“Clutter is not just the stuff on your floor — it’s anything that stands between you and the life you want to be living.”
— Peter Walsh

Before you can move forward, you have to be willing to get clear—about what’s no longer working.

Most people come to this process with a handful of nagging questions already circling in their minds:

• I love this bold wallpaper—but is it truly mine, or just something I’m reacting to right now? Will I tire of it in a few years?
• Do I really want to keep my grandmother’s chair—because it’s meaningful, or because I feel obligated? And if I rework it, will I even like it?
• How much do I actually want to invest in this room—or this home? What really matters to me in all of this?

These questions don’t have clear answers yet—and that’s okay. You’re not meant to solve them right now.

The first step is simpler than that. It’s about getting clear.

Take a walk through your home, slowly and intentionally. Room by room, hold each item in your mind’s eye and ask yourself: Is this still working for me? To paraphrase a famous book on the subject, “Does this (sofa, chair, artwork, table, or color) give me joy?” (cite Marie Condo, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up)

If the answer is yes, place it in your mental “keep” bucket.
If the answer is no, it goes in the “rehome” bucket.
If you’re unsure, place it in a “to be determined” category—and let that be enough for now.

This is not about having all the answers. It’s about being willing to see and feel what’s truly working for you now in your home.

Most of us live surrounded by things we’ve outgrown—pieces that belonged to a different phase of life, a different version of ourselves, or a set of expectations we no longer share. We keep them out of habit, sentiment, or indecision. But over time, they create a quiet friction in our homes—a sense that something is just… off.

Your “trouble spots” are not random. They are signals.

They’re telling you that your home is no longer aligned with how you live now—or who you are becoming.

So this first step is simple, but not always easy: begin to name what’s not working. Say it out loud. Write it down. Acknowledge it without rushing to fix it.

Because what you’re doing here is creating a clearing.

A bit of open space. A pause. A reset.

And it’s from this clearing—not from forcing decisions or chasing inspiration—that clarity begins to emerge.

In the next phase, we’ll shift into a different way of seeing—one that helps you reconnect with what truly brings you joy, what feels like you. That’s where the magic happens. That’s where the answers to those nagging questions start to come into focus, almost effortlessly.

But first, you have to make the space.

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