♡ How I made the room
Here are some of the things I did to make “the” room — the room I currently feel happy and healthy in!
April 14, 2024 — today marks the official first day of my term break, and I am celebrating by finally publishing this post •ᴗ•
I am passionate about beauty, livable spaces, and meeting my own reality. and over the past months I have taken things into my own hands in creating a space I feel happy and comfortable in. Here are some of the things i did to make “the” room — the room I currently feel happy and healthy in!
Decluttered + discarded stuff before buying organizers. (Yeah, my younger self took a while to learn this XD). Owning too many things can only be masked by organizers. The solution is temporary. I owned too many things than I could maintain/upkeep, so I had to address the root problem (hoarding). Since decluttering, I think and act less when maintaining the cleanliness of my room. My life has become easier.
Utilized Feng Shui. Things like having a mirror on my desk (because it isn’t in a command position) and being wary of the items stored under my bed. People are quick to brush feng shui off, but I think it aligns with basic human activity — of course, I’m going to feel restless if things unrelated to sleep are so near my bed! Of course, I’m going to feel stressed if the place I spend most of the time in (my desk) doesn’t give me an eye view of what enters/exits my room!
Bought things in a close color palette. This isn’t for everyone, buuut it has worked well for me! My belongings are primarily in colors light pink (yes, light pink — not hot pink), white, black/grey, and… wood. If not these colors, navy blue, because it gives more life. My room being cohesive color-wise has brought me peace, and I think/stress less about what colored items to buy.
Differentiated my workspace and storage space. They say your desk should be a space for working, not storing. Even though I have limited space in my room, I still try to follow this as much as possible. I used to be the type to keep lots of stuff on my desk, until I later realized it was subconsciously stressing me out. My desk is a space for work — creative and academic — clearing it out from things like big skincare trays, a large number of figurines, or even many bits of stationery, has cultivated more mind clarity. Makes me feel like the energy is flowing better. Also, I don’t feel as restricted when moving around/moving my laptop around anymore XD
Became a minimalist. This has been a work in progress for years at this point. I’m constantly getting rid of things, revisiting areas I decluttered just last month. I just wish you guys could see how much stuff I’ve decluttered over the past year 🥹 When I realized that owning fewer things has been better for my sake — for my health and peace — it has been a lot easier to keep things in check! I don’t think being a minimalist means having to own only a few things per se, especially if it makes living difficult. I’d like to think of it as keeping only what I can maintain/upkeep, keeping what gives me long-term happiness/ease/peace, and considering the tradeoffs when I acquire/keep things (“Is this taking storage space or even energy from something else that would be better to keep in my life?”).
Making my everyday items/setup not ‘so-so’. I have an acrylic organizer on my desk - it’s pretty tall and is rotatable. However, I have found this to be a problem because it frequently collides with my blinds, which, unless I’d lower or raise very carefully, would knock things off the organizer. It’s too big to move to another position so I’m going to be replace it with a tray :) Making my space one that is comfortable to exist and operate in — one I don’t need to tiptoe around in order to be functional — has been amazing!
Balanced being a “homey museum’. I care a lot about beauty and there’s no shame in that (Libra rising oop). But I also care about my space being livable and looking like there is life in it. So, I keep my ‘museum’ like things on my shelves, and my homey things in easy to reach areas. That way, I can still have decorations without it interfering with my day-to-day programming.
Fixed my relationship with material things. For me, this looked like becoming pretty much detached from material things. I don’t think I’ve ever struggled very strongly/deeply with hoarding, but I sometimes found myself keeping old things I haven’t touched in years because ‘just in case’, Apple boxes because “what if I need them in the future” (spoiler alert, I didn’t need the giant MacBook box for three years).
Acquired things slowly. So many of the beautiful things in my room came from long periods of reflection on what I’d actually need, saving up, gifts from my loved ones, and harboring things from my mum (hehe ^^). Those room transformation videos on YouTube and inspiration on Pinterest make one-time big-time hauls very enticing but I don’t think one-time these would have been able to consider little changes/details in my lifestyle/preferences.
Prioritized cleanliness and tidiness. (Cleanliness = lack of dirt like dust, tidiness = organization of items). Obviously, my room is not always in order. Just this morning I took an almost one-hour video of me cleaning up (and I wasn’t even finished XD). But my point is that I find a clean room to be the best room to live in. Having clear floors to walk on without stubbing my toes or calculating my steps, not having allergies because of dust, and calming visuals because I already think and do so much. Keeping these things in check adds up and removes any possible little ‘irritants’.
Kept it functional. Make it easy to live in. Items that are used often should be easily accessible. For example, I keep my skincare all in one bag instead of in drawers, since I stay between two cities for university. Also, I have a small room (thus, small floor space) — I’ve come to realize how important being able to walk around is, so I got rid of my ottoman that was taking walking space away. (I don’t think I’ll be expounding on this here, but I also thought I’d add that I’ve stored my things in a way that will both meet my current lifestyle while encouraging my ideal (but still realistic) one!)
Reflected on what I wanted to have “spread out” and what I was fine having “compacted”. Things I often consider worth “spreading out” are items that are aesthetic and also on a near everyday usage basis — like this beautiful perfume, cute pink handbag, and this cool eye serum. The perfume sits on my desk while the others are in a little bin that is still accessible. Items I’d compact include clothes (this could be a ‘spread out’ item, but my room/lifestyle isn’t built for that), skincare (as I said, I’d travel between cities for uni — so why have them displayed in my room?), and tech gear (I have a pouch containing all my chargers, spare cables, and keyboard protectors).
Gave myself grace. Sometimes I’d make exceptions. I recently got a new phone and I don’t want to throw the Apple box away yet. Why? Sentimentality. Does that go against my usual reasoning? Yes. Is this act going to harm me? Probably not. I think I’ve developed strong enough discernment + honesty (and thus, trust) with myself to let go of things at the right time. I’m human and sometimes unreasonable and that is okay. Perhaps, in months time, I’m going to see the Apple box again and feel nothing towards it. That’s okay.
Worked with what I had. So many times have I wished my windows had a different view (it faces a concrete wall), were bigger, were more aligned with the natural flow of the wind (even with a fan, it gets really hot), or had more wall sockets — when my family had just moved in, these things frustrated me quite a bit! And honestly, the heat thing frustrates me until now. But I have so much gratitude for my room because of all I have been able to do alongside it. Reminding myself that this is the room I am able to retreat to, decorate however I want — the room I have studied in, rested in, laughed in, and cried in. While imperfect, I still think it is beautiful and… buildable? xD So I will find humor in my concrete wall view thanks, and buy an extension cord tower. (Also, I know this won’t be my forever home, which is why I also try to enjoy every moment I have with it ♡ )
We all deserve beautiful, livable, and realistic spaces, so I hope this helps in any way! ♡ And if you’ve made it this far, I’ve actually made a digital version of my bedroom, and you can do a virtual visit here •ᴗ•
YAY for my first Substack post!! Yippee!! I realize how flowy writing is when you write with not so much pressure on yourself/what you’re writing about! I hope to make more of this in the future :D
With love,
Fran