Making Room For The Good Stuff

For years, I have dreamt of being inside my house and "discovering" new rooms.  I'll just happen upon a never-seen-before staircase or a sprawling kitchen.  And when this happens within my dream, I have the thought, "What was I so worried about?  We have plenty of space!"
Now, because I had this pie-in-the-sky flight of fancy repeatedly, I decided to google it (Don't you love it that "google" acts as a verb?).  I am not in to dream interpretation, although I've had some very telling ones.
Apparently, I'm not the only one to have this dream.  It's quite common.  In fact, in talking with friends and family, I've discovered that they too have had this same thing happen!  
Here's what one website has to say:

  To dream that you find or discover a new room, suggests that you are developing new  strengths and taking on new roles. You may be growing emotionally. Consider what you find in the discovered room as it may indicate repressed memories, fears, or rejected emotions. Alternatively, such rooms are symbolic of neglected skills or rejected potential.  (www.dreammoods.com)

Interestingly enough, lately, I've found a new passion for organizing.  Living in a one thousand square foot home can be a challenge.

A close friend came over a few weeks ago and helped me organize my kitchen.  I got a little crazy and labeled pretty much every stinking cabinet that I have.

Amazingly, when we were done, I actually had one shelf that had nothing on it.  Now, if you've been in my kitchen, you'll know that that is no less than an act of God Almighty.  Our kitchen is tiny!

In the weeks that have followed, I've done the same thing in many other areas of our home.  My husband might say I'm a teeny-bit obsessed.

But here's the crazy part: my dream is coming true!  In making a place for everything, I've got extra space.  Extra space in an itty-bitty house with four kids and two adults. 

And more importantly, a love of order has been ignited within me.  Order allows room for beauty in my life.  Getting rid of physical clutter also eliminates the mental clutter.

I spent way too much time putting together the kids' school binders the other day...because I could!  I knew where all of my craft materials were and that my vellum paper was in a file folder labeled "vellum".  My husband was all, "You know that's not necessary."  And I was all, "Um, school is way more fun when you have cute binders."  Here is the result:

Anyway, this post isn't about my kids' school binders. :-/  (But aren't they cute??)

Physical space creates mental space and allows for beauty both internally and externally.
I'll post more on this very soon, but in the meantime, tell me about what inspires beauty in your life.  Is there something you can do within your life that will allow room for growth and generally good stuff?