Are You Overwhelmed by CLUTTER? – Living In a Cluttered MESSY House? It’s Ok…It’s NOT Your Fault. Here’s WHY…
Truth is, clutter and mess happen to even the best of us – BUT some of us are just designed by nature to have a cluttered, messy house no matter HOW hard we try.
The good news is, we don’t HAVE to be messy people in messy homes who are overwhelmed by the clutter.
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Help! My House Is a MESS!
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with your super messy and cluttered home, it’s time to change that… and you CAN change that!
When you’re overwhelmed by clutter and mess in your cluttered house you probably feel anxiety over your messy house too. Below are 4 reasons WHY – and what to DO about it.
The first step is figuring out WHY your house is STILL a mess so then, you can work to change your habits to declutter your home… and your life.
Remember the whole cluttered house-cluttered MIND thing – it’s absolutely true!
A cluttered house IS a cluttered MIND!
WHY You’re a Cluttered Mess
If you believe you are a cluttered mess, meaning not just a slightly messy person, but a consistently messy person surrounded by clutter, here are 4 main reasons that might explain why YOU are the cluttered mess you are (and then we’ll talk about how to FIX those reasons).
Are you just a cluttered mess OR – are you a HOARDER?
and STILL have a LIFE.
I happen to be one of those “lucky” people.
I am creative by nature – meaning I work more in my “right brain” (the creative side) and the boring day-to-day stuff just never takes a priority for me.
But then, I wake up, look around my home and see the truth – this place looks like cr@p!
I really envy those that have a daily cleaning schedule, they DO it everyday and feel no stress over it.
I am NOT that person.
It’s just never clicked with me.
However, now that I am a “grown up” (or still striving to be), I really WANT to be better and NOT be a cluttered mess any more.
I strive to go from Cluttered MESS to Organized SUCCESS!
Are YOU a Cluttered Mess, too?
Based on all I’ve learned, I have narrowed down the 4 main reasons WHY my house becomes a cluttered mess. and how to FIX it.
I hope this helps you, too!
4 Reasons WHY
Whether you want to STOP being messy, or simply want to understand WHY you’re messy, these 4 reasons WHY your house is always a cluttered mess will help you figure out what’s going on in YOUR house – and how to fix it.
1. A Place For Everything – and Everything In Its Place
Wow, if I had to pick one main weakness of mine, it is THIS.
My brain simply does not put a priority on putting things back where they belong.
It really doesn’t matter that much to me until I become OVERWHELMED by the clutter… and then the job of fixing it becomes a MAJOR ordeal.
Solution: Just put things back where they go. It takes 3 seconds to do it AND things don’t build up to the point of overwhelm.
2. Slow Down!
One of my biggest weaknesses (or “joy” of being a right-brained creative person) is that I am always 5 steps ahead of whatever I’m doing.
That means, I eat, I’m done, I plop the plate NEAR the sink – and there it sits because I am already mentally doing MANY other things…
and putting a dish in the dishwasher seems trivial.
Problem is, all that “leaving stuff” builds up to becoming a BIG job.
Solution: Just put the plate in the dishwasher – again, it takes 3 seconds to do that and PREVENT the build up of clutter and all the anxiety that clutter causes.
3. Too Many Projects
Another “weakness” of my overly creative brain is that I always can plan for great ideas – but then just the thought of those plans overwhelms me.
I make them bigger than they really need to be.
Solution: Break things down to smaller “at that moment” tasks.
Instead of “next month I’ll declutter my clothes and bag the stuff and take it ALL to GoodWill” – try taking 15 minutes and putting 15 things in a bag and taking it to your preferred donation area.
Oddly, this works REALLY well.
And, as a side benefit – you feel pretty darn awesome each time you do it.
4. Cut Yourself Some Slack
Look, you are NOT like everyone else. You bring amazing talents and thoughts and ideas to the table.
They don’t make a lot of folks like us – but dang, we are SO hard on ourselves to be like “everyone else”.
I ALWAYS have many projects going on at the same time – it’s how MY brain works…and how I enjoy life.
HOWEVER, if I were to ask a professional, they would tell me that’s WHY I struggle with clutter.
Truth be told, clutter, on its own, does not bother me.
To me, that’s a HOME.
Its been said that a cluttered desk is a sign of a brilliant mind.
I’m not sure about me and all that ‘brilliant’ stuff, but I do agree that we really creative people simply aren’t bothered (by nature) by random clutter.
Heck, it’s our STUFF.
Solution: If some clutter and stuff doesn’t bother YOU, then don’t worry so much about it.
What’s important is how YOU feel.
If there’s clutter that bothers YOU – get rid of it.
If it does NOT bother you…or if it makes you HAPPY… don’t worry about it!
Feeling Overwhelmed By Clutter?
Are you feeling overwhelmed with too much STUFF and don’t know where to START clearing the clutter?
Let me tell you something that *I* learned the HARD way…
Clutter Overwhelm is a VERY REAL thing – you’re not imagining it or “weird”.
A cluttered house IS a cluttered mind!
Everyone feels that way when the clutter starts closing in.
If you’re feeling overwhelmed with clutter, GUILT is NOT going to help you.
So, STOP that!
Decide to DO something about it and change the narrative in your mind (ie, forgive yourself and move forward!)
Clutter Intervention: How Your Stuff Is Keeping You StuckShow Me ThisMy Life Is a Mess: Organizing 101Show Me This
My Cluttered House Solution
I don’t know about you, but my cluttered house bothers ME when:
– I feel as if the SUPER Organized Moms are judging me (and I’m FAILING as a mom), or
– I start to feel badly because all that clutter is STUFF… and I start to feel guilty for having too much stuff, or
– The clutter starts to close in on me causing overwhelm and anxiety because suddenly the sheer thought of cleaning it up becomes a HUGE task – and I lose all motivation.
Remember: If it doesn’t really bother YOU, give yourself a break. This is YOUR life, your home… your world.
Honestly, really, really neat people give me anxiety – that’s WAY too much pressure for day to day life… haha!
But I DO know all the benefits of a clean house.
It’s just a matter of finding a happy balance.
If your clutter bothers YOU, then DO something about it.
(here’s how to START clearing clutter)
But if you’re only bothered by your clutter because your clutter bothers others that do not live with you…
Well, don’t let the door hit them on the tail on their way out… lol!
So to sum up…
The 4 main reasons YOUR life might be a cluttered mess…
- 1. You Don’t Put Things Back Where They Belong
- 2. You Don’t Slow Down To Do The ‘Little’ Things
- 3. You Let Clutter Become SO Big, That It Becomes An Un-Doable Task
- 4. You Let What OTHERS Think Bother You More Than What YOU Think
If you take some time to truly get it all in perspective… what bothers YOU and what bothers you because it bothers others…and then make a plan from there, your life will become so much LESS of a cluttered mess in YOUR mind (and that’s all that really matters).
✅ Recommended:
My House Was a MESS!
And my anxiety was through the roof!
I needed a plan to get it together - it was all pushing me over the edge.
Thing is - we LIVE here... I never had the fantasy that my home would ever look "Pinterest perfect".
I simply wanted more control, less clutter and much less anxiety.
I finally found something that worked for ME.
- My house is now easier to clean - I can now clean it in minutes, instead of hours.
- I can now actually FIND the things I'm looking for.
- I learned some simple decluttering systems that make me much more efficient every day - and I'm more relaxed and less overwhelmed all the time (finally)
- My house now looks pretty darn good almost all the time.
- Best of all - I no longer stress about guests unexpectedly showing up.
This is how I did it.
More Clutter Solutions:
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