![]() I put all of the clutter/stuff away in its space, but I was tired of it. I was so blessed to be given hand-me-downs for our daughter from various friends, so I knew that I could easily pay-it-forward (it’s also a tax write-off if you can donate it to somewhere like the Good Will or Habitat for Humanity). Here are some decluttering tips and ideas of how to get started. The course is a 7-Part whole-home series that will help you go through your entire house. I created A Whole-Home Declutter Course that walks you through decluttering your home in 7 days. I wasn’t planning on getting rid of a handful of things… Still, I knew that I probably would never get around to selling all of my things (taking pictures, putting them online, or tagging for a consignment sale, taking the items to be sold, etc.). Yes, I could have sold it all and make a few hundred dollars (& I did consign a lot of stuff the week before I decluttered, so I did make money on big-ticket items, like our train table). I can generally make a decent amount of money doing this, as you probably know if you’ve read my post: How to be a stay-at-home mom on one income. I can generally resell these store items relatively easily in online groups or yard sales. Here is the hard part for me, as I usually like to sell things. When it was gone, I felt freed from the clutter. The “stuff” had been causing me to feel overwhelmed, frustrated, upset, and just overall stressed. My entire family feels better – they don’t say it, but I can see it. Just knowing that the clutter was gone is such a relief. Cutting Back on Toys Cuts Back on StressĬutting back on toys was a huge stress-reliever for me! After we declutter and get rid of extra things, I feel so much better. When you declutter and organize your home, every step makes a difference, no matter how small. They may not realize it right now you help them see that things don’t equal happiness by limiting these things. I know that our kids would rather play with each other, my husband, or me instead of playing with toys, a video game, or watching TV. Instead of “stuff,” they had “time” to give. Mom & Dad said that they also loved it because they weren’t so busy trying to keep up with the house or put toys away or buy new things. They loved it because they were able to spend more time together as a family. ![]() They each played with 1-2 toys because they would rather pretend or play a board game or play outside.ĭuring the interview with the children, they talked about how much they loved their week of no television & little toys. (Again, very common.) The Result:Īfter one week, the mother was interviewed, and she said that they didn’t even play with the five toys they were allowed to pick. They did a little yelling, a little crying, and a lot of pouting. They were sad, upset, angry, and just plain mad. The kids cried when they told them about giving up these things. Oprah’s crew came into the house and documented the whole thing. The One Week Experimentįor one week, the parents let each of their three children pick five toys to keep… 15 toys total. Most children have many toys… most people have too many ‘things.’ It’s why I have started giving non-toy gifts to family and friends. This could have been me thinking these things. The sad part is that I think that is very common. They had them in closets, toy boxes, bins, etc. These parents said that they had more toys than any child should have, with which I’m sure many of us can relate. The family decided to give up two things: ![]() ![]() The mother of the house felt like all she did was work to buy them things, and then she couldn’t even keep up with what they had because, even though her home wasn’t messy, it felt cluttered, like they had ‘too much stuff’… So, Oprah asked this family to give something up for one week. ![]() They wanted to unspoil their children because they said no one was appreciative of all of the “stuff” they had ( clutter = stress. They spoke of the reasons they were stressed, as parents, as a married couple, as homeowners, and just in general, blaming it on the fact that their children seemed to be acting entitled. I was listening to a re-run of The Oprah Show one day when she was interviewing a couple with five children. There is a sort of peace that comes over you when you realize that you’ve freed yourself of unwanted ‘stuff.’ While it might seem scary to get rid of things, you will find that you genuinely end up with the items that spark joy. Clutter also affects your family, but there are solutions that can clear your home of unwanted clutter and clear yourself of unwanted stress.īeing clutter-free may seem like it isn’t possible, but it is. Many studies prove that clutter & stress are linked. ![]()
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