Your Guide to Stress-Free Home Organization
This week, I’m listening to Atomic Habits by James Clear. In it, he says:
Fall in love with the process, not the outcome.
When it comes to clutter, I couldn’t agree more.
Google “home organizing” and you will be flooded with thousands of beautifully curated After pics,
showcasing what our homes and lives can look like, if only we just “get it together.”
And for as inspiring as these beautiful images are, sometimes they can actually make getting organized more difficult for us.
They can help us to feel inspired, and even to help us brainstorm what we want our spaces to look like.
But they can also make us feel like we’re failing if we’re not living up to what other people are posting, or if our systems don’t sound like what we just read in the latest organizing best-seller.
So often we get so focused on the goal that the actual process of organizing feels heavy and overwhelming. The truth is that the mainstream systems and photos may not at all be a good fit for you, your aesthetic, or your lifestyle.
When we’re goal-focused, each step in our decluttering and organizing process can feel like a heavy burden. It seems like each stack of clutter is an enemy,
blocking us from finally experiencing the beautiful image we see in our mind (or on Pinterest or IG).
Now, I’m not saying we should stop setting goals, or stop looking at these inspiring images.
Instead, I would like to invite you to start focusing more on small, meaningful actions that are within your control.
Think of these as an act of loving yourself by caring for your home.
Instead of feeling like you’ve failed if your home isn’t Pinterest-worthy, look for small actions that will help you build momentum in creating the home of your dreams.
For example:
- Take 20 minutes at the end of the day to clear your kitchen countertop
- Spend 5 minutes collecting cardboard boxes in your garage and recycle them
- Play a board game in your living room (instead of waiting for it to be fully organized first)
- After you wash your face, wipe down your bathroom counter
These may not seem like much, but each of these small actions creates a powerful result. They move you into action, help you feel what it’s like to make changes, and break you out of overwhelmed paralysis.
If taking small actions feels totally pointless to you, you’re not alone.
For many people they feel like if they can’t get a big payoff from their actions, it just isn’t worth doing.
But that will just keep you stuck and feeling stressed out. If you need to make these small tasks more interesting, integrate music…or maybe even call one of your besties and work together.
And reward yourself for taking action. Reward the effort more than the end result.
Because even when you get completely organized, you’re always going to need to refresh and maintain your home.
This is one of the most important habits you can acquire…to make the act of organizing and caring for your spaces as important (if not more important) than how things look or achieving some goal.
You deserve to live a life of joy and self-care…whether you can park in your cluttered garage, or not.
Think of one action you would like to start to take on a regular basis that will help move you in the direction of the organized life
If you feel like sharing your action with me, comment below and share what you’ll be working on.
Cheering you on…excited for all you’re creating!
