Note: this is a photo-heavy post, so maybe wait until you’re on WiFi to read it…
On the New Moon in January 2024, we started a live round of Soul Your Space.
Soul Your Space is my signature process for creating spaces that work for you. The process itself is part decluttering, part interior décor, and – most importantly – all you. You can read more about it here.
As ever, I had my own space in need of some soul! So, I fully participated in the live round, too.
Here’s an inside look at my journey…
This cupboard in my study had been bugging me for months, so was a clear candidate for some soul:
I was VERY tired of not being able to get at anything without something else falling on me… It just kept attracting more and more layers of clutter. And the poor cupboard felt stagnant, messy and neglected, which is not the vibe I want in the sacred space of my study!
I worked through the process of planning and intention setting (that’s Days 1 and 2 of the live round), which brought up some interesting questions like ‘how can I create storage that looks tidy?’ and ’can a cupboard be beautiful?’
On Day 3, I cleared it all out…
Beautiful, serene emptiness!
Oh, and one large pile of stuff on my floor and one bemused cat (sorry, Nami!)
It is amazing how much randomness can fit in one cupboard!
That pile o’ stuff got me thinking about just what I was storing and why (including some WTAF moments). And that led to thoughts about bringing categories of stuff together, as well as what could more sensibly be stored elsewhere, as well as little questions like ‘do I really need a glow-in-the-dark plastic dinosaur?’ (Answer: it’s cute, but no, I don’t.)
On Day 4, I put things away:
It was both cool and disconcerting to find out how much space I suddenly had, even though I’d moved more stuff into the cupboard. As well as what it had before (minus some stuff we really didn’t need any more) it now holds all my spare stationery on one shelf, my personal archives, and my sewing machine. I didn’t feel like I gotten rid of that much, yet somehow, there is a huge difference. I’ll take it!
I’ve since bought some pretty boxes to decant the large boxes into. The contents of these are now better sorted and much easier to access – and they look pretty, too! I’ve also put a corkboard up on the now accessible wall. I just need to get some push pins and I’ll have a wee inspiration board to encourage me every time I go in the cupboard (which is now much more often).
So, in answer to my day 1 and 2 questions: yes, a cupboard CAN become beautiful! And it IS possible to store what you need without having it fall on you!
It’s now over two weeks since the live round finished and I’m still smiling when I go into my cupboard – or even when I just look at its doors. There is still some tweaking and tidying to do; tending your space is an ongoing thing after all.
Once again, I was awed by how deeply and profoundly Soul Your Space works – even on a humble cupboard. It’s such a pleasure and a privilege to get to share this process with you. And the follow-on to the rest of the life continues… things like enjoying being in my study more because there isn’t a huge shame monster hiding in the corner, and the pleasure of being able to easily access my stuff and put it away again, which keeps everywhere clearer. I’ve also been inspired to tackle some other spaces and bring more soul to them.
That’s the thing: it’s never JUST about the space and making it look nice (although that part is very satisfying). It goes deeper than that. It’s about what that space represents to you, how you feel about it and how that makes you feel about you… you can transform that into a relationship that is happier and healthier for you – and for your space. And that helps all of your life.
My beautiful cupboard and I are much happier together now! And that’s one big shame monster I don’t have in my life any more… I call that a WIN! (And I got to buy pretty boxes!)
There will be more live rounds of ‘Soul Your Space’ in the future. You can sign up for the waitlist here or if you don’t want to wait, you can buy the ebook here.