My Journey: From Clutter & Stress to Organized

Hi everyone!

I am going to tell you about my journey. I have challenges and struggles just like you. I am a single mom, cancer survivor, administrative assistant, and I have lots of things that fill my time. I have struggles just like you. My home wasn't always organized. It was cluttered. I tried to clean but it was so disappointing because cleaning was never my core issue. I got into many different cleaning routines and even gave up and hired a weekly cleaner - hoping things would improve. All these attempts only made my anxiety worse.

It made me feel terrible. I just felt like no matter how hard I worked, my house was just a mess. When I worked really hard and cleaned really well, you could almost ignore the cluttered spaces, at least I thought it was possible to ignore. It didn't matter how spotless the floors were and if everything was cleared off counters and coffee tables. There were still spaces in my home that really stood out anyway. Despite all the hard work I would do.

This china cabinet was the biggest eye sore in my house. It represented more then just what my home looked like. It represented truly how I felt inside.

Overwhelmed

Unsure

Anxious

Tired

Embarrassed

This wasn't just how I saw my mess, but it was how I began to see myself. I didn't know that I could live in a home that I truly enjoyed and had a calming effect. This cabinet was a gift and I lacked storage so it slowly became a place for my junk.

The china cabinet cleared

What came out of the china cabinet

Within a couple hours, I cleared the entire cabinet. I was pretty ruthless. I took everything out and to my surprise, it filled the entire living room. I got rid of most of it and found new homes for the rest. I didn't want to mistreat this china cabinet anymore with my junk. I knew it deserved better -- I deserved better!

The first transformation: I finally decluttered this space and pick up a great cube shelf at Canadian Tire and added pretty bins and labels. I sold the china cabinet to someone who could appreciate it. I wisely figured out what in my house didn't really have a home and ended up lying around most often. These became new homes.

I tried a new filing system here that didn't work that well for me so I changed it later. I finally became confident in this space.

Over time, I shifted things around slightly. Decorated the shelf differently and moved the chair to my bedroom. I switched out the painting. This was my first round organizing this space, and it wasn't bad. If I didn't start my organizing journey, I never would have realized that I could do it. Overall in my home, I tackled it one at a time.

I only had 2 major projects that were huge like this. Most of them I did in just 15 minutes a

The truth is, this isn't the end for me. I am the type of person who begins to stash clutter places and waits too long to organize it. I need to set reminders in my phone to redo certain spaces to prevent them from getting bad again. I need to schedule times to go to the dump. I need to continue to evaluate and improve my organizing systems. I will get better at it and it will get easier. I am not looking for perfect - just manageable and comfortable.

Here is what I want you to learn from my personal experience:

No home is perfect. Don't compare yours to someone else's. All I want you to do is start.

I made a choice one day that I wasn't going to live like that anymore. Here is what I found. Now that the clutter has been dealt with and I put in some organization systems, cleaning is easier. It isn't as hard to maintain. I know I have to declutter again because I know the capacity my space has now. I know what it has the potential to look like. I also don't want to go through what I went through again.

I started this blog because I know there are many people like me out there. People who feel like they work tirelessly to maintain their home, but get absolutely nowhere. People who are discouraged and embarrassed. People who just got a little lost.

I like to say that I am organized by nurture. If you aren't organized by nature, stick with me. I want to help you to get out of the rut and become organized too!

If you feel shame or embarrassed looking at Pinterest worthy home organization, you don't have to feel like that!

Maybe your home isn't as bad as mine was; maybe it's much worse. Either way, don't worry. Wherever you are on your journey, I know you can do it. I know you can because I did.