Today, I am collaborating with Emily Cassel, my friend and Chatham sister who went all in with her dreams last year by starting her own life coaching business! We’re sharing a two part post, all about how to make space for great things in 2015! If you haven't already, click here to read Part One on Emily's blog. She is talking all about how we can clear our own mental clutter to make way for our dreams and goals for the new year. If you found your way here from Emily's blog, welcome! I'm picking up the conversation with tips on how to apply this idea to your physical space, plus an awesome giveaway!

When you choose to eliminate your negative mental clutter and believe empowering thoughts, you feel like you're on top of the world! I know right after I finish a session with Emily, I feel totally clear, focused and inspired. It's a great feeling! But when I first started working with Emily last year, I found that in the weeks between our sessions I would let negative thoughts slip back into my inner dialogue. It's hard work to feel 100% inspired and connected to your purpose 100% of the time. I am a very visual person, so I've found that by introducing the concepts of clarity, peace and ease into my physical space, it is easier for me to sustain those feelings in my everyday life.

This makes so much sense! Say you are feeling totally inspired and on fire after a super productive meeting or after great day at work. You walk into your home and you are immediately met with the sight of a paint color you hate, a hall closet that has been missing it's door since last July and folded baskets of laundry that you have no space left in your dresser to put away. Still feeling inspired? Probably not.

But the point is that you can look at these things as negatives and feel your energy levels plummet even more, OR you could see these things as opportunities to make your environment that much better! Your home environment should be soothing to your soul. Here are some ideas for how to invite that calm, clear, inspired feeling into your space!

1. Make your goals visual! What are your dreams for 2015? Taking a trip? Saving for a big purchase? Starting a new business? Find a place in your home or work space to make these goals visual. I made this little collage for my desk at work. Especially while you are at work, it’s important to remember what you are working towards!

2. Post inspiring quotes and affirmations around your house. Affirmations are a small but powerful tool that can boost your mood, improve your focus and keep you feeling inspired. It can be as simple as writing an empowering thought on a post it note and sticking it on your bathroom mirror! Another thing I love to do is to pick one of the quotes I have pinned on my “Food for Thought” Pinterest board and print it out! Sure, the picture quality of the pinned image isn’t necessarily frame worthy, the message is! For more permanent additions to my home decor, I love searching Etsy for art prints that feature inspiring quotes! To go along with this series, Emily and I also collaborated on an art print, which is now available in my shop! We’re raffling off one free copy at the bottom of this post, so be sure to enter for your chance to win!

3. Purge unnecessary clutter and embrace minimalism. This one is easier said than done, for sure. As an interior designer and vintage/antique lover, I am fighting a losing battle with having too many things. Just like our brain needs room to breathe, our living spaces do to. I’m not saying we all need to be total minimalists but I think it is important  to inventory the things we do allow to take up space in our homes. Whether it’s clothes, furniture, tzchokes, electronics, whatever--- ask yourself these questions. “Does this object still have value to me?”, “Could someone else make better use of this item?”, “Would I buy this item in a store again today, even if it was full-price?”. Just like we shouldn’t hold onto negative thoughts that aren’t serving us, we should let go of the extra things that aren’t useful to us anymore.

4. If it costs less than $200 and will truly make your life easier, DO IT.. For instance, we have a nice but tiny kitchen/dining space. There are tons of things I would love to do to improve it (add a few cabinets, paint the cabinets white, new hardware, open shelving, etc.) but since it’s a temporary apartment, we just don’t want to spend the money on upgrades that we can’t take with us to the next place. That being said, I hated that our small appliances were taking up every inch of counter space that we had, and then some. (Our microwave had to go on top of the fridge -- good thing we are both tall!). So right before Christmas, I finally ordered this shelving unit from Sams Club. Now our microwave and toaster oven are off the countertops and we have plenty of open, easy access storage for our most used items, like our crockpots and canisters. I feel so much more inspired to cook now that I have enough clear counter space to work in! When you are just starting out, like we are, spending money can be pretty anxiety inducing.  But if you have been struggling with an aspect of your home that just doesn’t function properly on an everyday basis, and you can fix the problem for less than $200 bucks, I say go for it.

5. Create a meditation space. It doesn’t have to be a whole room, it can just be one corner of your bedroom or even just one side of your sofa. Heck, you don’t even have to meditate --although I hope you give it a try! The point is to carve out a special space in your home that makes you feel calm and relaxed. A place where you can read, journal, pray, meditate and dream big.  Basically, you are creating your “happy place”!  Bring in comfortable throw pillows, candles, a small table to hold your favorite beverage and add life with some fresh flowers or a potted plant.

When you raise the energy level of your living space to match the positive vibrations of your new outlook, you’ll feel calm, collected and ready to make big changes in the new year!

Want a reminder to make space for greatness in 2015? Enter below to win this “I Make Space for Greatness” art print which Emily and I created for you! Thanks for reading, and here’s to making 2015 our best year ever!