Find Calm in the Chaos
Happy New Year to you all!!
I just love the start of a new year. Not only do I love the chance to get an actual new calendar, I love how it’s a whole blank slate of fresh starts and possibilities!
My path and focus for the days ahead started last fall when I started the 31 Days series on finishing projects in our home. Those days kick-started me into realizing that I needed to do some major organizing in our home. Now that I’m spending more time working outside the house, I want my home to welcome me in with a feeling of calm and relaxation ~ not a jumbled mess of chaos and confusion!!
I find there is a fine line when it comes to stuff. We acquire it to make our lives easier or more pleasant, but there comes a point where too much of it becomes suffocating. It becomes a burden rather than a blessing. That’s where I was. I found myself searching high and low for things that should have been easy to find. I couldn’t catch my breath beneath the clutter.
Thus, the process of SIMPLIFYING began.
I’ve decided to look long and hard at the things, systems, and spaces in our home. I’ve been asking questions like,
- “How many sets of linens do 3 beds need anyway?”
- “Will we ever need 40 bath towels ~ 20 of which are tattered and torn?”
- “Is the tupperware reproducing in the bottom drawer??”
- “Will the baby playpen I’ve been saving for my grandkids be so decomposed by then it’ll be un-usable??”
Organizing a whole house isn’t something that randomly happens overnight (sorry to break it to you!). But, it can improve in leaps and bounds one little project at a time. That’s how I’ve been approaching it (and, no, I’m not finished yet!!).
I’ll admit, we’ve done a whole lot of work that won’t be documented here on the blog. We’ve sorted and bagged, burned and recycled, and donated and sold online. I didn’t stop to document it all with pictures. Part of me was just too embarrassed by the mess and the other part of me didn’t want to lose focus on the tasks at hand!
Throughout this month, I’ll be sharing little organization projects that are “little bites” of our process of simplifying. Many of them can even be accomplished in 10 or 15 minutes.
Want to join me in the journey of simplifying your home, too? I’d love it if you did. Feel free to share your ideas, tips, and the process you use in the comment section.
Have a simply wonderful day!!:)
Rita Joy
Hi Rita Joy,
I had to laugh out loud when I read your questions to yourself 🙂 I too have thought them.
I will be joining you on the simplifying journey as I’m always trying to do that in our life and home. I have a couple of “problem” areas (our inner basement and third bedroom that I call the “dump room”) that I definitely want to tackle and defeat in 2015.
For the past few months I wanted to clean out and reorganize our glass/mug cupboard. Recently I thought that I would just do it and happened to look at the clock as I had an appointment later in the morning. I emptied, wiped down, reorganized and thinned out a few mugs and when I finished I looked a the clock and it only took 20 minutes! I couldn’t believe how little time it took and how much better it now looks! I think part of my procrastinating problem was I thought it would take much longer than it actually did. Sigh!
Hugs from (freezing) Ontario.
Heather B.