Getting a Vision of a Space Part 1: Defining it’s Purpose

This is number one in a three-part series on understanding your destination by getting a vision of the space you want to create through decluttering, organizing and more. You can more easily create this space by 1) understanding it’s purpose and (2 & 3) defining what you want to feel in this space by using the five senses.

Part One:  Getting a vision of a space by defining it’s purpose

Choose a space you would like to see decluttered and organized. It can be as big as a room or as small as a drawer or shelf. Start with something that doesn’t feel overwhelming to you. A small space often feels most doable when beginning. As you learn organizing skills going bigger will get easier. 

The key thing to ask yourself first is, “What is the purpose of this space? How will this space be used? What do I need and want to accomplish in this space?”  

Let’s pick a kitchen drawer for our first example. Most likely you have a kitchen drawer with eating utensils in it. You see that as the purpose of that drawer. Perhaps other things have found their way into that drawer like twisty ties, lids, napkins, paper clips and more or you have too many of the same things. Those things get in the way and make it harder to get to what you really need for that drawer to accomplish. So with that vision in mind, remove anything that doesn’t fit your purpose for that space. For now, you can just drop all the miscellaneous items into a box. Then once you are finished with the drawer and can enjoy new easy access to your utensils, throw the miscellaneous items away or drop them off to the places where you use them or where you most likely would use them (if they don’t yet have a home).  

Let’s pick your bedroom for our second example. Remember to ask yourself, “What is the purpose of this space? What do I want to accomplish here?”  I think we can all agree the primary purpose of this space is to get restful sleep. Perhaps your bedroom has other purposes like making love and unwinding from work and responsibilities. The clearer your vision of the purpose of your space the easier it will be to determine what stays and what needs to go (i.e. anything that creates stress or keeps your mind alert and wound up). If you have things in your room that are keeping you from sleep, unwinding and making love, for example, take them out. You don’t have to have places for everything you take out right now. Just stay focused on the room you are doing and making this space work for you. The other part of making a space fulfill your purpose is to discover what you want to add to it. For most, this is the fun, getting to dream part of making your space work for you. We’ll uncover more on this in parts two and three of this series.