I wouldn’t say I’m an organized person. In fact, I am definitely not an organized person. I often tell friends that I am, and have always been, a free spirit—an artist, a musician, a creative. My mind? Chaotic. My heart? Open. My house? Let’s not talk about my house.
Now, I married an engineer—a man who believes in “a place for everything and everything in its place” (whatever that saying is). Over the past 18 years of marriage, I have tried many different ways to organize our home so that he would see it as “clean.” What I actually did was create more chaos—more bins, more piles, and ultimately, more ways to hide things in places where neither of us could find them later.
Finally, this past Christmas, I made a bold move. I got my husband a gift certificate for a home organizer.
To my naturally tidy friends, this might seem like a waste of money—but to me, this was an investment in my marriage, my sanity, and my family’s well-being. We needed a solution so that we could all live, work, and play in the same space—without stepping on Legos at 5 a.m. or shoving important paperwork into mystery drawers labeled “Misc.”
And let me tell you: I didn’t realize how much we needed this until we did it.
Turning a House Into a Sacred Space
I worked with two highly organized professionals for three full days to sort, clear out, and reset our home. We tackled:
My kitchen and pantry (which held items from three kitchens ago).
My massive craft collection (because every creative needs 40 types of glue, right?).
My office (which had become more of a storage closet for things I intended to “deal with later”).
My kids' play areas (where toys mysteriously vanished, only to be found in the bottom of a laundry basket six months later).
My closets (filled with mismatched shoes and too-small coats that I kept "just in case").
And throughout this process, we asked the hard questions:
When was the last time I used this?
When will I use it again?
Why am I saving this?
What am I actually holding onto?
It turned out that very few things in my home were actually special.
The Moment That Changed Everything
On the final evening of our organization explosion, the owner of the company gathered my entire family for a meeting. She had us write a list of everything we loved—things, activities, people, moments.
At the end of the exercise, she asked:
"Why do you think I am here? What is my purpose as an organizer?"
The kids, without hesitation, shouted in unison: “TO CLEAN!”
She smiled and said, “No. I am here so you can do what you love.”
She wasn’t just helping us clean—she was helping us design a space where we could actually spend time living, playing, creating, and being together as a family—instead of constantly cleaning, picking up, or arguing over whose toy was left on the floor.
And that moment hit me hard.
Clearing the Clutter—Physically, Emotionally, Spiritually
What if we looked at our lives the way this organizer looked at my home?
What clutter—physical, emotional, or spiritual—needs to be cleared away?
What is taking up space that no longer serves us?
What are we holding onto “just in case,” instead of making room for something better?
Creating sacred space at home isn’t just about aesthetics—it’s about intention. It’s about designing an environment that allows us to live fully, rather than just managing chaos.
And science backs this up:
Clutter increases stress. Studies show that a cluttered environment raises cortisol levels (the stress hormone), making it harder to relax.
A clear space improves focus. Our brains process visual clutter as distractions, making it difficult to concentrate.
Intentional spaces promote well-being. A home designed with purpose increases feelings of calm, control, and clarity.
We were never meant to live in constant overwhelm—we were meant to breathe, create, and connect.
The Reality of Letting Go: When Clutter Becomes Clarity
Once we started letting go, something unexpected happened—the entire family joined in.
The kids started offering up toys for the "giveaway pile" on their own. They would come to me and say:
"This toy doesn’t serve me anymore.""I don’t play with this.""I don’t actually like these books anymore."
So we created a pile in the middle of the floor—a temporary resting place for things we were ready to release. I gave each kid an opportunity to go through the pile to see if anything still spoke to them. More often than not, the pile just kept growing.
Over the course of those many days of organization, we made five trips to the thrift store, donating things that no longer served our family.
And now? Everyone loves the way our home feels.
Not just because it looks better—but because it feels lighter. Even the kids noticed it. So much so that they’ve continued the process on their own.
Was It Hard? Yes. Was It Worth It? Absolutely.
Going through every item in my house and deciding whether it was important to my family or not was hard.
It was exhausting. It was overwhelming. It was mentally draining.
But have I missed anything that left my home? Not once.
Because in the end, what is sacred in my home is my family.
If the things I owned didn’t serve my family—if they didn’t bring us joy, connection, or purpose—they had to go.
We often think that storage spaces are meant to be filled—but they’re not. Just because I have a closet doesn’t mean it needs to be overflowing. Just because I have an empty shelf doesn’t mean it needs a decoration.
Sacred space isn’t just about adding—it’s also about making room.
Final Reflection
Maybe our homes reflect our inner lives more than we realize.
When we clear the excess, we find what truly matters. When we let go of what no longer serves us, we make room for something better. And when we stop holding onto things just because we “might need them someday,” we finally start living fully in today.
So I ask you: What’s taking up space in your home, your mind, or your spirit that no longer serves you?
What would happen if you let it go?
Enjoy more of Sheila's writing on her substack, Good Company Life:
Comments