Cleaning House

A cluttered mind often becomes overwhelmed and shuts down. All of the chaos makes it challenging to think clearly.

A cluttered home often becomes overwhelmed and shuts down. The chaos makes it difficult to function and enjoy the space.

For me, a disorganized home and an overworked brain often go hand in hand. All of the untidiness eventually leads to me feeling defeated in trying to keep up with it all. This week I'd had enough!

Cleaning House

This past week I was a bit like the character in the children’s book, “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie” by Laura Numeroff. Have you read it? I love her books! 

My mind was cluttered with so many thoughts and ideas that I couldn’t seem to focus. I looked around at my home and just kept seeing all of the little stuff that adds up quickly and takes up space. My brain would start thinking about all that needed to be done and then I would walk away from my desk to clear my head. The cycle would start and I would become distracted by the chores I knew I needed to work on.

I recognized that I needed to clean up before I could really focus on what was important. I started by taking down all of the Christmas decorations and cleaning the house. The more I cleaned, the more I got distracted by other items that needed to be taken care of. I started on the pantry but noticed items had been put away incorrectly so I started organizing them. That took me to the baking cupboard. 

If you know G, you know she has a LOT of baking items. It was a hot mess from all the holiday baking. So what does any sane person do? They take EVERYTHING out of the cupboard and reorganize. Then they determine that the items need to be moved to a different space and they take apart that area to fit the baking bins. It felt as if my endorphins were kicking in. Seeing the organized spaces, I was getting energy and great joy.

Once that was done I moved on to clean my bedroom. We live in Texas and there is ALWAYS dust. I dust the furniture and the very next day it’s dusty again. Drives me crazy! I was dusting my room and noticed the blinds needed cleaning, which led to the windows being washed too. Then I was vacuuming and realized the carpets could use a wash so I cleaned the carpet. I made it into the closet and decided that I really needed to deep clean and organize in there. I could have straightened things up and moved on, but the clutter bothered me.

It was time to reorganize and not just a little bit. I went through every stitch of clothing and shoes to determine if it was to be kept, donated, or thrown away. Did the same process for my husband’s side of the closet. It felt so satisfying that I had to keep going. Out came the plastic tubs of old papers and miscellaneous items that we had kept for far too long. I took everything out of the big closet and cleaned the carpets in there too. Then I started to reload only the items that we truly still use. I spent hours on the floor of my room organizing old papers, pictures, and more. 

Donations have been delivered. The trash and recycle bins are overflowing as they wait for this week’s pick-up. I feel like a weight has been lifted. I’m not even done yet, there are more rooms to go through and repeat the process.

Each time I walk into my pantry, bedroom, and closet now, I feel a sense of calm that comes over me. A feeling of accomplishment and happiness. I've removed the clutter and made space for an open mind and new ideas.