Why You Should Paint More Often

There are so many reasons to paint and benefits to experience from freshening up your surroundings, to repurposing a space, to a color change. As I sit down to write this my kitchen is in the process of being painted and I want to focus on one of the benefits I've already experienced- decluttering.
 
We've all experienced the calm, motivated feeling we get from a clean, organized space.  It's such a sought after experience that The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, became a national obsession and #1 New York Times best seller. The first few years Steve and I were together we moved a few times (twice 1100 miles) so we got pretty good about paring down. But for the past 11 years we have been in the same house and haven't made it a point to declutter as aggressively, especially in the kitchen where so many things are behind closed cabinets doors. (Admittedly, I don't like to spend much time in the kitchen so my normal decluttering has pretty much been reserved to bedroom closets and our offices.)

Because we are fully repainting the kitchen (inside and outside of cabinets, walls, ceilings, doors, trim and baseboard)  I had to go through Every. Single. Thing. in my kitchen. This sounds like a chore but after all these years with a red kitchen I was up for the challenge and for purging, quickly and decisively!  I made 4 categories- selling, keeping, donating and trashing. Here are some of my highlights in these categories:

• Selling- the only thing that made it into this pile was my grandmother's Guardian Service Cookware set from the 1940's. I have had it for years when my mom who is OCD about purging gave it to me. (She knows I am a bit more sentimental.) Here's the thing though, I've kept this 6 piece set taking up room and not used it once. So it's gotta go. Sorry grandma, I've seen these on ebay selling for a pretty penny.

 

• Keeping- My mom and dad's china. Not only am I keeping it but I'm going one step better; we are going to use it as our everyday dinnerware. Why not? All that is going to happen to it is some lucky (or unlucky) person will inherit all our stuff and have to take it all to goodwill. That china is only meaningful to me so I'm going to enjoy it and donate our regular plates and bowls to a thrift store so someone else can benefit.

 

• Donating- Also in the donation BOXES are about 50 coffee mugs. Why do we have so many?

 

• Trashing-  All the cups that came with the first Magic Bullet we bought. (We’ve upgraded twice since then, but kept the cups and lids that only fit the original.) All the honey packets that come with takeout (sopapillas) and about 20 plastic ware sets (the nicer ones) which made sense when I used to pack my lunch and didn't want to bring silverware from home. But yeah, it has been 5 years since I worked outside of my home.

 
I'm not exaggerating when I tell you how energized I have been the past couple of days as I watch the progress take place in my kitchen. All the hard, but satisfying decluttering work is done, my color palette is coming to life and all that is left for me to do when the crew finishes the painting is to put minimal stuff away, decorate and redesign my "new" kitchen.
 
You too can experience this fresh start! Just don't wait 11 years like I did. Not only because you definitely need to declutter before then, but painting is best done every 5 years to keep the walls looking fresh and updated.  If you are ready we are here to help with painting, color consulting and redesign services. I promise the calm, clear motivation that you'll find is worth your investment.