Since I mind detoxed about a fortnight ago I have really seen the knock on effects of letting go of my ex. (If you missed it you can read the blog post HERE).
:: I’ve stopped craving sugar (and now lost nearly 3 kgs).
:: I feel much more zen and have stopped rushing around.
AND for some weird reason I’ve had this desire to really declutter my home all of a sudden.
Which got me thinking. Could clutter be the sign of an anxious mind? Or is it just the way I’ve been? I’ve always been this person who can let an area go untidy but after a while it has to be cleaned and put back to order. My desk at work (where I still work 2 days as a high school teacher), I will clear at the end of the day as I want to come back to a clean workspace.
Once Flynn started crawling about, things in our home started to get moved to new heights. Our coffee table is no longer in the lounge room, we have bits and pieces of ‘stuff’ on top of the T.V cabinet still driving me nuts and the linen cupboard…well let’s just say things were also just getting stuffed and shoved in there. Every time I would open the cupboard to find things I just felt overwhelmed.
This week (once I got over the worst part of my cold), I went to KMART and picked up a few plastic tubs so that I could sort my cleaning cloths, baby face washers, tea towels and so on and keep them compartmentalised. I even cut up cardboard boxes so that I could put things into:
Now everything feels oh so much more peaceful.
I then went through the cutlery drawers in the kitchen and decluttered the junk that was piling up in there. Then I saw how many cups we have! Seriously. No one needs this many cups:
So I’m going to repurpose those ones and make soy candles in them with a few drops of beautiful essential oils into them.
In the book “Life at Home in the 21st Century” , anthropologists, archaeologists and social scientists found that there were links between how much ‘stuff’ you have in your home and the homeowner’s health! An average room according to this book can contain up to 2000 items in it! No wonder we as women with anxiety get overwhelmed.
So what can you do?
Here are my go to tips to declutter (even if you have anxiety).
- Start with one area and do it well. Survey the area. What do you need to help keep it organised? Do you have stuff you can repurpose to help contain it all?
- If it’s broken, mouldy, gross, seen better days then get rid of it.
- If it’s still in good order but no longer ‘sparks joy’ (that’s the Kon Mari Method if you haven’t heard about it you can read more HERE) either sell it or give it away to charity (but please give your good stuff to charity not your crappy broken seconds).
That’s it and it worked for me.
With anxiety you have to start small. One area and one set time. Not decluttering multiple areas on the go.
Do you find clutter drives you nuts? Or are you ok with it? I’d love to know. Comment below. Please also share using the buttons below if you loved the post.
If you’d like help with being accountable with decluttering your home I’d love to help. Email me: thebutterflyhouse@dianabraybrooke.com and find out how you can break the decluttering down into smaller more manageable steps so your anxiety can take a flying leap away!
Love a good declutter session to improve mood and feel energised again!
Hey lovely. I only just read your comment as I have had internet connectivity issues. It feels so good hey! We’ve cleaned out the front room now so Flynn can use it as a play room and we’ve also hired a cleaner once a fortnight now so that we can eliminate some of the stress I feel every week! It’s a small price to pay so that we can alleviate any anxiety I have 🙂 Thanks for commenting.