Making a home sweet home for peace of mind.
I'm not a hoarder, well at least not a conscious one. Part of my trouble comes from my countless piles of 'we could sell these' items throughout the house, from old baby clothes to crockery - we have it stashed. This is all my doing, Mr. Waffle would happily empty the whole house into a skip and start again. Maybe I need to take a lesson from him on this one? We need the money though and we could sell it. It's just finding the time to actually do it that has got me in this chaos.
It's time for a clear out.
I have terrible anxiety at the moment and our home is starting to simply drown me. I can't keep on top of the every day with two Tasmanian devils undoing and adding to every good deed, let alone create any kind of calm tidy space. A little mess is fine, clutter and hoarding is not. I want to stay in the house, but the sheer volume of jobs makes me want to run from it, not the best mix! I find that just clearing as I go behind the kids trail of destruction is quite enough to full my day, let alone anything else. I feel both agoraphobic and claustrophobic at the same time, it definitely adds to my stress levels.
The way the house is right now leaves me constantly thinking 'I hope nobody turns up at the door'. I can't relax knowing that I have so much to do in and out the house, knowing that I would have to work around the clock on it at the moment to get it where I need it to be, in order to clear my mind. With kids, work, pets, zero energy and several more excuses - I am struggling with it. How do people do it all?
I decided to try and look into ways of getting organised. I buy heaps of storage items, but without anywhere cleared for the actual storage, it just adds to the clutter and gives the kids something else to empty onto the only space I have cleared. Does this stuff even need to be stored or kept?
I've started with a few ways by which I will hopefully get this house sorted and clutter free, freeing both my mind and living space of excess items that weigh down my everyday thinking and living.
- Tackle one room at a time
- Keep our front room calm, tidy and toy free
- Clear out every drawer & cupboard of rubbish and unused items
- Go back through my clothes, get rid of any that are now too big or that I won't wear, however much I love them
- Sort out and hang current kids clothes
- Sort old kids clothes into sellable/charity piles
- List kids clothes to sell on eBay
- Put things to keep in the loft
- Catch up with washing
- Clear landing of clutter
- Clean kitchen cupboards and donate food we won't eat
- Clear surfaces
- Make space - throw things out!
- Have another toy cull
Fingers crossed for some sleep and energy to make this possible. I hope writing it here and updating will inspire me to get started. I can't wait to see what effect this has and if it makes my head as clear as our home.
How do you keep on top of things? Do you have any tips and tricks for keeping the home clutter free? I'd love to know how all you other Mum's juggle everything.
Thanks for reading,
Wafflemama
