Happy Monday! I hope your weekend was restful, and that you have a wonderful week.
Today, we’re talking about clutter and the first step to containing it. As a therapist, I have seen firsthand the effect your home can have on your mental health. Your home is not only the place where you live and sleep but a reflection of who you are as a person. I’ll never forget when my previous supervisor told me, “If you have a cluttered house, you probably have a cluttered mind too.” This quote has stuck with me because I continuously find it to be true. The times where I feel like the house is in a state of chaos from toys everywhere or whatever it may be, I truly feel like my mind is in a state of chaos too.
I have also seen it with so many of the clients I service. It is hard to feel happy, confident, and at peace when your house is full of clutter, and you can’t find things you need. That’s why having a system of organization is so important.
Does my house get messy? 100% yes. And, am I okay with that? Also, 100% yes. I have two toddlers and a puppy so my house will never be perfect, BUT there are things that help me contain the chaos and help me to keep my house fairly tidy, which boosts my mood. I also have gotten rid of the anxiety of never being able to find things (especially keys 😂) so my mornings are much smoother. Your house should be your sanctuary, not a source of stress!
The first step to organizing and tidying your home is to figure out what type of system will work for you. Organization is individualized, and a lot of times one of the reasons we can’t keep our house tidy is because we are using organization systems that aren’t working for us. If you haven’t already, I highly recommend taking the Clutterbug quiz to learn which organizing style will work best for you. I learned that I’m a ladybug and need big containers with no lids to store my things, which makes so much sense because I was using small containers with lids before and would just end up throwing stuff on top. 😅
Above is a picture of our sofa table and how we use it for organization. We have big baskets to throw shoes in (because taking them off and putting them on a shoe rack in the closet was not happening) and a big bowl to keep our keys and sunglasses in. I use the little boxes for small things that we don’t use every day. It’s easy for us to toss our keys into the bowl, and we’re never running around looking for them in the mornings.
We use these cute storage baskets and cube storage system in our playroom. For us, it’s easy to just throw toys into baskets at the end of the day.
Everyone is different. Finding your organization style will make organizing your home SO much easier, and you’ll be much more likely to keep up with it. Trust me.
Another thing that has been really helpful for us is donating unused clothes and toys regularly. We always have a VVA bag we can put things in and schedule a pickup about once a month. It’s a great way to get rid of unused items so you don’t end up with clutter while also supporting a good cause. If you’re having a hard time deciding which things to keep or give away, have a box or basket to store them in while you decide. That way they’re still organized and not causing clutter.
Do you have clutter in your home? What things do you do to keep the clutter at bay? Let me know in the comments!
XOXO,
Liz
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