My Decluttering Saga
No...I did not watch Marie Kondo...well, not until AFTER I started...
I don't know what it was about January that made me SO anxious to make a change. I just knew that I needed to start replacing LAZY habits with intentional ones.
I honestly can't remember where I heard or saw #DeclutterLikeaMother, but it was an ad somewhere that STOLE me! I was in. (Girl, your marketing WORKED!) Then, I "met" Allie (as much as you can meet a blog superstar) & knew this was my JAM! She was speaking my language & loving my Jesus!
She challenged us to a 30-day #DeclutterlikeaMother challenge that entailed a commitment of 30 minutes a day on a specific area of your house for 30 days. This was meant to be VERY surface level & eye opening (check & check). She made me think, "Am I spending more time as a MOM or a HOUSE MANAGER of the things?"
So, here's the MAJOR points she taught me:
ONE | The idea of Home Organization, like Valentines Day is a commercial scam in my opinion. All of these organizational shows, companies, blogs etc. will give you great tips and tricks on how to categorize and compartmentalize then how to hide all the stuff away for a pretty house. But that's the thing! The STUFF is still there & now you can't see it to remember that you have that one thing that you just stored away. If you can't see your things, then you probably don't need them. (Yes, there are exceptions, but very few.)
TWO| You LOSE money when you buy something, NOT when you give/throw it away. So often, the amount we paid for an item holds us back from donating/trashing them. Girl, you were not a smart spender. Chalk it up to a lesson learned & ditch it.
THREE| The less you have, the less you clean. My mind is baffled why this was such a foreign concept to me. The less clothing I have, the more likely I am to clean the clothes I have, the smaller the laundry mountain, the less time it takes to fold/put away/pick out my clothes. (PS I hate to admit this, but laundry isn't actually done UNTIL IT'S PUT AWAY! Our clothes lived on a coach for months!) The less dishes I have the more likely I am to wash them quickly so I can use them again & keep my counter clean.
FOUR| I'm the MOM! Will my children benefit from having all these clothes/these toys/this technology? AND moms WAY overthink. More often than we care to admit, we think that the next argument that we have with our kids will be what they bring up when they're 19 laying on a couch in a councilors office unpacking how they had such a traumatic childhood. But if you're taking steps towards actively being more present in your kids' lives, do you think that conversation will happen?
FIVE| God called us to a life of service AND abundance...not one or the other. And these are not just "seasons" either! These are ALL the time. THAT is a big concept to grasp for a mom. One that I still am wrapping my brain around.
THE RESULTS:
This is a picture of a progress calendar I had in my bullet journal. I'm not sure if you can read it down at the bottom, but that reads 40 garbage bags/large items DONATED & 30 garbage bags/large items trashed. Nathan's token phrase as he was hauling garbage out was "#DeclutterLikeAFather." Although, he was VERY glad he did not have to do any of the decluttering part.
I will shout Allie & the Purpose Group's concepts from the roof tops, but I'd much prefer you meet her for yourself! She's got TONS of FREE & PAID content that will dramatically change your life...
ALSO, her podcast, "The Purpose Show" is spot on.
Ok...I've tooted her horn enough. I've got to go do dishes...oh wait! They're all done! :) Have a good day friends.