We’ve all been there—scrolling through Instagram, admiring people’s perfect kitchens, and pinning storage ideas on Pinterest for that elusive hall closet transformation. It’s easy to feel overwhelmed, thinking we can’t make our homes look anything like those picture-perfect posts.
Social media often leaves us feeling defeated before we even start. If we can’t go out and buy six matching baskets right now, the idea of getting organized seems impossible. The pursuit of perfection becomes a roadblock to decluttering and cleaning because we believe we need the perfect items to make it happen. Hello, procrastination!
Perfectionism is a risk factor for performance anxiety and procrastination. You expect a great performance. You have doubts whether you can achieve perfection. You have an urge to diverge and do something less threatening. You wait until you can be perfect. This is an example of a perfectionism-driven procrastination.
But here’s a secret I need to share with you—most of what we see on social media isn’t reality. Sure, it might be someone’s goals and dreams, but rarely is it an accurate representation of real life. Don’t let the illusion of perfection prevent you from creating routines and making your spaces work for you within your budget.
Step one—declutter. You can’t organize clutter, and having an excess of stuff makes organization nearly impossible. Once you’ve narrowed it down to what fits in your space (if it doesn’t fit, you probably have too much), decide how to organize it. Whether it’s baskets, boxes, or Rubbermaid containers, you don’t need to break the bank. I spent most of my life using cardboard boxes—they were free! Don’t let money stop you from being organized; work with what you have.
Keep it simple, especially for kids. Too many specific categories can be frustrating for everyone. The goal is to make things run more smoothly.
If you know you’ll get frustrated and overwhelmed, avoid taking everything out of a room at once. Work on one drawer or closet for 15 minutes, then stop. Don’t pull out more than you can put back in that amount of time. Consistency is key—keep at it, and you’ll see results.
Lastly, stick to your daily routines. Organizing isn’t a one-and-done thing. Consistent routines will help you stay organized and on top of things. Check out the ‘routines’ page here to see those!
Remember, you don’t have to wait until you have all the baskets and all the time in the world to organize. It doesn’t need to be perfect; it just needs to be functional. Don’t let perfection lead to procrastination.
Happy decluttering and organizing with what you have today!
Pssst…. It’s Time to Take the Christmas Decorations Down
I don’t know who needs to hear this, but it’s time to take the Christmas decorations down.
As I sit here typing this, my gaze drifts across the street to our neighbor’s house, still brightly adorned for Christmas. While I genuinely appreciate the beautiful lights, angels, and the lighted deer in the yard before Christmas, once the new year has begun, it starts feeling more like clutter than decor.
I’m all in for the Christmas tree and everything that comes with it, the day after Thanksgiving! Bring it on! I love every bit of it—the beautiful tree in the living room, the festive music, and the neighborhood lights. It’s cozy and fills me with joy.
However, as soon as the kids have torn through the packages on Christmas morning, the coziness starts turning into a bit of a mess. I begin to yearn for that clean feeling back in my living room, missing the space taken up by a tree that’s now missing most of its lower decorations, thanks to the cats, and a ribbon hanging a bit wonky.
After everyone leaves, and the house is cleaned up with the food put away, the tree starts to stare at me with its skirt all wrinkled up and no presents to cover it. It seems to be leaning a bit. It reminds me of someone at the office Christmas party who’s had a couple too many! It seems to want to be put back in its box so that it can emerge glorious again next year, the day after Christmas!
To design the future effectively, you must first let go of your past.
-Charles J. Givens
I’ve been known to take the tree down ON Christmas day. No, I’m not a Grinch! Those pine needles, though! What a mess! We generally take our tree down the next day. It’s not nearly as fun as putting them up, but in the end, the house is all clean, I have that space back, and I’m ready to face the New Year without dragging last year into it! We had a tradition for many years of burning our Christmas tree in the back yard as a way of symbolizing the end of the year and the beginning of a new one.
So, dear neighbors, I know it’s cold out, but it’s time to put the Christmas decorations away.
A few weeks ago, my mom passed away. She was an amazing woman, blessed with numerous gifts and talents that touched the lives of many. It’s challenging to comprehend the extent of her impact. Recently, we held a service to celebrate her life, and the turnout was overwhelming. Person after person, each sharing a unique connection with her—be it as a beloved schoolteacher, a recipient of her prayers, or someone she supported during tough times—stood up to share their memories. I feel profoundly honored to have called her my mom and was moved by the stories of lives she touched and changed.
Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her:
Proverbs 31:20
Today, I went to the Assisted Living home to collect her belongings. Armed with several boxes, I only brought two inside. It became apparent that many things needed to be discarded, prompting me to request a garbage sack. I carefully folded her clothes and placed them in the boxes, intending to donate them to a charity where someone else can appreciate them. Two apple boxes were all it took to contain her entire worldly possessions. It struck me—this was all she had, all she ever needed, and now she didn’t need any of it.
We’ve all heard the saying, “You can’t take it with you,” but its profound truth resonated with me in that moment. My mom doesn’t care about the stuff she used to collect—the yarn, the fabric, the dishes. Whatever she’s doing in heaven, it certainly doesn’t involve missing her possessions.
The next time you find yourself decluttering or deciding whether to keep something, remember, in the end, none of it holds much importance. You can’t take it with you.
Change can be undeniably challenging. When we encounter something new, our brains tend to react defensively, clinging to the familiar. Our “normal” feels safe, while change demands that we venture out of our comfort zone. Despite this, we often strive for change, seeking personal and situational improvements. But the actual process of change can be daunting.
Sometimes, we find ourselves in tough situations – a job, a relationship, or a financial scenario – where change appears to be the solution. Yet, even when we’re uncomfortable with our current situation, it paradoxically becomes comfortable over time.
Transforming habits to better organize our homes can be a shared aspiration, but it’s a challenging journey. Even if we’re dissatisfied with our current state, it remains our comfort zone. Additionally, it impacts our families, who may not embrace change readily. So, how can we make this process smoother for everyone?
First, pay attention to your self-talk. You can change the dialogue in your mind, convincing yourself that this change is positive and will ultimately enhance your life.
Don’t attempt to change everything at once. Altering established habits and situations demands conscious effort, and tackling too much simultaneously can be overwhelming. Small changes can set a cascade of positive alterations in motion, so start with simplicity.
Stay acutely aware of the benefits of the changes you’re making. Visualize how your life will improve post-change. Use this as motivation. It’s easier to commit to something when there’s a visible reward on the horizon.
Persevere! Understand that success often involves setbacks. Keep moving forward; it’s an integral part of the process.
Introduce new rules, expectations or routines to your family with sensitivity. Give them a degree of control over these changes. Explain the benefits in terms that matter to them, not just you. Your teenage son might not be too concerned about your inner peace but framing it as something that benefits them can help.
Support and encourage rather than criticize. Praise their efforts, and be patient. Let them know that change is challenging for you too, but you’re a team and can face it together.
Change is indeed challenging, but it’s also rewarding and vital for growth and progress in life.
Be like a flower: weather the rain, but use it as nourishment to grow.
Choose to change! Choose to have a home and routines that will ultimately give you and your family more time and give you the peace you deserve. I believe in you!
As my siblings and I continue to clear out and clean our parents’ home, I’ve been struck by how just a few years of neglect can take a toll on a once-vibrant space. Of course, it’s not their fault – circumstances prevented them from keeping up. No one had ventured into the basement for years. Regardless of the reasons, the regrettable aftermath isn’t easy to face, and now we’re faced with a series of repairs. Neglect has become a topic that’s been constantly on my mind during this process.
“Taking care of your possessions is an investment in yourself.”
– Brian Tracy
However, not doing anything is still a conscious choice. Neglecting tasks that should be done is essentially choosing to let things fall into disrepair or become damaged, simply by doing nothing at all. A classic example of this is the sight of old abandoned barns when you drive through the countryside. Left untouched for years, they eventually collapse due to neglect. In our own homes, neglecting basic maintenance could lead to thousands of dollars in repairs.
“Taking care of what you have allows what you have to take care of you.” –
Sarah Ban Breathnach
Consider the scenario where a neglected basement leads to a water leak and subsequent mold growth. Dealing with this could cost thousands, and that’s not even considering the repair work. Ignoring garage cleaning might invite mice, leading to a host of problems that aren’t easy to eliminate. These are just a couple of examples showcasing how not taking action actually results in something happening.
So, take the time to perform regular maintenance in your home. Pay attention to the areas you might not normally notice. It’s an investment that could save you significant time and money down the road.
“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.” – 1
Confession time: I’m a big fan of to-do lists. There’s something incredibly satisfying about jotting down tasks and triumphantly crossing them off. Between us, I’ve even been caught adding tasks I’ve already completed, just for the sheer joy of checking them off again. Can you blame me? The visual of all those ticked boxes just makes my day.
But here’s the twist: lately, I’ve stumbled upon a different kind of list that’s been a game-changer – the procrastination list. I know what you’re thinking – a list to help me procrastinate? But hear me out.
Life gets busy. Sometimes, the things we genuinely want or need to do get pushed aside by the hustle and bustle. That’s where the procrastination list comes in. It’s a friendly reminder of those tasks we’ve been putting off – the ones that nag at the back of our minds but somehow never make it to the top of the traditional to-do list.
Picture this: You’re updating your regular list, confidently crossing items off left and right. And then, there it is, glaring at you like an unfulfilled promise – the procrastination list. Suddenly, you’re faced with that blog post you’ve been meaning to write, the closet you’ve been meaning to organize, or the exercise routine you’ve been meaning to start. It’s a reality check, a gentle nudge to finally get those neglected tasks back into the limelight.
The best part? As soon as you conquer something from the procrastination list, it’s a double win. Not only do you get the satisfaction of accomplishing a task, but you also get the sweet joy of transferring it from the procrastination list to the regular to-do list, just to revel in the glory of crossing it off.
So, while to-do lists are undeniably fantastic for tracking daily tasks, let’s not forget about the power of the procrastination list. It’s not about promoting procrastination, but about prioritizing those tasks that need a little extra push. Plus, it makes the to-do list game a whole lot more interesting.
Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday.
Clutter is a thief we have invited into our home. It robs us of peace, joy, money and time. It has a detrimental effect on our mental wellbeing, our creativity, productivity and causes brain fog and fatigue. Research shows that clutter increases stress, anxiety, and depression. It is impossible to relax when there is clutter because your brain must process everything continually.
Conquering clutter is possible! Decluttering doesn’t have to be a giant project in which everything in the house is pulled out, every item touched and decided on in a weekend. Decluttering is not just getting rid of unwanted items. It is about developing new habits and systems and sticking to them to prevent clutter from taking over again.
Have a plan. What area causes you the most stress? Start there. How much time can you spend decluttering in that area? Be realistic. If you can do ten minutes a day, great! Do not make goals you cannot achieve. You will end up discouraged. Little bits of time each day or each week does make a difference!
You will need three boxes, one for trash, one for donate, one for relocate. If you have ten minutes, choose one drawer or one small section of the room. Set your timer for the time you have predetermined. Trash, toss it. Be brutal. Donate things that are useable and in good shape. Don’t make Goodwill take your junk to the dump. Anything that you are keeping that doesn’t belong in that area goes in the relocate box. Don’t take those things somewhere else until you are done. That is how you end up bouncing all over the house and never getting anything done. Never pull out more than you can put back in your allotted time!
Look at your now decluttered area. What do you need to do to keep it that way? If we do not change our habits, then it will go back to the way it was in no time.
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of.
Jim Rohn
Habits of an uncluttered home:
Everything needs a home, and everything needs to live in its home.
Don’t put it down, put it away.
Do it now. NOT later.
Make decluttering a daily habit.
Never leave a room empty handed.
Only touch it once.
Take the trash out, relocate things to their proper homes and take the donate box to the car. Do NOT leave it in your car for three months. It would be better to throw it all away than have mobile clutter!
Your clutter is someone else’s blessing. Get the clutter out, calm the chaos with new habits, welcome in the peace and bless others in need at the same time.
In the mid nineteenth century thousands of people journeyed west taking everything they had with them in a covered wagon. The covered wagon was the mivivan of the emigrant trails. It’s hard to picture just how much stuff you could fit in a covered wagon, but I am pretty sure it wasn’t a lot. I can’t imagine getting many of my possessions in a minivan or even suburban, along with the kids and dog.
(credit: State Historical Society, Columbia)
I am going to go ahead and guess that the pioneers of that time didn’t have a clutter problem. There were no “storage marts” or Pod containers to rent. Clutter is an issue that we created later on. An issue that has come at a cost!
The problem: we put more value on our stuff than on our space.
Francine Jay
So just how much does your clutter cost? Clutter costs us in more than just dollars but lets just talk about the dollars to start.
23% of people in America have a bedroom that is not being used for anything except to store clutter. 70% of the clutter in that room has not been used in 10 years. 20% of people can not use their garage for it’s purpose, a car, because it is too full of clutter.
Let’s figure the cost of the space being used. Say you have a 2000 sq ft home that is worth 400k. (That number is ridiculously low where I live but we are just going to use that number.) Take the cost of your home divided by the square footage. In this case $200 per square foot. If you are using a small 10’x10′ bedroom for your clutter then the clutter in that room is taking up 20K !!! Now let’s assume the garage is a very small two car garage, 20’x20′, 400 square feet, that equals 80k! One hundred thousand dollars of your home is being used to contain clutter!!!! That is absolutely mind blowing!!
Not only do we store clutter in our homes but we rent storage units to store our clutter as well. In the U.S., 65% of self-storage renters have a garage in their home, 47% have an attic, and 33% have a basement. This suggests that Americans have more things than their homes allow them…in other words, clutter. The average storage unit costs appoximately $150 a month, often more than that. Plus you need to pay renters insurance to cover the contents of the unit. That is a minimun of $1800 per year to house clutter.
We are now very aware of how expensive it is to keep our clutter. We haven’t even mentioned how much it cost us to aquire it in the first place…which is ironically the reason many people continue to pay more money to keep the clutter.
What other ways does our clutter cost us? Time for one. Did you know that we spend about one whole year of our lives looking for something we have lost or misplaced? If our homes are cluttered it is easy to lose things and harder to find them. Clutter makes everything take longer. Too many clothes makes it harder and takes longer to find something to wear. Too many piles of mail makes it hard to find that important paper you need. Too many knick knacks makes it too hard to dust easily. Losing your keys in clutter on the counter can cause you to be late.
Clutter costs us Space, like the bedroom full of clutter. That space could be used for a grandchild’s sleepover or a friend coming from out of town. It could be used as an office or a sewing/hobby room. Clutter robs us of those opportunities because it takes up space. It isnt that we dont have enough room… we have too much stuff.
Clutter takes more energy. Clutter has to be worked around, moved, shoved back, and dealt with in someway. Clutter makes 40% more housework and makes it more difficult as welll. First you have to clean….before you can clean!
Clutter affects our memory and our focus. Did you know that clutter affects your brain? Our brains like order, and constant visual reminders of disorganization drain our cognitive resources, meaning our brains have to constantly “do something” with what it is seeing. Clutter is like an app running in the background. We aren’t able to give other things our full attention, reducing our ability to focus. The visual distraction of clutter increases cognitive overload and can reduce our working memory.
Sleep is also affected when there is clutter. Clutter causes stress in your brain, because it has to continually process it. Stress raises cortisol which makes hard to sleep, makes us gain weight, causes anxiety, and many other physical issues. Research has shown that being in a messy room will make you twice as likely to eat a chocolalte bar than an apple and people with extremely cluttered homes are 77% more likely to be overweight.
Happiness and relationships are affected by clutter. All those things just mentioned are going to have a toll on our mental well being which in turn affects all our relationships.
Our home is not just a storage space. Our home is supposed to be our refuge from the world and stress around us. It is supposed to be our “happy place”.
So next time you are tempted to just toss those jeans that don’t fit in the extra bedroom… maybe take them to a charity instead. You will be accomplishing two good things at once.
Make a desicion to spend 15 minutes each day “decluttering”. Getting rid of clutter doesn’t have to be an event! Make it a habit!
One of the best ways to win the war with clutter is not bringing it home. Think about your purchases carefully. Do you really need it? Do you have a home for it? What do you need to get rid of if you buy it?
Things to remember as you go about your home. “Don’t put it down, put it away.” “Everything has a home and everything in its home.” “Don’t touch anything twice, put it where it belongs the first time.”
You can have a clutter free house! You deserve that. Do it for your wallet, your time, your energy, your brain, your health, your happiness and for your family! Don’t let clutter rob you anymore!
Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom. 33 Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys. 34 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
We are all grateful for our family, our homes, and our “stuff” but we don’t often consciously think about it. Those things are just always there. If you suddenly didn’t have a home and then it was returned to you, you’d really be grateful for it! We tend to take those things for granted. You know who isn’t taking those things for granted? Ukrainians.
When I watch the news and see so many people who just a few weeks ago had homes and families and jobs and lives just like we do, and now their families are torn apart, they are running in fear from their own country with only a few items in a back pack….I feel so blessed? Lucky? Actually I feel pretty crappy that we (all of us not in that situation) take so much for granted and even complain about what we don’t have or what a bad day we had at work. I dare any one of us to find something valid to complain about. Can you imagine saying to a refugee, “I had the worst day at work today! It was so busy I didn’t even get my lunch break!”….ummm. yikes. Or how about “I am so tired of my dumb phone, I need a new one!” Or “I cant give up my ten pair of shoes I don’t wear! Those were expensive!”. “What if I need that ____ (fill in the blank) someday?” Perspective. We have so much and we hang on to it like our life depends on it but forget to be grateful for it. It is just clutter in a closet. They are incredibly grateful for the little they have and have lost so much. I pray for those people, that they can soon rebuild their lives. I pray that we can learn from them and change our perspective.
Let’s honor those refugees by exercising gratitude for each thing that we use, look at, consume, throw away or give away. Really pay attention to the things you have and use. Even the little things you don’t normally think of. The garage door opener, the TV remote, the refrigerator, the glass pan you used for dinner, your tennis shoes. Notice them. Thank God for them and thank them.. yes them, your tennis shoes, for the work they do to benefit you.
Practicing intense gratitude like this in a daily basis actually changes your brain!! Gratitude lights up the reward pathways in your brain boosting serotonin and dopamine, making you feel happier, more secure and help you think clearly. It will help you make good decisions. Gratitude is like a God’s anti anxiety medication! We could all use a little of that!
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.
— Colossians 3:15
This blog post doesn’t sound like a house keeping post but it really is!
Be grateful for and take care of what you do have.
Think of others by not selfishly hanging on to things you don’t need.
Those two key things are what keeps a house clean and clutter free! When you practice those you will have a peaceful home that is a haven for you and your family.
Please pray with me for the people of Ukraine. Keep perspective.
“Prayer is not a preparation for the battle; it is the battle!”
The Self Cleaning House 