Who are you? Who do you want to be? We all get to decide for this for ourselves.

Now that curating my home & belongings this year is one of my goals I’ve found it helpful to have some guidelines to make decisions around.

I’m using the regular one’s that I’ve had for myself and past clients. Do I love it? Do I use it? Would I buy this again? etc Those are all important and helpful questions. The one I’ve been being guided by more often recently though is:

Does this represent who I’m becoming? Does it represent the life/home I’m building? Does this represent who I choose to be & how I choose to live?

Ever Belsant

The woman I’m aiming to be, is this what her house looks like. Is she surrounded by paper clutter. What’s on her bookshelves. What clothes is she wearing. How active is she and in what?

Those questions sometimes even more than the others are the ones that are making the decisions of what to keep or not keep, easier. Those questions have shown me that some of my current belongings need to move along now. They have served their purpose but now don’t fit anymore. I’m not talking physically or in size or simply about the clothes in our closets but about all the things we own now.

We all have different seasons in life. Whether we’re young and footloose. Starting careers. Young family and or work and careers. Ageing. Through each of those seasons we are also living in accordance with who we believe we are or growing into. Designing our lives & ourselves. Our homes, our relationships, our families. What you wear. How you eat. The foods you eat. The activities you’re engaged in. The books on your shelf. The friends you surround yourself with. Anything in your home you’ve chosen to invest time or money in is a reflection of who you are, and says something about you. You’re making a statement, even if only to yourself, about who you are. The question then is only this. What is that statement saying and is that a true reflection of who you’d like to be?

If you consider yourself to be active you’re likely to have athleisure wear. Sporting gear in your cupboards or garage. Spending money on suppliments or gym memberships. If you’re creative it may be paints & easels or material and sewing machines. Magazine subscriptions to those things. You might follow those types of accounts on social media. If you’re focused on your career or children your homes and lives will be filled with other things. You may have a foot in a few different camps. Young, active parents, renovating their home. Your wardrobes, cars, homes etc will reflect where you’re at and what you’re doing.

Hobbies come and go, as do the stages of our lives. Styles come and go. Styles in fashion, in home renovations, in cars, but also more importantly, we evolve as people as we go through life. The lifestyles we grew up with may not be what we’ve chosen as adults. The clothing we loved in our 20’s may now make us chuckle that we ever thought it was cool. Our ideas from past years are likely to have changed or become more nuanced. Who we were 5 years ago or even 5 days ago may not be the direction we’re deciding to go in now. The decisions you’re making as you sift through your belongings, as you’re curating and refining your home, should reflect that choice.

As I have tackled my wardrobe I’ve kept this in mind. The version of myself I’m evolving into. Does this represent her? As a result, a bunch of clothes and accessories that were perfectly serviceable we’re gifted to others. They have been sitting there not used or barely used because … they don’t represent me any longer. I’d stopped wearing a bunch of them because my mind already knew, this version of me does not wear those things. Most people wear the same 20% of their clothing, over and over anyway as a rule. I’d much rather have clearer, easier to organise spaces. Getting dressed for work has definitely been easier. Less options, easier choices and a better reflection of me.

I’ve been doing the same with my bookcase over the last number of months. Does these books represent who I’m choosing to become now. Would I read them again? Are they enjoyable, of interest or helpful to me now? If a stranger walked in and looked at the shelves – what opinions would they form of me.. and would I like those opinions? Most of us know, truly, the best version of ourselves and our homes, lives and relationships we’d like to be living. Although it probably won’t happen over night, you can continually refine with each new purchase, decision & habit the direction you’re moving in. While you’re curating your belongings is the perfect time to let go of any of your belongings that belonged to the old version of yourself. Clearing the old to make way for the new.

Not sure where to start. Write “a day in my dream life” Sit down & take your time with this. Really get into the details. What time do you get up. What do you have for breakfast. Who is there and where are you living. What does your house look like. What country do you live in. Do you have pets. What are your hobbies. Where do you work, or what do you do for a living. Do you work at all. What are you wearing and what do you do as your day goes along. Continue this up till you tuck yourself into bed that evening on that dream day of yours. Now… keeping this version of you in mind. What decisions are you making to get there. Would she eat the food you’re eating. Choose the clothes you have or the relationships. Would she like your home or how would she improve it. Does the woman you’d like to be – live like you do or have the things you have.

It is the rare one of us who are not works in progress, so no judgements or fretting. We don’t need to do this all at once. This is just a great way to clarify the direction you’re heading in and for our purposes at the moment, to help you make decisions on what to keep and what to let go of as you curate your belongings.

What started out as simply a wardrobe cull and curate turned out to be an affirmation of the woman I’m evolving into next. The different decisions & choices I’ve been making as I continue to refine who I am and the life I have. There is so much joy to be had in the process as you go along and seeing the improvements to your own personal world.

I’m so excited for any of you who are joining us in leveling up our lives, curating our homes, enjoying our relationships. Enjoying the peace that comes with slow, simple, organised lives that leave us time to enjoy, explore and adventure.

Share with us below. How you are going with curating your home or who you are becoming

Till next time friends

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