Hello, friends!
Well, here we are, at the halfway point of my 28 day journey, and I think it's time for some reflection on the first half of things.
The Good:
- I am noticing improvement every time I de-clutter
- I am feeling happier with my home
- I am feeling less stress
- Most members of my family have done one de-cluttering session
- I look to time spent de-cluttering as time spent on me
- I now have the number of a repair man to see to the washing machine (UPDAY: even called and left a message!)
- I like having before, during, and after photos, to show me my progress
- If I have a plan by the morning, I am much more likely to get it done
- I am doing far more on-the-fly de-cluttering; one item here and there throughout the day begins to add up, and I can see that it is becoming easier for me to do it without thinking (or taking photos of it!)
The Bad:
- My family is largely not on board with this; nobody else is de-cluttering with any regularity. This makes the process difficult, as I can't/am not allowed to cull anyone else's stuff
- Being the only one actively doing this, it is very easy to fall into a state of sloth.
- Regular tasks, such as folding laundry aren't getting done. I think this is because I've chosen to de-clutter, and others aren't helping with laundry, which they would normally do
- Having a broken dishwasher and washing machine has been an enormous obstacle, as I never feel like I'm making headway in the house, but rather, struggling to just catch up
- It is report card time, which means that Hubby is less interested/inclined/motivated to help de-clutter his own stuff
- I am less inclined to de-clutter on rainy days
- a lack of a plan for the day often results in no de-cluttering
- unless I do a significant amount of de-cluttering, I feel that it's not enough to bother taking a photo of
The Ugly:
- I am noticing new things being deposited in the areas I have de-cluttered, and not always by me
- The kids' daily chores aren't being done, compounding the feeling of not being able to just catch up
- I am still struggling to shed my feelings of frustration and resentment about the lack of support and buy-in from my family
- having a sick family member saps my desire to de-clutter
So, from this list, I see that my mental game still has a long way to go. I can knuckle down and just get it done (or at least, as much as I can do without opposition from a family member), but the mindset is taking longer to adjust.
I'm not giving up, though, because I'm worth it, and so is my home.
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Mellissa, I am so proud of you for tackling this, it is hard. I don't know if you have tried this already, but have you set some ground rules for the decluttered zones? Maybe if they know that they might lose the item for not putting it away, they might think twice about leaving it there. I have actually gone into rooms with a garbage bag and said pick it up or I do and it gets donated/thrown out. Just a thought, but keep up the great work, you can do it!
ReplyDeleteThat's a great idea! I know that would be effective with the older two, and I'm willing to try it with the younger two, but I know that Hubby is likely to put up some resistance, both for himself, and on the kids' behalf.
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