Sure, there are plenty of ways that you can do this: put wall brackets, add dividers, or maybe get some transforming furniture—but the truth is that making sure you have all the right components is only one part of minimizing clutter and maximizing storage.
Being neat is a state of mind and admittedly, not an easy one to get into. One of the strangest things is that even with all of the innovations that we’ve created in order to make our lives easier, it’s more difficult to get something like being tidy as a constant in our lives.
But it’s not impossible. There are other ways to maximize space through attitude and a little effort.
Don’t give yourself additional things to clean
Very few of us would outright say that we’re hoarders; it’s easier to start hoarding things than you might think. It’s easy for small messes to pile up when we’re not paying attention since we’re going about our lives, but we can accumulate a surprising amount of mess in a short amount of time.
One of the best ways to keep things clean is to avoid accumulating junk in the first place. Things like single-use products are something that we keep using all the time and fail to dispose of properly. Slowly switching to renewable products such as metal straws can help minimize your clutter.
Being clean and being tidy are two different things
There’s this opinion that a “spotless place” is the mark of a tidy individual, which it can be. But being tidy and being clean are two completely different things: it’s why the people who seem to have everything all around the place still know where things are. There’s a noticeable difference to them since being organized means having everything in their place.
So, it’s completely possible to have a small place that may seem cramped due to its size, but can still be perfectly functional and efficient. Cleaning is different in the sense that you take away the things that don’t need to be there and leave the rest to where they’re supposed to be.
Don’t expect it to happen right away
If you’re aiming for a waste-reduced lifestyle that’s centered around maximizing the use of space, don’t expect to have a makeover to your living conditions overnight. Often, the things that clutter our spaces (and lives) are things that we can’t easily let go of. It’ll take time to adjust, acclimate to your new lifestyle, and decide which things you can let go and which you can keep.
Having an expectation that you can magically turn your habits around with one night? It’s a slow, gradual process that can take weeks or even months. Aside from time, you also need to be consistent—and if you push yourself out of the gate too fast and too early, you’ll tire out eventually and will need to start all over again.
Small spaces can seem bigger with a few tricks, and a lot of that lies in the mindset of the person inside it. Knowing what your habits are and how they integrate into your lifestyle is a good start in managing how you deal with your spaces, both inside and outside.
