Decluttering Your Mind
This week I went on a decluttering tear. Sorting paperwork became two days of cleaning, purging, reorganizing, repairing, maintaining and rethinking systems.
Frankly, it felt at the time like procrastination. Surely I should have been working on my business?
But as soon as I went back to ‘work,’ my productivity skyrocketed. I found myself being effortlessly pro-active, whether it was doing client follow-ups, meeting proposal and marketing deadlines, clearing my inbox or acting on creative inspirations.
foyer_decluttered
Not pictured: piles of unopened mail, ten coats, bags, toys, miscellaneous trip hazards
Moreover, my family is eating better, because all the food in the fridge is fresh, attractive and easy to find. My daughter and I have more relaxing evenings, more bedtime jokes, and better sleep.
The fact is, spaces which are organized, uncluttered and appealing support quality of life and mindful productivity in countless, continuous ways.
Breakfast_declutter
Not pictured: so many books and appliances that it's impossible to wipe countertop clean
EndTable_Declutter
Not pictured: pile of unsorted mail, school papers, 1.5 years of the New Yorker
When your mind isn’t battling chaos, you can do more than you ever imagined.
KitchenTableClear
Not pictured: mountain of books and art supplies, unstable chairs in need of repair, residual crumbs
Stephanie Lee Jackson is the owner and founder of Practical Sanctuary, Sensory Interior Design. Practical Sanctuary uses trauma-informed neuroscience to create spaces that help you focus, heal, emotionally regulate, and build community. Clients call it ‘space therapy.’ As a professional fine artist, Stephanie founded art spaces in New York and San Francisco, exhibiting her paintings internationally. As a massage therapist, she founded Practical Bodywork in Philadelphia, and taught Anatomy, Physiology, Pathology, and Advanced Massage Technique at Community College of Philadelphia. Her book, The Eccentric Genius Habitat Intervention: Interior Design For Highly Sensitive People is both a manifesto on the need for sensory accessible, sustainable design, and a how-to manual for creating spaces that are tailored to your unique sensory needs.
Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!
The Eccentric Genius Habitat Intervention
Your space, your nervous system.
Most of us were never taught how our bodies actually experience a room–the light, the sound, the layout, the smell–and what happens when those things work against us instead of for us.
This free seven-day course is a gentle introduction to sensory design. Each day brings one exercise–noticing what you feel, photographing what you’ve been editing out, dreaming about what you actually want. The exercises are all optional, and you can go as deep as you like.
By the end, you’ll understand more about why certain rooms drain you, what your body knows about your home, and how to start shifting without stressing out.
Sign up below. Your first email arrives within the hour.
Practical Sanctuary, sensory interior design, specializes in interior design for highly sensitive people.
We help you create spaces which are:
