share all the cooking. We both enjoy cooking meals and appreciate the love that has gone into the meals we enjoy at home. I feel the benefits of healthy eating and we have redirected the money previously spent on last-minute dining out towards a holiday.
In essence, the KonMari Method encourages us to organise our surroundings to reflect our ideal lifestyle. By decluttering our homes of belongings that no longer align with our vision, we create space for a focused, joyful existence — one that resonates with our goals and priorities.
Are you ready to sort your home, sort your life and achieve your goals?
I'm Judith, a Professional Organiser and KonMari Consultant based in Richmond, London. I help my clients sort their home and life to achieve their goals and aspirations.
Would you like to learn more about how I can help you organise your home for long-lasting change? I offer a free 30-minute consultation on Zoom to discuss your organising goals and how I can help.