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Less truly is more. Having a little more room to move and to think goes a long way. Now, it's time to reimagine your home and make your possessions serve your life, instead of vice versa. Take your vision for your life and make it a reality. Here's how to create a shared vision everyone in your home will love.
What You'll Need to Get Started
Download a room function chart PDF

How to Create a Shared Vision
Gather your family. If it's your bedroom, talk with your partner about what you envision for the room. If it's your child's room, have a discussion about what they envision for the room—but keep in mind not everyone will share the same idea. Be mindful of each other during this process because having to toss treasured possessions can be a highly emotional exercise for most people. This is a tough job, and you are going to engage in tough conversations, so get off on the right foot together.

Establish a basic premise. The best way to enter a tough discussion is to establish where you stand at the start with love and understanding. Before you talk about the clutter, talk about what is important to all of you. Discuss what you want the final outcome of this cleanup to be. Agree on ground rules, and return to this initial conversation when things get difficult or uncomfortable.

Don't make it personal. As you discuss your hopes and goals for the rooms in your house, make sure you don't start blaming your spouse, partner, roommate or children for the mess. Instead of focusing on whose mess it is, think of it as a group problem that you're going to solve together. Don't use words like "yours" and "mine." Talk about the clutter and challenges surrounding it as "ours."

Don't point your finger at others. The goal is to reframe the discussion away from the item itself to its significance in your lives. Here are some questions to help you make decisions about what to keep without starting arguments or passing judgment.

  • Instead of "Why don't you put your shoes away?" ask: "What is it that you want from this space?"
  • Instead of "Why do we have to keep your stuffed animals?" ask: "Why is that important to you? Does it have meaning?"
  • Instead of "There's no room for all of your stuff in there," say: "Let's see how we can share this space so that it works for both of us."
  • Instead of "Why do you have to hold on to these ugly sweaters your dad gave you?" ask: "What do these sweaters make you think of or remind you of?"
  • Instead of "I don't understand how you can live with all of this junk," ask: "How do you feel when you have to spend time in this room?"
Complete a Room Function Chart. Download a copy and give one to each member of your family. Fill them out individually, then meet to compare your results. At this stage, it is best to simply hear what everyone has to say without dismissing any idea. The more comments, feedback, insight and discussion, the better! Welcome surprises and be prepared for some interesting points of view.
Excerpted from It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. Copyright ?? 2007 by Peter Walsh. Reprinted by permission from Free Press, a Division of Simon & Schuster, Inc.

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