Make Room for What You Love

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    My Organized Closet with Containers for Family Photos, Mementos and more!

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    Operation: A Place for Everything (and Everything in Its Place)

    My organizing mission continues! This closet makeover is still in progress so no pretty pictures, but I thought I’d show you what I’ve been working on behind the scenes.

    The Closet That Drove Me Nuts
    (can you blame me?)
    This closet in the Snug was one of those closets.
    The “we just moved in” (…almost four years ago 😂) so let’s just stuff it in here for now kind of closet.
    It became the delayed decision zone—overflowing with the things I wasn’t quite sure what to do with. Family photos, mementos, files, extra pillow covers… all important, all without a clear home.
    At one point it was filled with fluffy pillows, and they would all come tumbling out when I opened the door. I don’t think I took a photo of that.
    Guest Bed Details
    Why We Chose a Compact Home
    We live in what I call a compact home, by choice. It has smaller rooms, a smaller lot, a one car garage, no storage shed, no basement and smallish closets. After years of having more space—extra garages, basements, closets, outbuildings—I realized “extra storage space” just made it too easy to collect too much stuff.
    And for someone like me (a person who likes to decorate, can be sentimental, and a recovering procrastinator 😏), fewer storage options actually “forces me” to stay on top of things. Otherwise clutter is multiplying “out of sight, out of mind” (or taunting me every time I open the door).
    White photo boxes // Blue stackable bins // Navy linen file boxes // Wall-mounted essential oil organizer // Blue magazine holders
    That said, even after years of decluttering and downsizing, I’m still learning important truths, such as:
    Small spaces obviously need fewer things—but they also need better systems.
    When we had a 5,000 square foot house, we didn’t actually need many systems. People always say a bigger house is harder to keep clean, but it is far easier to stash stuff where no one has to see it.
    We had a lot of storage in that house so you could toss in just about anything to “deal with later” and forget you even owned it. Until it was time for us to move. Same situation happened at the next house. It was a smaller home but 1,000 square feet of storage under the house. I had no idea we still had canoes under the house until the day we were trying to load the Uhaul.
    By the way, you can read more of my misadventures and solutions found through all of my homes in my books Love the Home You Have and Make Room for What You Love — maybe you’ll relate or just get a good laugh at my struggles ha!

    On a related note, I have no idea why I still have this album. I mean, I did like Donny and Marie and had a lot of their albums, but this would not be the one I would choose to keep. Yet here it is.
    And why have I moved about 13 times with this album? I have a lot of questions. Ha! Happily, these random finds are becoming more rare. I still have too much stuff, but I’m making steady progress. Let me show you what I’ve been working on!
    Wall-mounted essential oil organizer
    The Closet Problem (and My Simple Solution)
    This closet in the snug, under the eaves, is actually one of the biggest we have, so I knew it had potential. But without stackable bins or a usable structure, it wasn’t going to work for what I needed.
    We didn’t need to keep everything, so I started—as a necessity—with a ruthless edit. I’ve come a long way when it comes to letting go, and having limited space definitely helps me be more decisive.
    Once the clutter was pared down, I got to the fun part: organizing.

    What I Used:

    White photo boxes: These hold all our loose photos until we can scan, frame, or sort them.
    Blue stackable bins: These are soft-sided but sturdy with handles and spots for labels. Some are file boxes, some are just open bins. I’m not sure how these ended up being two shades of blue (I ordered one set a bit later) but that’s okay. It doesn’t have to be perfect to feel organized.
    Navy linen file boxes: These are really sturdy, well-built, and a great size. They came with hanging file folders that are helping me feel so organized!
    Blue magazine holders
    Wall-mounted essential oil organizer: I added two of these wall shelves months ago and love how they maximize vertical space without cluttering the closet. I definitely need to pare down my oils, but I love all of them. Ha! I still need to tidy those shelves up, though. Baby steps! Side note, this closet smells LIKE A DREAM! I get my oils here.

    Everything I needed now stacks neatly into the closet, and there’s still enough floor space to walk in and out comfortably. YAY!
    It’s just what I wanted. An easy fix. No need to install shelves or find furniture. No permanent installations. Just a fast and functional solution that works for us now, and is flexible for the future, too.
    And most importantly? I can open the door without anxiety. I keep opening the door just to remind myself of how far I’ve come!

    Buy bins in larger sets if you know you’ll use them—it’s more affordable.
    Look for bins with handles and label slots for easy future organizing.
    Don’t buy containers for clutter. Declutter before you organize.
    Simple solutions can make a big impact—especially in small spaces.

    Voila! This little system saved the day…and my sanity.
    One more thing….
    Stay tuned for my next installment of A Place for Everything and Everything in Its Place—you won’t even believe this one! I came up with a clever idea for the closet door that solved a whole different organizing dilemma. It was a tricky one! I can’t wait to show you.

    See more of my recent organizing projects here!
    My Phrase Of The Year: A Place for Everything
    10 Organizers We Use in Our Home
    My Quick & Easy Organized Gift Wrapping Closet
    My Coffee Cabinet Makeover (Removable Wallpaper, Berkey Water Filter Storage and Organization)
    A Pretty Solution for Hiding Power Strips and Cords
    How to Organize Under the Sink in the Kitchen (6 tips to create a place for everything!)
    My Coffee Cabinet Makeover (Removable Wallpaper, Berkey Water Filter Storage and Organization)
    Baskets in the Dining Room (a place for everything!)
    Decorating & Organizing with Baskets (A Place for Everything!)
    See a whole gallery full of organization inspiration posts on the blog here! More

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      in Organization

      The Secret to Decluttering, Organizing, Decorating and Homekeeping Success that No One Tells You About!

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      If you’ve ever struggled with creating the atmosphere you want for your home, I got you! 
      I will share the secret no one tells you about.
      Many years ago I started out my home-creating journey with so many dreams of the kind of home I hoped to have — one that was welcoming to us day to day as well as to the people we invited in.
      Perhaps you have similar dreams for your home.
      Even though my heart was in the right place and I worked hard at it, I felt like I was always struggling to create the atmosphere I desired.

      I often felt like I was failing as a home keeper. 
      While I always loved decorating, much to my dismay I quickly discovered that decorating alone wasn’t enough.
      There were always new messes being made, meals to prepare, laundry to do, needs to tend to, rooms to update, clutter to deal with, endless home projects and jobs to keep up with. 
      While I wanted to be a good home keeper, I wasn’t naturally skilled in figuring out how to do it all well and take care of myself and a family at the same time. I was often frazzled and frustrated. 

      One mess or another always seemed to stand in the way of the atmosphere I wanted.
      When I felt like my home was a cause of stress, anxiety would creep in and make me feel like I was a failure in all areas of life.
      I knew that wasn’t what I wanted for myself or our family. 
      Yet I could not figure out for the life of me how to keep all the balls in the air without causing more stress! 
      I read all the books on decluttering, organizing, housecleaning, and decorating yet none of them seemed to offer the simple holistic, sustainable solution I needed. It was all overwhelming. I just wanted to feel at peace with my home day to day, not create a perfect designer-approved showplace!
      I really didn’t need a perfect home. The truth was, a growing family and every day real-life experiences at home created ongoing understandable chaos. I wanted to savor the people, the moments and seasons of life, but trying and failing to keep up with resulting mess in our home was the opposite feeling I wanted in my surroundings.
      How in the world do you find a balance so you can create the type of home you really want without feeling so stressed and overwhelmed?
      Three homes, three kids, one dog and a lot of anxiety and home keeping trial and error later, I finally had an epiphany. This epiphany changed everything!

      I always knew I wanted my home to be a peaceful and welcoming place, but the peaceful and welcoming feeling I craved wasn’t just about the house.
      *I* needed to feel that way! 
      I needed to feel a sense of peace in our home for my own wellbeing, so I could offer that to my family as well.
      I needed my home to be welcoming to me day to day, too, not just to be welcoming to others.
      I couldn’t just bless the mess. Ha! To me, mess = stress.
      Yet all the methods I had tried to keep up with the mess created new kinds of stress.
      It makes sense that people just give up.
      No one tells you the secret to achieving what it is you really want.
      What most of us want to create is a sanctuary, not a showplace.
      That’s what I longed for all along — a home where I felt at peace.

      No wonder I was stressed!
      No wonder I was floundering! 
      It all began to make more sense. 
      I had been trying to get somewhere worth going, but doing it the wrong way led me to the opposite results.
      I was working hard at keeping up with what I thought was necessary or expected, but I didn’t stop to consider what a sanctuary would feel like.
      To be a nurturing place, living in it or caring for it couldn’t be a stressful experience!

      Little by little I made new discoveries about what it meant to create a sanctuary.
      My perspective on home keeping changed.
      I began to make progress and my family noticed and felt it, too! 
      Learning what to do and what not to do, when to do it and why it all mattered so much to me personally made all the difference. Everything changed for the better!
      My well-being improved and my anxiety and daily struggles diminished greatly.
      The care and keeping of our home not only became more manageable but more enjoyable and fulfilling for me (even with a busy household!). 
      My home became a true sanctuary!
      Once I began to see my new daily efforts for what they were, a worthy investment in our health and well-being, creating a sanctuary truly transformed all areas of my life.
      And the most amazing thing is: 

      It didn’t take a lot of money or a housekeeper!

      I didn’t need a perfect house or a perfect plan.

      I didn’t need ideal circumstances. 

      I didn’t need to be a slave to housework. 

      I finally had more freedom and creative energy to do what I loved!

      I felt better than I ever had before in my surroundings. 

      If creating a sanctuary resonates with you, I would love to have you join me in in this journey in 2024!

      I’ve shared many of my struggles and successes in homekeeping and decorating over the past 17 years through encouragement and practical tips on my blog The Inspired Room and in 11 books. 
      But now I am thrilled to be able to offer my secretes to success and support you in a more personal way. In HomeBody Gathering Place, I’ve brought these important decorating and home keeping concepts all together into a never-before offered format with a simple to follow formula along with my secrets to success!
      I am thrilled to be able to walk with you through this journey in real time through HomeBody Gathering Place!
      You’re invited to join me for A Year of Sanctuary, which takes place in 2024 in my member community HomeBody Gathering Place. If you are a member, you’re all set! We’ll begin the winter season on January 5th. If you are not currently a member, you’ll want to register HERE before we close the doors.

      What is a Year of Sanctuary? What is HomeBody Gathering Place?
      A Year of Sanctuary is our theme this year in HomeBody Gathering Place, a private member community where we focus on realistic methods and make joy-filled rewarding progress in creating a sanctuary.
      I’ve organized the concepts I teach into a new seasonal format so we can experience A Year of Sanctuary! In a Year of Sanctuary, we dive into each of my four essential sanctuary principles as well as learn how to savor the simple joys of a sanctuary week by week, season by season, year round.
      All HGP members get to enjoy A Year of Sanctuary, there is no additional fee or registration, it’s all included in your membership.
      How does a Year of Sanctuary work?
      We go through A Year of Sanctuary lessons together weekly in real-time (either in the optional Facebook community, or your own private dashboard and weekly emails we send), but you can also go at your own pace with previously taught lessons and resources that are all saved and available to you in a private dashboard any time.
      While you will be inspired with new ideas and tips every week, you can also see immediate results if you choose to take simple optional action steps through our weekly challenges.
      Of course, establishing your rhythms and experiencing the full benefits of a sanctuary will take time! But we make it more fun every step of the way. You’ll get access to HomeBody Notebook pages, prizes, printables and more!
      The decorating and homemaking principles we learn throughout the year can be personalized and practiced in a variety of ways in each season, just like we do in our real life homes!
      This is a gentle and sustainable way to bring more joy and peace to life and your home, too.
      You’ll find this to be a rewarding experience — one you can look forward to each week and through every season! 
      Do I have to be a new homemaker to benefit from HomeBody Gathering Place?
      Not at all! Whether you’re already a seasoned sanctuary creator or just starting out or somewhere in between, we can learn and grow together in our own ways. No one has it all together all the time, so we all can benefit from inspiration to connect to our homes in various seasons of life.
      Plus, in HomeBody Gathering Place, I bring together a lovely community of women who are all in different seasons, all creating a sanctuary! It is a joy to encourage each other wherever we are in the journey.
      One step at a time, season by season, I’ll teach you how to not only make your home look great, but FEEL great, too.
      Join us in HomeBody Gathering Place for a Year of Sanctuary. We begin January 5th with our Winter Session on Simplicity!
      Once we close the doors for this session, we don’t open again until spring session.
      TIP: I recommend that you join in January as a yearly member (it’s the best deal, plus this year we’re offering yearly member perks and resources!). We hope you’ll join us for the full year of transformative sanctuary lessons, resources, and activities! More

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      in Organization

      Small Space Storage Tips + Making Room for What You Love

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      One of the most important space considerations for me in our kitchen remodel is addressing our need for dish and hospitality storage. Our house isn’t huge (nor is it teeny!) so I need to be mindful of how we will use our space. I don’t like clutter, but I do love pretty objects to enjoy and use for hospitality.
      To me, clutter is defined as stuff you don’t use or love. If you don’t have room for it, it gets lost and starts to feel like clutter and you don’t use it.
      When we moved into our last house, our movers called us “book and decor” people. Ha! Apparently some people are decor folks. Some are book lovers. And we are the special ones who happen to love BOTH! Don’t I know it! Had he looked in our boxes, I might also have been called a DISHES person! 🙂 I don’t have as many as some people do, but I definitely love to have a few sets of mix and match dishes and serving pieces like cake plates, vases, platters, pitchers, etc.

      Think of a smaller space as FREEING, not limiting!
      Honestly I would probably keep a lot more if I had a bigger house :). With a smaller space, I have to make peace with the fact that I don’t have room for all of the things I *might *enjoy. Those thoughts probably sound limiting, but for me having less space can be freeing. Having less is actually one of the reasons I like having a smaller home.
      Perhaps you have a small house right now, or a small kitchen or are thinking of downsizing. I will say it can feel limiting if you decide to dwell on not having “enough” room for all of the things, but it’s also so FREEING to have some boundaries and priorities around how you’ll use your time, budget and space.
      Don’t get me wrong, I loved having bigger houses in the past for different reasons as well. Love whatever home you have and embrace what it is! Having less space gives you the opportunity to live differently, not necessarily better or worse! It’s all what you make of it and how you use the space you have.

      With a smaller space, you have come up with creative ideas to use your space really well. You are more likely to assess what you really need and love, versus what would be just fun or convenient.
      I find a smaller space gives me some helpful boundaries to focus on what I love the most, so that is exactly what I’m doing as I’m planning my kitchen remodel! I won’t have EVERYTHING I could ever want, and yet, I love that. It brings me peace to have less.
      Let your space help you define what you keep!
      Defining the space you have available or are able to use for certain activities or belongings can help you decide what to keep! When you don’t have room for it, you can’t keep it! It’s as simple as that if you don’t want clutter. Sometimes letting go of stuff seems so hard until you make peace with the fact that you simply do not have room. The more space we have, the more we might tend to hold onto even if we don’t use it very often. So having limited space isn’t necessarily a bad thing, use that mindset to help you pare down to what you really love and need.
      I’ve given away a lot in the past year, but we still have more than our new house can currently hold with the storage we have. Therefore, I will definitely need to pare down, especially once we have remodeled! The remodel will help us define more boundaries as far as what I can keep. Either I will have room for it, or I won’t. I don’t want to store things we don’t love or use regularly.

      Out of sight, out of mind can turn into more clutter
      Create storage that is useful and accessible so you can stay organized without getting overwhelmed by, losing or forgetting what you have! Having a basement or garage or storage room can feel like a blessing, but also a curse. Storing a lot of things means I don’t use things because I either forget I have them or don’t want to go on a hunt for them even if I love them!
      Of course, particularly in a smaller space, you also can’t keep everything accessible or out in the open or your house will also feel messy and cluttered. So the trick is to decide what storage you need or have that is easily available and to be honest with yourself about how much you are able to use and keep track of.
      Case in point, I still have lots of things in storage boxes right now from the move. It’s too much, so right now it both overwhelms me and I know I won’t use things because I can’t get to them easily. If we cannot create specific useful easy to locate places for the contents of the boxes in our remodel, they’ll have to go!

      Plan for a mix of open and closed storage
      Knowing I want to keep my dishes easily accessible, I’m planning to add lots of dish drawers and even some glass front cabinets and/or open shelves in or near my new kitchen so I can enjoy some of my favorites as decor. Having a mix of open and closed storage is important to make sure your spaces don’t feel cluttered, but still allows some you room to display the pretty things you love!

      Better utilize the space you have!
      I’m also planning to find ways to better organize and utilize our current mudroom (see more of our mudroom here) as well as to create storage in our new dining room. We won’t necessarily have room for everything I want to keep right in our kitchen, but we can use spaces nearby for them so they are still accessible. I can’t wait to show you some of the ideas we want to incorporate!

      Use freestanding cabinets for extra storage and charming display
      Right now we use the white freestanding glass cabinets that are really helpful. I’ve often used them in our homes to keep items accessible without creating clutter. If you don’t have enough storage or built ins, freestanding cabinets can be so handy! You’ll find a recent post on freestanding cabinets and similar sources HERE.

      Click HERE for cabinet sources above.

      So if you feel limited by a small space or overwhelmed by too much stuff, remember it can be so freeing to have less and to let go of what you don’t really need!
      More storage isn’t always a good thing if you end up with too much stuff.
      Less stuff is always a good idea, but you don’t have to be a minimalist to have a tidy house! Simplifying is rewarding, so make the process a gift to yourself.
      I wrote a book on simplifying your home called Make Room for What You Love and in it I talked about some of my own struggles with stuff as well as how I have learned to create more order in my house. It’s an ongoing process, especially if you are book and decor people AND are downsizing or changing your lifestyle like we are as empty nesters now :). Believe me, it’s not about doing it all perfectly! But it really is rewarding to feel in control of your home. If you haven’t read it, you can find it here. I hope it will encourage you to make more room in your home for what you really love.

      Looking for more ideas? You’ll find lots of organization posts HERE, and small space inspiration posts HERE! More