5 STEPS TO A WALL THAT SPEAKS TO YOU!
WWW.THEMINIMALIST.ME
I changed my life drastically this summer. I moved to a new city, a new school district, a new home and a new beginning. During the move I was going through my memory boxes and journals and I suddenly realized that I had manifested everything I had visualized for myself in the last 4 years. After I had comfortably settled in, I was spending the weekend alone in my apartment when it hit me! I wanted a whole wall full of memories, mantras, lessons and vision boards. For the first time in a long time, I knew exactly what I wanted in my life and what I needed to do to get it! I wanted my wall to reflect that empowering feeling! My babies were not with me - I could do anything, spend the day with anyone! Instead I chose to spend the weekend in silence. By myself! Building my wall!
I wanted it to reflect my past, my present and my future. I wanted it to remind me of the beauty of my past. I wanted it to be a constant reminder of my aspirations for the future. I wanted my wall to give me power in hard times and make me smile in good times. I wanted to see the people that I loved, that my kids love. I wanted to be reminded of the lessons I have learned and the lessons that I’m still learning. I wanted my wall to make a statement; to show who I am and where I’m going! And I did it! It was more than a design project. It was 2 days of reflection and growth!
When I see a client for a gallery or an inspiration wall I first try to find out what they want to feel when they look at it, then what they want to see. I’d love to help you do that too. Fill out my “contact” page if you need my help. If you are not ready to hire a professional organizer yet, here are my tips to help you create one on your own.
Step 1: Measure the wall. Not the entire wall but the space you want to fill.
Step 2: Look around your house and see if you already have any frames or wall decor that you can potentially use for the project. I already owned the 3 frames on the top right. The empty white one hosted my dad’s funeral picture but the glass shattered during the move so I took it out and used the wire hanger to hang my polaroids with tiny clothespins.
Step 3: Take a tape measure and create the wall space on the floor. Let’s say your space is 7 ft by 5 ft. Use a painter’s tape or something like that to create your space. Play around with the frames you already own. What’s missing? Draw the measurements on a piece of paper with the frames already filled in, take a tape measure and go shopping.
Step 4: My favorite place to shop for home decor is home goods. I start by looking around to see if anything speaks to me. I was immediately drawn to the matching frames on the top left and bottom right. One is a bible verse on love. The other is a quote on beauty; I felt as if it described me.
Now I needed a cork board for random things and a vision board. After finding ones that went with my design colors, I drew the new items with their measurements on the paper that I had brought with me. Then I started to look to see if there was any space that needed to be filled between the frames.
Yes! I needed smaller wall decor now so I started looking for more. That’s when I saw the “choose happy” sign. It is my favorite piece on my wall because it is part of my favorite question in life, which is, “If you had to choose between being right or being happy, what would you choose?” I always choose happy! Sometimes people will say the most ignorant things or show the most outrageous behavior. Is it really worth letting your ego get in the way and fill your mind and body with negativity? What is the point of proving them anything? You can’t change people -neither their character nor their opinions, especially if your wish to prove them wrong is dictated by your ego and not coming from a place of love. If you’re enlightened enough in your journey, you will agree that “proving someone wrong” and “place of love” are mutually exclusive concepts so it must be coming from your ego! Choose happy instead! Every time! Accept people the way they are! Accept situations as they come! Don’t fight it! Be present! Observe them. Let go!
Step 5: Let’s shift from philosophy back to organization :) All right, now bring all your items home. Place them inside your taped floorspace and see if you like them altogether. If there are items that do not work, don’t be lazy. Return them, either that day or another. Replace them with things that speak to you more.
Voila! Your wall is now complete!
That was the least time-consuming part of the project. I continued my weekend working on my vision board postcards. First, I created 4 categories for my future: career, parenting, romance and fun! For my career I visualized what I wanted in my future. I was very detailed as to what, when and how? Be as specific as you possibly can! For parenting, I wrote down some lessons that I am trying to make part of my daily practice. For my relationship I described the guy that I would like to meet one day. I was, again, super specific. I wrote the qualities I was looking for and the lifestyle I envisioned for us! And last but not least, fun! Any positive psychologist will tell you how important fun is to success and overall happiness. I made sure to include fun as its separate category. That is it! Once I knew what I wanted, I started looking for images that portrayed my wants and needs and used photoshop to design them into postcards.
This wall is my super power! Every time I get doubtful about future success, I look at it long and hard and remind myself that we are all captains of our own fate. If we want something, we should put in the effort daily instead of constantly finding excuses! We are all capable of changing the world! We can change the world one smile at a time! One conscious act of kindness at a time! One goal at a time! Aren’t you interested in seeing your true potential?! I know I am! Growth mentality, baby! (It’s an inside joke between me and my bestie. More on that in another post!) Talk to you next time!
Yours truly,
Sona
