Sing it like Rhianna…. 🙂
I have a few words about my purging and why it was so important to me but first I’ll share my Friday Favs. This is a new thing I’ve started here on the blog to share a little more about my week, get a little more personal and share some of my favorite things that don’t have to do with the House or the Dog.
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FAVS FOR THE WEEK:
- The response I received from the No Spending Spree on Instagram was amazing! I can’t believe how many of you are willing to jump on board and join me, so THANK YOU!
- These hand wraps and foot wraps are awesome. This winter my hands and feet are drier than they’ve ever been, so once a week I’ve been pampering myself and trying to repair my dry skin.
- Leah Remini’s documentary series on A&E about Scientology…wow.
- This photo from Kaila Walls – I’m creating something similar for our upcoming living room makeover. I can’t wait!
- I finally made time for knitting. 🙂 This yarn from Michaels and these jumbo needles make it so easy to create a big chunky blanket.
This week we continued our great 2017 clean out, I got rid of so MUCH STUFF. And I still feel like there is more. That’s the thing with purging, it gets easier and you’ll keep finding more and more and MORE to get rid off. I still have a couple closets and kitchen cabinets to go through, but I’m almost there. Hoping that by the end of January, I will have the whole house cleaned out.
This purge was sooooo needed. My mind finally feels at peace and I don’t feel like I have an never ending to do list. I knew I needed a change. This last holiday I was stressing BIG time. Even when I would try to relax, my mind would just keep spinning with all the things I NEEDED to do…HAD to do.
Even the simple things, I couldn’t control. If I was working on a blog post or craft project or even a DIY, I’d go crazy looking for the scissors that I just had 5 minutes ago only to go grab another pair. But it wasn’t just the scissors – it was the hammers, the drills, pencils, pens, etc. Even my camera. One day I desperately needed to take photos for a blog post and couldn’t find the charger for my cameras low battery. This never ending cycle of not being able to find anything (that I swore I’d just used the day before) went on for weeks. So eventually, I couldn’t find anything.
I was at my breaking point.
I became cranky, moody and annoying. Joe’s words not mine. 🙂 But I already knew what he was telling me was the truth. I was feeling so stressed that any little thing set me off and I’d yell and cuss and tell him I was losing my mind. This was happening 2-3 times a week, errrr ok more like 5-6 times. And then on the other days I was working at my “day job” and complaining about how tired I was.
At one point I realized that in 4 days at home, I hadn’t even sat down for longer than 5 minutes. And yet when I looked around my house, it was as if nothing had been accomplished. Yah sure, I was posting pretty pictures but all I was really doing was moving one mess to another room. And another mess into another room. Every where I turned, it was half finished project after half finished project. I couldn’t deal. Ps I shared our Real House Tour if you wanna see that mess!
I remembered over the summer I had started reading The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up – but in “Allison fashion” I moved on to something else before finishing the book. When I reached my breaking point, I grabbed the book again – started over and read it cover to cover in one night.
Then the most important part became ACTION. I thought I don’t care what I have to do, I have to get our house in order before I can tackle any more projects this year. Purging and cleaning out like a boss. LIKE A BOSS. It was no longer “well we might need it one day” (even though we haven’t needed it for two years), it was JUST GET RID OF IT.
Twenty five throw pillows – I mean WTF. The most I ever put on our couch is six, and that’s pushing it. My first solution was “space saver bags”- what a joke. They worked once. All those random “one day I’m gonna make a craft project out of this” supplies. Never happened, never will. Got rid of it.
I’m kind of extreme when I set my mind to something – I’m an “all or nothing” kind of person. I had to completely forget about anything else until my house was in order. I thought that was what it was all about; but it’s so much more than that now. I’m clear headed, less stressed & focused more than ever.
Without my lingering “to do list” in my head – ya know the one – the one that when you think you’re done for the day you turn around to another mess and another mess. The list that never ends. Anyways, without that list I have time for the OTHER things. A month ago when I was telling and cussing about not being able to find scissors – my exact words were “I don’t have time for this sh**!” Because I didn’t.
I swear I don’t have some crazy form of OCD and so that’s why I’ve posted the photos in the Real House Tour just to show how “messy” our house really was. And I know everyone’s definition of mess is totally different, but to me this was too much.
I’m a much better person when my house is clutter free and clean. It allows my brain to be clutter free. It allows me to breathe and enjoy the moment. Before, I couldn’t enjoy anything because I was constantly worrying about the next item on my “never ending to do list”.
Now of course, I still have to do lists. In fact, these little daily planners have changed my life. Now, once my list is checked off – it’s truly done. There’s no more lingering chores or thoughts in my mind. I’m done.
This wasn’t about perfection or control or anything else really – just the fact that decluttering our home declutters my mind. When Salvation Army came and picked up our truck load of STUFF, I seriously felt like I was on cloud nine, on some kind of high I’ve never felt before. Space in our home = space in my mind. 🙂
