We are now clearly into February, the year is in full swing, Christmas and new Year holidays seem like a lifetime ago, we are officially back to being busy. Life is hectic, between work, school runs, social media, social commitments and after hours activities we begin to wonder how to we can carve out some precious time for calm in our lives.
When we feel overwhelmed the best thing we can do is to cut out anything we can that overwhelms us, and then create for ourselves a more harmonious lifestyle. So this February it is time to declutter.
Decluttering is not all about our home, it is about our lifestyle too. When we declutter we offload the things that are not only cluttering up our space and our minds, but we are also eliminating things that are causing us stress.
Areas to declutter may include;
- home and particular rooms within the home
- office
- car
- calendars and commitments
- people who cause us unwanted stress
- garden
- food that is unhealthy for us
- excess cards and clutter in our wallet, or handbags
- activities we do not enjoy
- garage
- inbox for emails
- junk drawer in the kitchen
A good way to start is by making a list of the areas that you mostly want to declutter, start with your top three. Think about what is annoying you the most. Is it that you have filled your calendar with too many commitments to other people, rather than scheduling in precious time to relax, or scheduling some time with your favourite people? Perhaps it is your wardrobe and every time you open it you feel overwhelmed with the clutter? Or maybe it is you inbox for your emails?
We start the day in a decluttered space, head off in our messy car, check our email inbox only to be inundated with advertising from a million stores trying to convince us to buy things online, and then we look at out calendar and wonder if we will even get to go to the toilet before 10pm because our day is cluttered with things we don’t even want to do, or people we need to call, or text back. Truthfully we don’t even want them in our lives. On top of that we often glance at Facebook and get annoyed because people are either putting on photos of their amazing spare time activities, or are bitching about things that we don’t are about! When we live like that we find ourselves unhappy, grumpy, tired and frustrated. Did I mention tired!?
- Pick 3 areas of your life, or spaces that are feeling particularly cluttered.
- Write them down on 3 sheets of paper.
- Put them in order of importance to you. Think about what area/space that bothers you the most.
- Over the next 3 weeks dedicate one week to one task of decluttering.
Once you have identified the areas that bother you the most it will be easier to get started. You will immediately notice the difference once you begin the decluttering process.
For example when we live in a cluttered space we spend much more time cleaning it up, or looking for items we can not locate because they are usually under a pile of clutter. Decluttering your living room can lead to less things to clean, less to dust, which leads to less housework, which equals ‘winning’! Plus you can actually display the things you really do love.
When we declutter our calendar it can allow us to finally schedule time for the people we want to spend time with, or book in some quality down time. Don’t be afraid to say NO, it is not a dirty word. If you need time to spend by yourself, or time to spend with your family alone then pencil it in, that way when someone invites you somewhere you can simply say sorry I am busy that day. Try penciling in things like,
- reading a book
- board game night with the kids
- at home movie night with your partner
- watching Netflix with the dog
Know that you are entitled to let things go, it is OK to say goodbye to those old favourite jeans, it is OK to not have a coffee card for every coffee shop you have ever been to. It is OK to donate the shoe collection that you hoped would one day adorn your Sex in The City Wardrobe (you were going to have one someday), that now is just a large pile of shoes on your small wardrobes floor. It is OK to not say yes to every person who wants to follow you on social media. It is OK to say I need time, I need space, I need to breathe.
We deserve to enjoy our lives, we deserve to go slow now and then and not feel like if we blink we will miss it! If we miss a party . . so what! If our child misses an activity once in a while . . so what! If we don’t look after ourselves, we will burn out, decluttering will help set you free.
Thanks for joining me, love Mac xx
16 comments
True, True , MG.
I think a lot of our troubles will vanish if we can just start saying no. Also, I likr the idea of de cluttering, makes me feel lighter. I think I’m going to give it a go.
This post came up at the right time. Today morning I sat and cleaned my wardrobe and then sat down to clean my wallet and drawers. I feel restless when I see clutter around me. The more clutter around me the more my mind feel congested. This is a great post to begin the week. Thank you.
Brilliant post! We have very limited living space in our townhouse so I have to rule with an iron fist when it comes to clutter. I’ve still a long way to go when it comes to converting my husband but even he sees the benefits, even if not keen on maintaining it on a day to day basis! I discovered the kon marie method last year and it changed my life! I no longer feel any obligation to keep things because others have bought it or fear of needing things one day (even if that day hasn’t come for a decade!). It’s liberating. There’s some
great tips here. Everyone should declutter. It feels amazing! #mg
Ahh decluttering…whether it be clothes, mugs (yes I have loads!), emails or just stuff in my mind, it’s so important so I love this post! Thanks for sharing. #mg
This is such a timely post! I have a couple of areas to declutter – instead of thinking about it, you’ve inspired me to get to it! Thank you 🙂
When my headspace is cluttered I tend to go into a major home decluttering. I find it helps me. I’ve been sorting out big lads bedroom and we are planning a house renovation in May. Thank you for hosting 🌟 #MG
Love a good de-clutter! There’s something about a clean and clear space 🙂
I have literally just decluttered my emails and I feel like a huge weight has been lifted. It’s half term now so I will be trying to declutter. Sarah #mg
I have a junk drawer and a junk basket. Time to make some choices about these things. Toss, find a place or donate! #MG
I tend to declutter when my mind is full of things to do and i just feel i need to visually declutter to sort my thinking out! #mg
Love this Mac! My inbox is always cluttered, and my lounge too. I get the boys to clean up the lounge (when it’s possible) but can’t really get them to sort out my inbox. I like the idea of taking a week to concentrate on one thing.
#mg
I am so glad that I decided to link up with you this week, Mac. Otherwise, I would’ve missed this post. I need to declutter a lot, especially my head, there is no space left inside my head. Decluttering emails is another humongous task. 🙂
I always need to declutter my kitchen and my sitting room (particularly the table). These are the most important areas. At work, I need to declutter my desk. In fact, I would say that my desk and my cupboard at work are the most important areas because I spend so much time there. Pen x #mg
I’m actually working on the decluttering process now. I am very disorganized in general but after so much disorganization I get overwhelmed and have to throw things out that I no longer need and rearrange the furniture to feel like I have more space. I have to have space in my home. When I have that space, I feel 10 times better about everything else:) #mg
Ah I’m forever decluttering. The living room seems to be the main focus. I imagine that’s why it’s named ‘living’. #mg
I would do a daily declutter if the Mrs and the kinder would allow me to! It does clear the mind and the soul! It is important to spend time not cleaning up too — making the mess is fun, especially if you are a kiddo! xoxo #mg
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