By Rita Wilkins
The Downsizing Designer

One of my decluttering clients shared this with me the other day:

“I thought holidays were supposed to be fun when you have little kids!

They look forward to it all year and so do I, but now that the holiday season is actually here, I’m so stressed out and overwhelmed. I caught myself yelling at my kids because the house is a mess! I don’t know what to do!”

She said she was too embarrassed to have friends over and wants to entertain, but her house is so messy that she avoids inviting anyone in.

It was painful for me to hear this because she’s such a wonderful mother and wife, plus she’s a very successful businesswoman. But what she described is, unfortunately, what many people who live with clutter experience every day… not just during the holidays.

Their pain is real. It prevents them from enjoying the holidays and also their life.

Clutter is a constant reminder of all things that have yet to be done.

  • It’s that never-ending “to-do list”.
  • It is a burden that weighs you down and it’s always with you… morning, noon, and night… until you decide to do something about it!

People can learn to declutter, get organized, and stay organized if they want to and if they’re willing to do the work to retrain their thinking and develop new habits.

Once they realize how much clutter is impacting their own health and happiness, and once they realize the true cost of clutter, they are ready to experience a fundamental shift in the way they think about their homes and their lives.

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Read more: 3 Unexpected Emotional Benefits of Downsizing and Decluttering

This particular client had an epiphany when she caught herself yelling at her kids to pick up their toys, but when she looked around her house, she realized it wasn’t just the toys…

  • It was the dirty dishes in the sink
  • It was the piles of laundry on the floor
  • It was the unmade beds

She realized her own bad habits were being passed down to her children.

She knew she needed to get some help, to not just declutter and get organized, but also to develop sustainable systems and develop new habits that her family could all use to stay organized and remain decluttered.

All she really wanted was peace of mind!

It’s always amazing to me that when a client is ready for a change just how vulnerable, open and honest they allow themselves to be.

It’s such a relief for them to finally say out loud:

  • How embarrassed and ashamed they are of their messes.
  • How it is impacting their health, sleep, and food choices.
  • How it is impacting their relationships with their spouse, their children, and friends.
  • How uncomfortable they are in their own home.
  • How they feel like they have failed!

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5 STEP GUIDE: LOSE THE CLUTTER,

BUT NOT THE MEMORIES

They’re tired… tired of hiding stuff behind doors or shoving stuff in drawers.

They’re ready to do what it takes to become clutter-free so they can enjoy their life and holidays with family and friends, invite people into their home, be proud of their home, have it be that peaceful and uncluttered sanctuary they want it to be.

It all starts with understanding just how much clutter is impacting your life and your happiness.

Then… it’s one drawer, one shelf, one closet at a time.

Clutter brings out so many emotions.

Is clutter preventing you from enjoying your holidays?