It’s fine to decorate your side tables, bedside tables or coffee tables . . . but if you leave it empty often it becomes a “welcome sign” for a pile of mail or miscellaneous items. Here are some steps to keep table tops clear. . .
(1) When you first come home - its’ important to get what is in your hands (grocery bags, backpacks etc) either to their final destination or at least close to their “home,” - the stairs if the things are going up to your bedroom or the kitchen counter for groceries.
(2) You can have a decorative dish, tray or basket on a surface for collecting mail or other items. On a weekly basis set your timer for 18 minutes (15-20 minutes will be perfect!) and get everything back to their place in your home and discard unwanted items.
*Make sure to only have one of these catch-all vessels and clear before its spilling over the sides! (Remember its a weekly habit!)
*Place the catch-all vessel near your favorite chair or on a kitchen counter - somewhere you frequent often so you remember to clear it weekly!
* Its best that the catch-all vessel is not in your entry area - coming home to pile (small or large) brings the energy down immediately - and I want you to enter in calm space.
(3) For decorating table tops - think about displaying things that bring you calm and/ or happy thoughts. A candle, vase and small book or a small stack of poetry or travel destination books and add one knickknack that represents a part of you or a photo of a great memory with someone special. This sounds lovely vs a stack of junk mail or receipts and things.