I wish I had 3 days to declutter my entire home. I choose to use my time differently and thus, I'm challenged with organizing my home creatively. Here are a few suggestions:
1. Ignore it until you can do something about it. This may sound bad but it worked for me. The space under my kitchen sink never really had a purpose. I did keep a few cleaning products there. I also kept every plastic bag in the universe. I know, bad for the environment. It wasn't until my third move that I did something about it. Ignored that space for years because the cabinet under my sink was not highly visible. I also did not have a goal in mind for it. I did know I needed to dimish the amount of plastic bags I had. I started to shop with reusable bags. I stuck with it (and I also went to places that offered zero bags) and now we are in a much better place. Last week, I finally decided what to do with the space under my kitchen cabinet. The problem was that it was still a mess but I was going to have family over to help me for a few days. I know it can be frustrating when you want to help someone and you can't find anything in their home. I decided to organize cleaning products, paper towels and trash bags in that space. A quick visit to the thrift store gave me the organization tools I needed. Today, that space looks much better. I'm glad I ignored it until I could do something about it.
2. Hide some stuff. Have you noticed that all the organization/ decoration people don't have a great collection of "stuff" in the rooms they display? While I'm not willing to throw all my things away, I am willing to hide some stuff. At this point, I have successfully hidden everything Christmas, Thanksgiving and Valentine's Day. I have also hidden some summer decor things. I also hide kitchen gadgets I don't use every day. I hide my crockpot. I hide my food processor... you get the point. It seems that the less stuff you have on display, the more organized a room looks.
3. Don't sweat the small stuff. There is something beautiful about a family home. The "mess" in multiple rooms is a sign of life. Children will grow, adults will move on to the next great thing. Stressing out about perfection is not the way to go. I find that if I strive for perfection I won't achieve it. I also don't want people to have an impression that we live in a home that could be in the cover of Martha Stewart Living. We live in a home where our family is loved and nurtured. We find renew our strength there and we love one another there. All of this requires quite a bit of "mess." I know one day the kids will grow and the memories will stay. I know one day, they will fly away and be all that God's called them to be. While they are here, I won't sweat the small stuff.
4. Work strictly smarter. I have a limited amount of time to dedicate to cleaning so I need to work smarter. Some days, I ask the kids to help with laundry. Their help is always welcome because it saves a lot of time and effort. I have also learned how long it takes me to complete a task. If I know how long it takes, I can confidently start and finish a project. Working smarter is a great thing.
I'm glad I am always finding ways to stay organized without having to commit enormous amounts of time to each task.
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