When Clutter Takes Over Your Life
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Do you ever have those moments in life when you feel so overwhelmed with your to-do list and your household work that you just want to go hide in the bathroom and cry? This was totally me this past week.
The Stay-cation…
It all started when my husband and I decided to plan a Stay-cation for our Baby-moon. We are having twins in July so rather than fly off to some sunny beach somewhere we decided to stay at home where I could sleep on the comfort of my own couch every night. (Carrying twins + mattresses = Extreme Hip Pain). Besides that, we sometimes find it more fun to vacation in the comforts of our home than spend hours in the car and sleeping in rooms with loud neighbors.
The Plan…
So this was a week I planned to really get some serious stuff knocked off my de-cluttering to-do list in preparation for the babies while I can still waddle around pretty good and my son was away at grandma’s house. What happened was far more than I anticipated and almost shut me down.
You see, we are planning to convert what is now my office into the twin’s nursery. So that means I’m having to tackle my craft closet for real. Except, I didn’t realize how much stuff I had actually crammed in that tiny closet. I felt a little like Mary Poppins with her magic carpet bag that she stores her lamps and furniture in. Every time I took something out of the closet, it felt like it was still full. Like I couldn’t make a dent in it.
Do you have a room in your house or closet in your house that you store or “dump” stuff?
The Breakdown…
And as I sat down at my kitchen table and started looking around me I began to feel an intense sense of claustrophobia because everywhere I looked, there was more stuff. Every surface, every couch, every corner of my living room now contained stuff from that closet that I was going through or stuff from our everyday lives.
It was stuff I hadn’t even thought about or remembered I had. This is a real life struggle for me. I wrote about dealing with my struggle in a post titled, Are You Organized or Hoarding Clutter? Because let me tell you, in this closet, I was NOT organized, I was straight up hoarding clutter.
And what I realized in that crystal clear moment was that I struggle with staying on top of housework- not because of time restraints-but because of the amount of stuff I own.
Maybe that’s the root of your time-management issues too- too much stuff to pick-up everyday, clean and organize everyday.
The Inspiration…
It’s sort of ironic that this project started around the time that I was reading the new book Unstuffed By Ruth Soukup.
It’s easy to read that book from the comfort of my couch and think about ways to improve but when I start getting my hands dirty, I realize that I still have so far to go! The beauty of Ruth’s book is that it goes beyond just getting rid of clutter. It helps you get to the heart of some your issues. It goes beyond your home and also talks about the clutter in our minds and souls which can contribute to a good bit of our stress and frustration in life!
The Conclusion…
So where do I go from here? Well, I have two choices.
- I can keep ignoring the problem and continue to feel buried by my things. I can continue to always feel behind because I can’t keep it all clean and organized.
- Or, I can get hyper-focused on simplifying my life and my family’s life. And for me, that means getting rid of some serious possessions.
There is the extreme side of me that wants to be total minimalist but I’m not really the kind of chick that’s going to only own 2 pair of black shoes and only have a week’s worth of clothes in my closet. That’s what extreme Kim thinks she wants.
The realistic Kim is going to try and break everything down into daily, bite sized pieces.
When I get through, what I would like is home that contains only the items I really need, really enjoy or find entertainment from.
The truth is- this going to be a long and diligent project. I realized that truth around Friday of last week when I was still going through the contents of that closet 5 days later.
I’m gonna have to fight my regular draw to retail therapy and Target clearance racks.
I’m going to have to stay out of thrift stores for a while.
With my head down and my eye on the prize, I want to eliminate the stuff all around me that keeps my life chained to cleaning and picking up. I want to spend more time doing the stuff that matters without getting easily overwhelmed.
I know that I’m not alone. If you have been feeling the same way, I highly encourage you to start by grabbing a copy of Ruth’s book:
Unstuffed: Decluttering Your Home, Mind, and Soul
Join Me For a Challenge!
And I’d love for you to join me for a challenge called the De-clutter Your Past 21 Day Challenge where I’m going to specifically focus on getting rid of stuff we’ve held onto for decades that are crowding our lives. If you’d like to join this self-paced challenge, just give me your first name and email and when the challenge starts you’ll get the emails, the printables and the resources to tackle some projects with me that you may have avoided for some time. Let’s break free from stuff together!
I’d love to hear about some of your clutter challenges in the comments section below!
Kim Anderson is the organized chaos loving author behind the Thrifty Little Mom Blog. She helps other people who thrive in organized chaos to stress less, remember more and feel in control of their time, money, and home. Kim is the author of: Live, Save, Spend, Repeat: The Life You Want with the Money You Have. She’s been featured on Time.com, Money.com, Good Housekeeping, Women’s Day, and more!