Does anyone live in those Pottery Barn catalogs?

I highly doubt that anyone actually lives in those Pottery Barn catalogs. They look great, but we have to live in our homes. Just think what you could do with your space if all you had to do was get it picture ready for a catalog. You would probably toss half of your stuff into the garage, right?

After you look through the catalogs, do you carry around "need to" and "should" guilt? You should have done this, or you need to do that? If so, I am giving you permission to let it go. Let it go!

Instead of the "should" statements, ask yourself what you really want from that space. Instead of saying "I should get rid of all this stuff" or "I need to organize this room" when you walk into the playroom and see your child's toys everywhere, ask yourself, "what do I want from this room?"

In my case, I want my children to be able to find and put away their toys without much help from me. To accomplish this goal I used shelves, bins, clear plastic containers and anything else I had that allowed us to sort the toys in a reasonable manner. I didn't label them with pictures or tags, but I did show my children where everything was so they could find their things, and put them away. (Note: I have to ask them to put their stuff away, they don't just do it.)

I also want it to be a room they like, so I grit my teeth and deal with the posters on the wall, the basketball goal on the door and the Legos that multiply on the shelves. I will work with them to weed out the clutter and unused items a couple of times a year, but I do think it is important that they have a place for their stuff. This goes for their bedrooms too.

The bonus of giving your children their own space to clutter-up, is that you can get their stuff out of your den, bedroom, etc. Instead if carrying guilt about what a space should look like, adjust your expectations. What is realistic for our family, our home, and our daily lives?

Now... take a deep breath, recycle that catalog, and tidy up the space so it meets your needs. Leave the "should" statements in the recycling bin!