Decluttering My Home - Finding My Sanity (Mostly)

For the past few months, I have struggled with my home. I have not been able find a balance between being a motherhood, managing a home, and my sanity. As I walk through each room in my home, there was one thing that was weighing down on me - the mess. The disorganization. THE CLUTTER.

Oh how the clutter was bothering me. I realized I was just passing through the days and just letting things pile up. I needed a change. Where to start? What is the priority? Or what is the easiest? I started with my Tupperware. I've had lids flying around, containers missing lids - it was a hot mess that cabinet. And that led me to organize my kitchen drawers. Then that led to my dining cabinet. It was a ripple effect.

My house is not completely clutter-free but it is a lot better than a few months ago. I got a rid of a lot, baby clothes, toys, plasticware, old mail, etc. Everything is starting to fit in our home and in return... I am feeling better and not weighed down by the clutter.

I am not a professional organizer but my advice for anyone that wants to get rid of the clutter is...

1. Start small, start with a drawer. You will probably find something in that drawer that belongs in cabinet and when you go to put it there, you start to organizing that... it's a ripple effect.

   
   

2. Get your kids involved! I know it sounds crazy but I had my daughter help me go through the toys to select what we could give away. Granted, there may have been one or two that ended up staying BUT my daughter loved being a part of it. Also, I think it's a great learning moment for them that we can let go of certain things.

   
   

3. Get bins or basket. When I was organizing my kids toys, I wanted to organize them by what type of toy it was. I used some of their buckets to separate the toys and it made it that much easier to sort through it and start pre-organizing before putting them in their new home.

   
   

4. Take your time... do one room at time. I am the kind of person that will start 10 different projects at once and then not finish one. So I really tried to keep myself focused to finish one room at a time - even though I was itching to start cleaning out something else.

It is hard to go through your belongings and some, have a lot sentimental value. It's ok to keep a baby dress but is necessary to keep all of it? And when you have kids... their toys and clothes multiply. Living under clutter just weighs you down on. Decluttering your home just makes brings your sanity back (mostly).