Declutter Challenge: Finding Time To Declutter

Finding time to declutter is a common problem I hear when I start to talk about decluttering with friends and family.  As a busy mom with mountains of laundry and a long list of things to do, it is often difficult to find the time to work on large declutter projects.  I would love to spend hours and hours decluttering, but I’ve got to juggle my decluttering along with everything else I do like cooking my family real food, working full-time outside of my home, and all of my kids’ activities.  For years and years, I used my “busy-ness” as an excuse for my cluttered home.  I wore my crazy schedule as a badge of honor.  Finally one day I said, “Enough!”  I may not be able to find time in my schedule to declutter large projects all at once, but I could still work on things bit by bit.

Living in clutter is exhausting.  It takes forever to find things when they are lost in clutter and that is super stressful.  It also takes forever to clean things up.  Each time I hosted a special event at my house……….birthday or other holiday……my whole family had to deal with the stress of cleaning up.  Instead of enjoying time with my family, I was often barking out commands to put away or even hide things because company was coming.  Creating stress for our family is never fun.  Less clutter means that last minute clean up is a quick dusting and floor cleaning.  Way less stressful!

So what is the solution?  Don’t make a project out of it.  Wait………what?  Instead of making a big exhausting project out of decluttering, I work on it a little at a time.  I have Easter Seals come to my house once a month and I set their arrival as a monthly goal.  I get out a box and I add to it all month long.  As I do laundry I always find clothes that the children have outgrown.  That goes into the box.  As I come across old décor that I no longer want, that goes into the box.  Change in seasons are the perfect time to eliminate clothes that won’t be worn next year.  Bit by bit I work on my house and with each box that leaves the house, I feel the weight of my cluttered home lessening. 

If we make the decision to only keep what we absolutely love and use, we will find much of our belongings are really clutter.  These items are taking up space in our home and creating a life of chaos and maybe even some sadness.  Clutter is often a symptom of something bigger.  It’s like if we have enough stuff, the hole in heart will go away.  The hole can be caused by many things, but I’m here to tell you…..no amount of stuff will fill that hole.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Decluttering frees us from the burdens of our past life and allows us to look to the future.  When there is less stuff in our home, there is room for more love.

Give it a try.  Schedule a pick up or set a goal to drop off at least one donation box per month.  Work on the clutter bit by bit and you will soon discover how much you can really accomplish when you thought that there was no time to declutter.   What will you do with all of the extra time you have when you declutter?  I have an idea………..check out my recipe index for delicious new recipes to try.  I add recipes all of the time, so I hope you come back to visit often. 

For more inspiration, motivation, and tips for decluttering, check out my Freedom From Clutter in 40 Days series.