3 Ways To Control The Chaos Of Clutter
Outside order contributes to inner calm
Gretchen Rubin
This summer I’ve been slowly going through areas of our home that need some attention. We live in a 100-year-old house and I’m thinking they didn’t need closets because our house has one coat closet and one bedroom closet (that would be our daughter’s). Our closet has been built out of our wall, so not original. Sometimes it stresses me out to not have more “closets”, but it forces me to find a place for everything. Yikes. If you come inside our home, you’ll see all of Mazy’s toys, coloring books, coloring utensils, etc., because there isn’t a place for them to go, except on a bookshelf, in a toybox, or on her little table.
I’ll admit, I’m overly passionate about finding a place for everything. But I read a quote once that I’ve taken with me throughout this summer. It’s that of Gretchen Rubin, author of Happier At Home and the Happiness Project: “Outside order contributes to inner calm.”
While earning my social work degree, much emphasis was put on the “person-in-environment”. Basically what that means is that even though each of us are individual people, our surroundings, home environment, relationships, etc. all make up who we are. If our “outer order” is in chaos, and for this instance, our homes, what does that do to us inside?
Some people function amazingly well in chaos, and trust me, I wish I could loosen up a bit! But maybe you wish your home DID have outside order so that you had more inner calm! Now I know that sounds a bit new-agey, but don’t get hung up on the words. If you are looking to get your home a bit more in order, let’s simply start with one area: THE KIDS’ TOYS. I’m sure it seems overwhelming, but here are a few simple steps to take:
PURGE
Get rid of or donate (if in good condition) any toys that are broken, are missing pieces, or toys that are no longer played with. The rule in our house is if someone else could use it more than we are, it’s time to get rid of it. Freeing up space for your kiddos to play in, may be the needed space they need to spark their creativity!
TOGETHER
Group like items together. I know it sounds simple, but it’s surprising how quickly toys can get thrown together! Use old boxes, reusable plastic food containers (those that you can buy a few for just a few bucks), whatever works for you. Ensure that, for example, all the playdough fits in one container. The Legos in another. Stack them so that when your kids want to play something, they can grab it themselves. Or, you can take a different box down each day or every few days, and it’s like opening up a whole new world for them!
TAKE 5 MINUTES
I hear ya. One minute is even hard to come by these days! What if though, just WHAT IF, you spent 5 minutes at the end of the day, WITH the whole family, picking up the house? Maybe don’t start with 5, start with 2 minutes! Put on a fun song and have what we call “A PICK UP PARTY”. I mean what kid doesn’t want to have a party with music on? It honestly is amazing what you can accomplish. And when the time is up, give out high-fives, celebrate, have a little dance party, whatever. Make it something POSITIVE, so that they don’t even realize they are doing something they don’t like. You’ll love waking up the next morning to a more controlled and probably still, chaotic environment. But it’s a start.
Purge, put like items together, and take a few minutes at the end of each day to pick up. It won’t solve all of the world’s problems, but it may solve just one struggle you might be having. And maybe it’ll be that one decision you need to make in order to feel more of that inner calm, while making your home have some outer order!
