Target These Areas Next Time You Tidy
Growing up, these two areas of the home made me dread cleaning:
Cluttered surfaces, like windowsills that displayed decorative objects and past gifts
Closets, where I routinely stored things without regard for accessibility.
As an allergy sufferer, I always valued a clean home. I also became aware pretty early on how visual chaos caused me to feel overwhelmed and unfocused. Nonetheless, there was a time in my life where I did not know how to maintain orderliness in the home. I don’t think I’m unique in that! I recollect my childhood and remember the stress of feeling that, despite valuing a clean and tidy bedroom, I was unable to keep a clean and tidy bedroom. These are skills we have to learn- and that is ok!
As with so many other aspects of our lives, Christianity calls us to continuously improve and grow, looking for ways to orient our lives around Christ. Making the home a place of visual calm and reducing the time it takes to maintain it is an ongoing process where we apply new skills to the home and seek to free up space and time for Christ-centered living. Here are some of my tips for continuous growth in this area:
Every time you tidy up, identify areas that:
you dread to clean
take the most time to clean
never stay tidy for more than a day or two.
Pay attention to the process of cleaning these areas and any impediments to accessing not only the elements of the spaces that require maintenance, but also the tools to clean and tidy that these spaces require. For example, are objects in these spaces stored in such a way that accessing them always results in a mess? Are the objects themselves difficult to clean?
Once you have identified these “problem areas,” determine if the problem is with the type of storage utilized in this space, or if the space itself is limited. The former can require creativity and cleaning-friendly solutions, while the latter may suggest that it’s time to part with many of the items stored within, or use the space in a completely different way.
Let me know how your decluttering journey is going in the Catholic Minimalism community group on Facebook! Join now at https://www.facebook.com/groups/catholicminimalismcommunity
