The Game Changer of Ruthlessly Decluttering

I see you, Mama. 

I see you tirelessly (and thanklessly) working from sun-up to waaay past sun-down. I see you wiping butts, kissing owie's, cutting grapes, and trying to go to the bathroom (unsuccessfully) alone. I see you trying to manage your household all while meeting the hundreds (or thousands?) demands of your daily life. I see you trying to hold it all together while you feel like you are falling apart. 

I see you and I know you, because I was in your shoes.

When I began my journey with decluttering and “Minimal-ish” living, I truly had no idea how many aspects of my life would change for the better. I figured my house would be less messy, which honestly? Is the only reason I needed. (Raise your hand if you despise cleaning like me!)

But the other benefits that surprised me?

Talk about a GAME. CHANGER.

Seriously.

More patience with my kids? Check.

More patience with my husband? Check.

Less anxiety? HUGE check.

More time to read? Or watch a movie? Or go for a hike? Or volunteer? Or make up dance routines with my daughters? Check.

Less tension in my home? Check.

Drastically reduced time searching for that thing that I KNOW WAS RIGHT ON THAT TABLE LAST WEEK? Check.

Increased imagination and pretend play between my kids? Check.

Less fighting between my kids? Check.

My kids playing with one toy for an extended period of time instead of bouncing from toy to toy every few minutes? Check.

The ability to be more intentional in my parenting? Check.

Welcoming guests that are dropping by on short notice without feeling embarrassed about the condition of my home? Check.

Less decision fatigue? Check.

More time in the evenings and weekends to spend quality time with my husband and kids instead of picking up together? Check.

Less arguments about why the house is ALWAYS a mess? Check.

The ability to drop everything to be there for a friend that needs me, like, right now? Check. 

More time to figure out routines and systems for my household to run in a more efficient manner, instead of just winging it? Check.

And oh yeah, can I mention (again) LESS CLEANING? Because THANK THE LORD, CHECK.

Honestly? I could go on, and on, and on. Not to brag (trust me, no bragging here), but because of how life-changing RUTHLESSLY decluttering my home and simplifying my life has been. (And because how desperately I want these benefits for you, too.)

And I do mean ruthless. I estimate that I got rid of 60-70% of our earthly belongings when I purged our home. I think this is super important to note, because i don’t think you will get as many benefits unless you are ruthless. We aren’t talking about kind of decluttering, picking out a couple of things to go to charity and calling it good. We are talking about the kind of decluttering where you call the charity up and say "Forget the van, you should probably just bring the BIG mac truck for donation pick up."

Because you guys. Your stuff? It is eating up your time.

Every single item in your home is taking SOME of your time, in some way. Maybe multiple ways. And it all adds up. 

The 700 toys in your play room, and basement, and kids rooms, and living rooms? Add up the time you have spent picking them up this week alone. Multiply it by 52. And now IMAGINE what you could have done with that time last year. 

The 10 minutes you spend every single morning trying to decide what to wear while you stand in your closet SURROUNDED by so many options? (Many of which you don’t even like, or they don’t really fit, or you don’t really feel great in?) That is over one hour this week alone that has been wasted. PRECIOUS time that has been wasted.

The “dump zone” on your kitchen counter? How much time do you spend moving it around to make space to actually use your kitchen? And how long does it take you to finally get it all filed away once it's built up over a few months?

And what about the mental energy that all of this stuff drains out of you?

When you walk into your home, and you see the piles of clothes on the floor along with the piles of paper on your counter - as you step over the mountains of toys on the floor. How do you feel? Where does your mind go? Is your mind calm and relaxed, or is it running 100 miles a minute thinking of everything you need to get done? Does it make your stomach tighter with anxiety because there is NO WAY you are getting this all picked up before you drop into bed tonight, and who knows when the never-ending to-do list will FINALLY be finished?

Mama, it doesn’t have to be this way.

You do not have to live in a constant state of chaos. I am giving you permission to let these things go, and to live your life and your motherhood in a state of freedom, where you can feel calm and peaceful walking into your home...HAPPY to be there, and ready to be present and rest.

All of those benefits I listed above? You can have them, too. They aren’t exclusive to me! They are yours for the taking. You just have to do the work, and girl, I KNOW you can do it.

Freeing your home from all of the extra stuff allows you to focus on the things that matter in your life. It allows your mind to feel more at peace, less stressed, and in a better place to accomplish more. It enables you to decide what YOU want to do in a day, instead of letting your mess decide what HAS to be done today. It gives you more patience with your family when you don’t automatically start your morning in that stressed-out, frazzled state.

Simply put, it gives you more time, energy, peace and purposefulness. (and let’s never forget, less cleaning).

Ready to utilize that spring cleaning fever to jump-start decluttering your entire home?! Be sure to sign up for our FREE 3 day decluttering challenge that starts April 15, 2019! You can register here!