The Organized Life archives

STARTING AT THE BEGINNING: THE ENTRYWAY

Dear Subscriber,

“Where should we start?” This question often arises when I begin working with a client, even when an obvious organizing challenge like an overstuffed closet is begging to be handled. Because that problem is often just the tip of the organizing iceberg, the first domino to fall.

The best place to start, once the most obvious things are out of the way, is at the beginning: the Entryway of your home.

The Importance of Your Entryway

Think of your threshold as the transition point from the outside world to your private space. It welcomes you after a turbulent day and is the mouth of chi, where fresh air and the energy of the outside world enter your home. And of course, it tells visitors something about you before they even arrive; it conveys an immediate impression about you.

I’ve discovered, though, that many people think their entryway “doesn’t count” because they don’t spend much time there. It’s a transition point, all right – a place where trash and recycling build up, where unfinished projects accumulate, and where other un-made decisions have come to rest.

But consider your own transitions through that doorway. When you’re on your way out, do you really want the door to keep banging into whatever is behind it? Do you want to make your way around your "stuff" to get out the door in the first place?

And when you come home at the end of a long day, do you really want to be presented with more work that has to be done, like taking out the trash or going through week-old mail? Do you really want visitors to have to dodge your belongings as they approach your home?

I’m pretty sure the answer is a resounding “NO!” So let’s take a good look at this area and make sure that you’re in control of the message it’s sending!

The Approach

Go on outside and take a look at your front door, either from the street or from your apartment hall. A home that appears to be well-cared-for will draw good things to it and its occupants.

Start by making sure that visitors feel safe and welcome before they arrive, with things like an obvious street or apartment number, an attractive welcome mat, perhaps a light on your threshold. Decorating the door itself with something that conveys your personality is a great way to greet visitors.

Healthy plants also convey a welcome feeling. I live in a small apartment building and like to keep a vase of silk flowers just outside my door. The flowers look cheery and bright and convey a friendly feeling to visitors and passersby.

Clear any clutter that may be blocking your door: overgrown branches, miscellaneous piles. And you may want to consider painting or refinishing your door, or even replacing doorknobs and other fixtures so that your home looks well cared-for in every possible way.

Entering Your Space

So, we’re in. Stand in your doorway to get a sense of it. Do you feel "invited in"? Does anything block the door from opening all the way – is it time, perhaps, to see what’s hanging on that hook behind it? Make sure the door opens freely way so that people – and lively chi energy! – can move in and out easily.

What do you see? Is there a spot for your bag and the mail? If you have kids, they may need their own places for things; several of my clients have had success setting up baskets under a hall table: each child has one, and they’re responsible for what’s in it.

Similarly you can set up a dog-walking center by the door – a couple of nice-looking baskets will hold leashes, toys, plastic bags and other paraphernalia. And the same goes for things that travel back and forth from the car.

Multiple Entrances

If you have more than one door that’s used regularly, check to make sure that you and your visitors feel just as welcome at each one. Even if you enter through the garage most of the time, you want to feel as if your home is glad to see you!

Your home is the most important place in your world. I want to make sure it supports you in every possible way as you make your dreams come true and grow into the person you want to be. So in the next issue I’ll discuss the Master Bedroom – a most significant area in everyone’s life!

Until then, Happy Organizing!

Sincerely,

Ann Bingley Gallops
The Organized Life

ORGANIZING DISCOVERY OF THE MONTH

If you’re in the market for a label-maker, make your life easier by purchasing the Dymo brand. Other brands, especially Brother, seem to have a bigger market presence, but Dymo is worth seeking out because the peel-off backing tape is so much easier to manipulate. It’s split so all you have to do is bend it in half to peel it off.

I have wasted a lot of time – and messed up a lot of fingernails -- trying to separate the backing on other label-makers. Sounds strange, I know, but Dymo label-makers have changed my life. (But then again, I’m an Organizer.)

GETTING IN TOUCH

Call or write to schedule an Organizing or Feng Shui consultation for your home or office in the New York City area.

And please drop me a line with comments, questions, or suggestions for future newsletters.

Ann Bingley Gallops
The Organized Life
646-382-3878
ann@theorganizedlife.net
www.theorganizedlife.net

Copyright 2006, Ann Bingley Gallops