• RGG Home
  • About
  • Before & After
  • Services
  • Contact

Raleigh Green Gables

Organize Your Life

My Home Audit

October 11, 2016



This summer I started a home audit, where I am looking at every single thing in my home to see if I still want it.

I told my husband after I am done our house will look like a mental hospital. I am going full-on minimalist.

The audit has been done over several weeks, and I am still in the process. But here are some tips:

  1. You can’t keep it just because it cost money. You have to love it to keep it. If the voice in your head says you have to keep it because it cost all that money, just know that is your ego getting in the way of you connecting with your higher self. Ignore it and move on. Instead, listen to my voice: Want to save money? Stop buying things in the first place.
  2. Be ruthless. Just because you got it as a wedding gift does not mean you have to keep it, especially if you hate it. You are not throwing out the marriage when you give away wedding gifts.
  3. You can’t love 500 items. It’s impossible. So if you find yourself saying, “Oh, I can’t give this away because I love it,” 500 times, then you need to change your criteria. Keep it only if you LOVE, LOVE it, not just one love. I promise you will feel so much better when your home has less stuff.

So here is what I did in my audit. You can tailor yours to suit you. For instance, I don’t have any tools, so I don’t have to audit them.

I pulled every single tchotchke (or knick-knack) off the shelves, and seriously edited down to just the ones that bring me joy. I was ruthless. I sold my grandmother’s silver tea set because you know what? It was silver-plated and tarnished. I am never going to serve tea, and I am never going to polish it. And after all these years, I thought it was real, it was not. I only want authentic things in my home to represent my authenticity. That means no fake plants!

My tchotchkes are now packed in four small and medium moving boxes until I figure out what to do with them.

I took a serious look at my cookbooks. No one uses cookbooks any more because every recipe is available online. I just kept “How to Cook Everything” and some holiday cookbooks that have some favorite dishes. Here is what my cookbooks look like:

img_2819

How long has the art hung on your walls? I bet you don’t even notice your pieces any more. I took every single painting and picture down to decide if it was still my style. I grouped them by size, so I could see how many similar ones I had. I noticed most of my art is small. I need to invest in some larger pieces. I sold most of the posters I used before I bought real art, and I plan to hire a decorator to hang them back up — I need someone who has a better eye than I! Here is my art on the floor, so I could assess:

img_2818

I also cleaned out my clothes and created a capsule wardrobe, where everything — spring, summer, fall and winter clothes — fit on one hanging rod. Now that I am down to “ground zero,” as I call it, with my clothes, I can focus on wearing what I have, and I can notice what I never wear. That means if I do buy something new, I know what piece has to go. But I am trying not to buy anything new because I want to wear these fabulous clothes!

And when you think you can’t do this, just know that I have 18 pages of notes of how this all mixes and matches.

img_2772

Your home is your largest investment. You should not have anything in it that you hate. Start your home audit now!

Filed Under: Because I Said So

(919) 623-1160

raleighgreengables@gmail.com

Leah Friedman
Hello!
I'm a professional organizer in Raleigh, North Carolina, helping people declutter their homes and work spaces.

Testimonials

I love the way my master closet looks, and my husband is very happy, too. Thank you so much for helping me through the whole process. I still can’t believe how much work we got done.
BeckyDurham
Leah helped me to organize several spaces in my home that have been on my “to do” list for years. She arrived on time, ready to tackle the projects, and made something I dreaded doing lots of fun! She never judges, is always encouraging and gets the job done in a reasonable amount of time. I highly recommend her!
Anne ShermanChapel Hill
After working with Leah Friedman, the room looked and felt calm, rather than chaotic. When I am overwhelmed again, I will certainly hire her expertise and energy. What an investment in order, calm and piece of mind!  
Lucy KeenanRaleigh
Leah Friedman turned a wretched job into fun! It’s true. She even had me laughing. She is worth every penny. We plowed through two closets. They are now nicely organized, and I know where to find my clothes. I even know what I own. Leah hauled about six bags of give-aways to Interact. I heartily recommend Leah. She gets the job done! She a combo of firm, gentle and fun. Just what I needed.
Judith TillmanRaleigh

Blogs RGG follows

  • Carolina Parent
  • Furbish Studio
  • Garden With Confidence
  • Honey and Fitz
  • Kindness Girl
  • Knick Knack Antiques
  • Ornamentea
  • Pretty Handy Girl
  • Sew Liberated
  • The Chicken Chick
  • The Style Bungalow
  • Young House Love
Raleigh Green Gables, llc
  • Home
  • About
  • Services
  • Before & After
  • Contact
  • raleighgreengables@gmail.com