Since having kids and giving up our spare rooms, the clutter around the house has become completely overwhelming. I wrote recently about decluttering and this past week we have started out on one big fat declutter in our house. We need to make space, and we (well mainly I) need to let go of all the old things we no longer use.
Living in a house surrounded by clutter has a huge effect on your mental health. When rooms are tidy I feel far more relaxed, when our bedroom is spotless I sleep better. So why is it that yet again we have found ourselves drowning in clutter, feeling like the walls are closing in?
In the name of all things fad, I've ordered the Marie Kondo book which will be arriving this week. This book is said to help you get on top of your living space in terms of clutter and also change your mindset so that you never get back to living that way. I have high hopes that this will help for me, but pending its arrival I've set out to bagging up old clothes and baby bits and after just one week we have a whopping 12 big bin bags all packed ready for the Charity shop and we've barely scratched the surface.
These bags are full of things some of which have never even been worn! I would love to sell them and frankly we really need the money, but equally need the space and the feeling of a less hectic home. Selling stuff is great if you actually get your bums in gear and do it, we just don't.
I can't wait to have space to put things instead of overflowing. I can't wait for things to have a rightful place and not just be pushed to one side in a quick tidy. I can't wait to open my wardrobe and be greeted by clothes I can actually wear! It's stupid that the house has managed to get this way, but just keeping up with the kids daily trail of destruction is quite enough despite getting anywhere near all the rest.
Now though, a little extra effort is being made to do a big declutter, a deep clean and a whopping great clear out so that we have an actual functioning family home! A little mess is fine, but every drawer, cupboard and surface being piled with things we probably don't need is not. I'll be taking my own advice, working through my decluttering tips and hopefully getting the calm organised home that we so desperately need.
Do you need a bit of a declutter in your home? Where would you start?
