How to curate your environment for easier mornings & better relationships
Sometimes the simplest answer, is the right one. There can be so much complexity and nuance to our adult lives that when presented with a simple way out it feels like a bit of a rouse. We expect to struggle, we anticipate challenge and yet, when it comes to curating a home that curbs overstimulation, overwhelm, and conflict (for everyone under that roof) the answer is almost always, to simplify.
And unlike so many other problems we are presented with in motherhood, this is one area that we are not encouraged to buy more, try more, spend more. Quite the opposite, actually. If you and/or your partner find yourselves avoiding certain zones of your home, or picking fights over cluttered kitchen counters, or incessantly nagging about stair piles, or you are feeling your energy reserves plummet just walking in the door, or opening your eyes each morning the answer is simple. Have less.
The less you have, the less you have to manage, tidy, clean, fold, clear, find, organize. The less you have, the less that can be on the counters, the stairs, the floors, the bedroom chair. The less you have, the less your nervous system has to react to. In fact, less is the new more.
The answer is simple, but there is a hard part. Letting go of what already exists. See, you’ve already spent the money, you’ve accumulated the things, and to let them go now just feels… wasteful. Right?
So I ask you this, what is the cost of not [letting go]?
The peace and simplicity that comes with less is profound and home agnostic, and the best times to commit to decluttering and paring down are:
Changing Seasons
Changing Routines
Changing Relationships
Let me explain.
Changing seasons. As humans we feel an intuitive pull to shift our environment with the environmental seasons - most notably the spring clean and the fall hibernation prep. But we also experience seasons and chapters of life that can necessitate these shifts, too. Like growing littles whose interests and needs are ever evolving, gifting holidays when volume is at an all-time high, a big move, or new job. These are all good times to take pause and evaluate our inventory levels so as to free up our physical and mental environment for the changes that lie ahead.
Changing routines. New routines can necessitate a shift in how we use our home and our stuff, they also happen to be great for new habit adoption, allowing you to make tweaks to nagging roadblocks, and simplify where you can when everything is still so new. Changes like back to school or a new school, a new commute, the start of daycare/return to work, a new home or pending move, a new family member, a new pet, the start of extracurriculars, new work demands etc. And the good news? When routines shift, we often outgrow, or negate the need for items within our space making the decluttering process easier.
Changing relationships. Our relationships are constantly shifting and evolving, this we know, but there are some key changes that can necessitate a deeper dive into our home and its contents. The shift into parenthood for the first time, or making space for a new member is a big notable one. Strain in our relationships over stuff, chaos, and mess. As well as separation, divorce and custody changes. In my experience, when our relationships shift our environments need to shift too- almost like a physical manifestation of what we are sorting through internally. Use these times to get clear on what is adding value, function, and ease… and what is not.
If you see yourself in any of these notable categories, I can make this simple for you. I invite you to download our FREE No Regrets Decluttering Cheat Sheet. This is a tool that takes all the guess work out of decluttering and will feel like having me- a professional organizer and decluttering coach- in your back pocket. Download it here.
Yours in less,
Britt
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