Is your home making you overwhelmed and exhausted? A lot of the time, the state of our homes can be a good indication of how our mind is feeling as well. When our homes are overcrowded with “stuff” and the simple task of cleaning up starts to feel overwhelming, it can begin to affect our minds pretty quickly. So now what started as a cluttered and overwhelming home, is now a cluttered and overwhelmed brain. This can then create a full cycle of feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed and not motivated; creating a decline in our mental state over time. That is why, a simple but targeted 30-day declutter challenge might be a great way to help you steer this train back on track before your home and mental health get out of hand.
This can be a great tool even if these things have already begun to get out of hand. You may want to spread weekly tasks over two weeks and make it a 60-day challenge instead. Whatever helps you start chipping away at the mess. Please keep in mind though, there are also professionals who can help tackle the mess if it’s too much and no challenge, tips or tricks can ever replace a professional when it comes to our health, mentally or physically.
Tackling the bigger, missed areas in your home can help relieve some of that pressure in your head, however it’s always a good idea to talk to a professional to help you fully take control of your mental health and to give you tools to deal with these kinds of daily struggles.
The 4 bags/piles
Most of our challenge refers to 4 different bags or piles when sorting through rooms.
Rubbish:
This is where all old paperwork, packaging, and old and broken things can go. This pile will go to the rubbish tip.
Donate:
It’s always good to have a pile or bag dedicated to donating. This could be given to op shops, refuges, charities or simply posted as a giveaway on Facebook for those in need. These are items that still have quite a bit of life left in them for someone else to enjoy. This pile will also help spark some of those “good deed feels” in your head.
Sell:
A pile that is purely for any items that you know you need to part with but don’t feel right giving away. This is a great way to make some extra cash for something you’ve been saving up for or to go towards something nice to treat yourself.
Keep:
Pretty self-explanatory, this pile is the last one to be moved on once you’ve finished going through things. This pile will now be sorted into smaller piles of similar items to get stored away in an organised way.
By using the 4 bag/pile strategy, it takes away the shock of one huge pile and helps to break things up into smaller more manageable tasks for you. You can download the PDF version of our 30 day declutter challenge here.
