Small Space Organizing: A Room-by-Room Guide to Maximizing Your Space
by Kathryn Bechen
“Small spaces give us the opportunity to live sincerely, forcing us to choose which of our possessions make our hearts sing.” p. 15
I love that quote. Who wouldn’t want to center on possessions that “make your heart sing”? Why keep anything but?
When the opportunity came up to review a book about living in a small space, I jumped at it. I need ideas. Lots of them. I know I can do this. At least, I keep telling myself I can. The hard reality of doing so is going to hit me real soon. Our home is almost finished.
Reading Small Space Organizing was the inspiration I needed. Kathryn shares many practical ideas for living with less. She shares:
“… it isn’t just about the space; it’s a lifestyle choice that’s rich with blessings and--if you make it so--with beauty. (p. 18)
“…it’s not just a physical process. It’s also an emotional time of letting go of possessions and sometimes of sad memories, and also a time of remembering happy, meaningful family moments that took place there.” (p. 26)
If you don't have room for possessions that have a special meaning, take pictures of them and put the pictures in a special memory album.
I'm a lover of cedar chests, but there is only so much room in a small home for them. I may have to get rid of one or two of mine so I appreciated Kathryn's suggestion to store seasonal clothes in suitcases.
Kathryn also recommends:
“… paint the walls and ceiling white or a soft pastel color to create a light and bright welcoming feeling.” p. 53
Done! I like light and bright anyways which helped me determine the colors for my new (old) home. But it's nice to know it will also make it seem larger.
Here are a couple of other great ideas I plan to incorporate when I get a chance:
“..the larger the mirror over the sink, the larger your bathroom will appear.” (p. 61) With two tiny bathrooms, I needed that suggestion.
“Floor to ceiling bookcases…because they make the room appear larger and because they draw the eye upward.” (p. 78) As a lover of books, I was beginning to wonder how many I would be able to keep. If I can get some tall bookcases, there is more hope of my collection surviving the move.
And if you frequent estate sales, you will understand when Kathryn writes:
by Kathryn Bechen
“Small spaces give us the opportunity to live sincerely, forcing us to choose which of our possessions make our hearts sing.” p. 15
I love that quote. Who wouldn’t want to center on possessions that “make your heart sing”? Why keep anything but?
When the opportunity came up to review a book about living in a small space, I jumped at it. I need ideas. Lots of them. I know I can do this. At least, I keep telling myself I can. The hard reality of doing so is going to hit me real soon. Our home is almost finished.
Reading Small Space Organizing
was the inspiration I needed. Kathryn shares many practical ideas for living with less. She shares:“… it isn’t just about the space; it’s a lifestyle choice that’s rich with blessings and--if you make it so--with beauty. (p. 18)
“…it’s not just a physical process. It’s also an emotional time of letting go of possessions and sometimes of sad memories, and also a time of remembering happy, meaningful family moments that took place there.” (p. 26)
If you don't have room for possessions that have a special meaning, take pictures of them and put the pictures in a special memory album.
I'm a lover of cedar chests, but there is only so much room in a small home for them. I may have to get rid of one or two of mine so I appreciated Kathryn's suggestion to store seasonal clothes in suitcases.
Kathryn also recommends:
“… paint the walls and ceiling white or a soft pastel color to create a light and bright welcoming feeling.” p. 53
Done! I like light and bright anyways which helped me determine the colors for my new (old) home. But it's nice to know it will also make it seem larger.
Here are a couple of other great ideas I plan to incorporate when I get a chance:
“..the larger the mirror over the sink, the larger your bathroom will appear.” (p. 61) With two tiny bathrooms, I needed that suggestion.
“Floor to ceiling bookcases…because they make the room appear larger and because they draw the eye upward.” (p. 78) As a lover of books, I was beginning to wonder how many I would be able to keep. If I can get some tall bookcases, there is more hope of my collection surviving the move.
And if you frequent estate sales, you will understand when Kathryn writes:
“…it’s far more rewarding to choose the most heartfelt items and ditch the rest before it becomes ‘memorabilia madness’ for your heirs to take to the dump. p. 181
When I go to estate sales, I come away wondering how people could have collected so much stuff. Then I come home and walk into my own home and I can imagine if all my possessions were spread on tables and on the floor throughout my house and garage people would probably come away saying the same thing about me. Even though I'm constantly evaluating and getting rid of things, I still manage to buy more good deals to inhabit my home.
You can learn more about Kathryn Bechen and Small Space Organizing
on her website here. Kathryn also lists a lot of sources for organizing aids at the end of each chapter.Small Space Organizing
will be available January 2012 at your favorite bookseller from Revell, a division of Baker Publishing Group.”I received a copy of Small Space Organizing
from Revell/Baker Publishing.
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2 comments:
This book sounds interesting. I have actually been working on getting rid of stuff. I have found that simple steps work well for me. So far, so good. I just have to keep going.
Thanks for reviewing my book and I hope it helps your blog readers!
Author Kathryn Bechen
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