174 | What Happened When I Created Space

Tracy Hoth: A few months ago, I decided to redecorate my house to make some changes because we had decided, oh, uh, I don't think we're going to move right now. We had looked at houses and I just decided, uh, I'm going to stay where I am, but if I'm going to stay here, I'm going to make some changes. That's what I thought was happening. I was going to move rooms around, sell all my furniture, get new artwork, do all these things, repaint, move a light fixture. And I wanted it to take two weeks. But somewhere along the way, I realized this project wasn't really about redecorating. And what happened is I discovered. And that's what I'm going to talk to you about today. Because I think organizing often, well, I don't know if it gets misunderstood, but it. You go into it with one purpose and when you change that outlook to start with, I think it's going to help you more than you even realize. I think we go in thinking we're going to have a clean closet, we're going to tidy up a room, we're going to declutter a little bit. But sometimes the greatest gift isn't what leaves the house, it's what gets uncovered. And I'm going to share my own personal experience and how that can help you get your home and life organized.

Narrator: Are you ready to work less, feel more organized and productive, streamline repetitive tasks and implement systems that allow your coaching business to run smoothly even without you? If so, you're in the right place. Welcome to the Organized Coach podcast, your go to source for practical tips and solutions. I'm your host, Tracy Hoth, professional organizer, certified life coach, simplifying expert, and most of all, down to earth fellow coach just like you. No matter if you think you're missing the organizing gene, have ADHD, or just love anything organizing, I'm here to help you become an organized coach with a business that works for you. Pull up a seat and let's get started.

Tracy Hoth: To start off, I wanted to recreate some rooms in my house. And it's because we decided not to move and, and the reason I was excited to look for a house, or as I was looking for a house, I wanted one with a big dining room. My dream has always been to have more room in the dining area so that we could have many people around our table and not be squished in the back. Because right now, and I don't have two separate dining rooms and kitchen area. So it's just one spot with the kitchen table. And right now you go to the back of it, and you're trapped back there because it's so crowded, which we've loved. It's been great. We've had many people around that table, family, friends, and squeezed in there. And it's totally fine. It's worked for us for we've lived here 21 years or 22 years now. But if I was going to stay here, and that was my dream, I had this vision that I'm going to have people around my table a lot. And as our family grows, I just wanted more room. So I decided I was going to sell all the furniture in my front room, which used to be my office. So it had this beautiful big office furniture file cabinet and then a chair in there to read, which we never sat in there. But when I moved my office upstairs to one of our smaller bedrooms, I haven't used that office. So we joked around, this is office number one, and this is office number two. And a few times people would sit in there. There were a lot of supplies stored in that desk and in that file cabinet. So it was wonderful to have paper, the file cabinet, and a place to deal with paper on the main level, so you never had to take it somewhere else. So that part was great, but we just weren't using that space. So I decided, I think it was January, February, to sell the furniture. I put it on Facebook Marketplace. I sold all that furniture. I put our table and chairs that we have had for. For 30 years. I sold that. Maybe 29 years. I sold that. I sold the rug. So our entire house now is empty. We have no table and no chairs and no office furniture in the front, no furniture at all. And the first thing I had to do was get the light fixture moved from where our dining room table was before into the front room, which is now the dining room. So I had to hire a contractor to. Because there was no light fixture in that room. And they had to cut into the ceiling and put the light fixture in there. And so part of their quote included painting that room, repainting it, because they had thought they would have to do a lot of patchwork. And the light switches had to be moved on both entrances to that room, to the outside, because I had put these beautiful French doors in that room back when it was my office. And when they're open, the light switch is behind them, because there didn't used to be doors there. So it was easy to get to the light switch. Well, now with the doors open, which they are Almost all the time, you can't get to the light switch. So we had to move the light switches to the outside. So that was another part of this whole deal. And when they said they were going to paint that room, I thought, well, how much would it be to paint the whole kitchen and the entryway and up the staircase? So they gave me a quote on that, and I said, let's just do it. It's been this really pale gray color. And I was like, I want to switch it up. I want to have a just neutral color. And so I had them paint the whole main level, although there is a wall that runs into a, uh, separate living room that we have that is still the gray color, because if we would have painted that little portion that's in the kitchen, it would have ran into the whole other room. And I just didn't need to do that right now. So we had them paint that area, and they moved the light fixture. And then I thought, now I'm not really a decorator. I don't know any techniques or things with decorating. I had bought a table and chairs from Costco and loved them. It was the hugest table, just like I had imagined in my head. It was longer than our other table was with the leaves in it. And this is longer without the one additional leaf that it comes with. So it's a very long table. It has three chairs on each side and two on the end. And I'm so. I was so excited about it, but I didn't know how to decorate the room. I imagined I'd have a buffet. And so I had a decorator come in that my friend had used, and they had some ideas. I didn't know what I wanted, so I wasn't clear with what I wanted. They had some ideas, and then some things happened, and I didn't end up working with them. And then I had to go into another place that I'd heard about. And so I went in there, and I met Brandon, who was so helpful, so, so helpful, and he offered a free consult. And so I met with a, uh, designer there, and we had some ideas, and they were so good. It was at the Charmed House Interiors in Kansas City. And they, like, moved things. They carried lamps over onto pie of furniture. They put different artwork up. They just really helped me see what it would look like. And I walk through the store, I look for art. Well, I wanted all this to happen in two weeks. So when the other decorator took longer, it wasn't working. I was like, dang, I Wanted to have this done. And then I met with the decorators while the piece was out of stock or they had to order it. And then I didn't see any artwork I liked. And I just want someone to tell me what to do and. And I will do it. I've been like that in my business. I think that's been an issue I've dealt with a lot. I just want someone to tell me what to do. And in this process, that couldn't happen. Like, yes, they could give me some advice, but they don't know what art I wanted. They don't know what it's all going to look like in the end. They might not have the things they don't know. Everything I already have in my house because they didn't come to my house. And so with pictures and stuff, I could show them, but it was more like, tracy, what do you want? What do you like? What lights you up? What do you see? And then it becomes like, oh, uh, that's what I want. Like, I know I want that. And I have never taken the time to really do that. And this process is what helped me do that, because I had to go look for what I wanted. And so this whole journey began of me looking at artwork on line and then going places and looking at art and seeing. And it was the coolest thing because once I saw something, I knew, oh, I love that the name of the painting or the print lit me up. It, uh, like, it, uh, drew into what I wanted in the vision that I had for that space. And so I found a piece of artwork that I wanted in the dining room, because the dining room, right when you walk in our house, you look to the left and there's the dining room. And. And I wanted a big piece of art on the end so that when you look in, you see this art. And they had set that up at the Charmed house. Uh, Brandon had brought some lamps over and on this piece of furniture and put some art there. We measured. I knew what size I needed. And so I bought this piece of art online. And it was called by Still Waters. I love the name. It had two sheep. It was kind of a scenery. There was some water there. It was just the most beautiful representation to me of Psalm 23. And I wanted to see that every morning. So I knew I wanted that. I purchased it. And then I had to, uh, get it framed, because having it framed online was way more expensive. So framing it took longer. Ordering the buffet and the lamps, that took longer. And so everything was taking Longer. I wanted this shelf. And finding a shelf that fit in there. I spent so much time looking for something that would fit there. And that's in the other room. I call the other room, which was the previous dining room. Now I'm calling that the reading nook. I got a rug, and we ordered two chairs to go in there. And then I had to find the right lamp, and I had to find the end table to go between. And then I want to put a gallery of artwork up there. And so I've been looking at more artwork. And the one piece that just struck me, and I just happened upon it from clicking different places. It's called Tell Me youe Story. And I think the titles really get me because it's this piece of art that I wouldn't necessarily think I would like. I wouldn't be attracted necessarily to that piece of art. But with the title of it, Tell Me youe Story is what I want to be reminded of. So that room that wall is in as at the end of our kitchen area. So I'm going to be standing at my stove, looking at the wall, looking through, over the reading nook and to that wall. And to be reminded every day to listen to people's stories, to stop and listen, to rest, to be present, to have people over, to be listening and hearing. And it's just so beautiful. It makes me so happy to think about that. That's one piece of art that I'm about to order. But look, it's June, and I started this process in maybe January, February, and I still haven't finished it. And so it's coming along. But the whole process has taught me so much. It's taught me that the journey really is where it's at. I don't want to miss out on learning about myself, on learning what I like, on learning what kind of art speaks to me, on learning and having more opportunities for visions about what's going to happen in these spaces in the years to come. And so it's been just so precious that when you're looking at your organizing journey, and it could be organizing your business, it could be organizing your home, just this whole journey of what you're going to go through, there's so much to discover there. Don't be in such a hurry or be in a hurry, but realize when it doesn't go fast, that it's okay. Doing a little bit each week or each day or each month is plenty. And along that journey, you're gonna have emotional healing. You're gonna discover things about Yourself, you're gonna learn what you want. You're gonna have opportunities to envision what's gonna happen in that space that you're working on. It's just such a beautiful process, or it can be if you allow it to be. It's not there to shame yourself about what should have been done, what's taking longer than you thought, how you are failure. It's there so you can heal and discover and envision and live out this purpose that you're called to live in the space that you have now. This same sort of thing happened as I was decluttering my bookshelf. Now, I'm not a big book person, so I know some people love their books and have tons and tons of books. I don't. I have one shelf. I had two shell, two little small bookshelves that I was combining into one because one of, um, them was in the front office room. Well, I had to take all of that stuff that was in every drawer that was in on those shelves and move it all up to my current office, which is a very small bedroom. I used to have a table behind my desk that didn't have any storage. So I got a kind of like a little buffet or little shelf which had doors, which had storage, which gave me the opportunity to. To keep the things I wanted to keep that were in the front room and move them up here and have them find, um, a home. So that took a lot of time too. That was another part of the process where I had to cull or. I love the word curate. I was curating the things that I have, selecting, organizing, presenting kind of like artwork or decor. And it's expertly to create a cohesive collection or display. So when you're curating a room, you're selecting and organizing and presenting it kind of in this beautiful, more artwork or decor type of way. And so I like the. I love the word curating. As I'm going through my things and even in the closet, if I'm going to curate this closet with my supplies, what does that look like? And so as I was going through books too, I was thinking about that if I'm going to curate a shelf of books that represent or that impacted my life, or books that I've recently purchased and still haven't read, what ones do I want to keep? So again, it's not as much about what I want to get rid of, what's leaving. It's more about what represents me now in this time in my life, in my future, in what I'm becoming in the role that I'm taking on. It's kind of that I'm in a season of asking bigger questions than where to put things. It's not about, where can I fit all this stuff in. It's about creating a beautiful life that you want, that you open up the closet and feel great and can find what you need. And it represents who you are now. So if you think about your own home, your own spaces, even your own business, your computer, does it represent a space? Is it curated for the life that you're living now? Are you creating a space to discover what's next? I know many people are maybe in seasons of change, and that's kind of where I am. I started asking questions like, who am I now? What do I like? What do I want to do? What kinds of things do I want to learn? What do I want more of? Uh, what am I finished carrying? My sister just asked me if I wanted to do this program with her. I think it's called Downline Memphis. I'm not positive on the name of it, but as I started thinking about it, could I picture that useful in the vision that I have for what's happening in this next season of my life. So it's interesting if you think about the things that you're looking at and the decisions you're needing to make. The rooms that you have in your house, what are they useful for in the vision or role or visual that you have for the next part of your life? Organizing can help reveal the person holding each item. If you think about it like that, looking at each item, how does this, or what does this reveal about the person I am, about the person I envision, the person I'm becoming? And over the last several years, probably the last year or two, I've noticed a pattern. Women come to me because they want an organized house. But often what's happening is, uh, so much deeper. And I think it's me that's realizing this or noticing it or able or willing to go there. I think of coaching like a craft, and I think of me in my craft. And, uh, maybe it's because in my own life, I'm going deeper. I'm able to do that for other people. But so many times, so many different women have forgiven themselves. They've released old expectations. They stopped carrying guilt that they were carrying with them. They discover confidence. They start believing different things about who they are, who they were, who they want to be. Organizing has, um, almost become a doorway to healing, and not because getting an organized House is going to heal you. It's the thing that happens on the journey to getting there. The process uncovers things that were hidden underneath the clutter. Fear and shame and emotions. Bring up those things if you're willing to look at them. And it's made me think differently about the work that I do with my clients, but also the work that I'm doing myself. I think creating space allows you to hear. One thing I've been learning lately too, is that every kind of clutter creates noise. Now remember, I define clutter as delayed decisions. So it could be physical clutter that you haven't decided on. Digital clutter, calendar clutter, mental clutter, even information clutter. We are living in a world of information clutter. Sometimes we're consuming so much information from everyone else that we never stop long enough to hear what's happening inside our own hearts. And this is another thing with me lately. I've just been so. I don't know if I want to call it burnout, unmotivated, hormonal changes happening. I think it's a combination of all those things that I have been turning off, all the things that I've been consuming. I've been exiting any programs I'm in. I've been unsubscribing to people's and just really spent time listening and given myself space. It's almost like I decluttered the information around me to create the space. And ideas have emerged. It's been quite exciting. I won't say anything now about an idea that I have, but ideas emerge, dreams emerge, questions emerge. Sometimes God brings things to the surface that were buried underneath all that noise. And so again, that's the journey, the process that you don't want to miss out on as you move toward a goal that you have, like redecorating those rooms or move m toward silence or freedom, like uncluttering the spaces you have. Maybe you don't know what that space is going to look like. Maybe you don't know what the time and what I'm going to spend time is going to look like. But I'm decluttering so that I have the opportunity to see what's next. What if organizing is about m more than efficiency? I have always been one, like productive, efficient. That's the goal. Get this done. And I think that's why this has been so such a fun discovery for me, is because I wanted to have that done in two weeks. And if that would have happened, it would have been fine, but I would not have had this sweet and special time to learn more about myself, about what's next, about what I want, about what God wants for me. Most people think organizing is about saving time. And yeah, I think it does save time. But I wonder if that's only part of the story. What if organizing is really about creating enough margin to become who you're, um, meant to become? What if clearing a room helps you see your future more clearly? And I think it could go both ways. You have a vision for your future, and so clearing a room helps you enable that vision. But also clearing a room with no vision yet can help you see that vision more clearly, or catch the vision, or understand what it's going to be used for. What if clearing your computer, your desktop, creates the space for creativity? What if clearing your calendar helps you hear God's direction in your life? The other one I think of is what if clearing and stopping. I guess it would be stopping. Downloading all the freebies, attending all the classes, consuming all the information creates the space for you and the ideas that you're meant to have and you're meant to carry out. What if that's what it helps you do? And what if the organized home isn't necessarily the destination? What if it's simply the environment where your next change, your next chapter can grow? It's so exciting. It just makes me have a smile on my face. It's so much deeper than just getting organized. Lately, I've been realizing some of the most meaningful organizing work I've done hasn't been about finding a home for things. It's been about making room. Room for ideas, room for creativity, room for faith, room for new dreams, room for whatever comes next. So I want to challenge you. If you're decluttering a closet or organizing a room, cleaning out a file cabinet, simplifying your calendar, don't rush through the process. If you're in a hurry to finalize something, remember, don't rush through the process. Just pay attention. You might discover that what you're organizing isn't really the stuff at all you might be discovering yourself, as I have, I invite you just to consider it today, to see where there might be so much more beautiful opportunity in the decluttering and organizing process. And if I can help in any way, help you work through these things, see these things, have a clearer vision, uncover your vision, then you are always welcome to book a consult. Call with me@simplysquaredaway.com appointments and I will see you next week.

Narrator: Wait.

Tracy Hoth: If you're finding this podcast useful you

Narrator: must check out the Organized Coach Academy. It's my course where I walk you through every step to get your business organized, to get yourself organized, to save money and time to prepare to hire someone to do all the things that you want to do in your business with ease. Check that out@simplysquaredaway.com forward slow SL OCA also, I'm sure you've heard this a million times, but I would love it. It's my way of knowing that you're enjoying the podcast. If you leave a written review, I have lots of freebies for you. They're linked in the show notes. You can find them in my bio on Instagram at Tracy Hoth. And until next week, have a beautiful day.