This month was really about habit change.  Our environments really do influence our productivity and mood.  My favorite Gretchen Rubin quote ever is “Outer order leads to inner calm.”  So true.  Many people talk about the small act of making a bed having a big impact on their day.  We feel it.  I certainly do.  When did I stop making my bed? And why?  It takes almost no time and is incredibly satisfying.  I feel like the day is starting off well.  One accomplishment done. 

When I was stuck in my cycle of pain the last thing I felt like doing was chores around the house.  Everything got done, trust me and to an outsider it probably wasn’t noticeable.  But I noticed and I didn’t like it.  So this month’s resolution would be Improving My Home Life.  Which looked like this:

Improving My Home Life

My Quotation: “Being organized isn’t about getting rid of everything you own or trying to become a different person, it’s about living the way you want, but better.”

Daily/Weekly Actions:

Take Care of Dishes Immediately

Take Care of Trash Immediately

Make My Bed Everyday

These may seem like small things but they had a big impact when I actually put them in motion. Clutter affects your mind and your stress levels.  Read more about that here.  https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/stress-management/in-depth/how-decluttering-your-space-could-make-you-healthier-and-happier/art-20390064

Never having dishes in the sink makes the entire kitchen look clean and gives me a happiness boost. Maybe you don’t have a lot of dishes being used everyday, but I actually run my dishwasher three times a day. I cook a lot and I have two teenagers who are constantly eating and one who enjoys cooking herself. The dishes get out of control quickly. My goal was to take care of them immediately. Same with the trash. In our house trash needs to be taken down a flight of stairs to go out, so it’s a little inconvenient. I got a little lazy about it. “I’ll take it later” I’d say to myself. And you might be asking why isn’t anyone else in my household doing this chore? Well, to be honest I’m the one that is here most of the time during the day. They are not. It doesn’t make sense to wait around for someone else to do a chore when I can just get it done myself.

And I already talked about making the bed. I love a made bed!! It just screams “I’m ready for the day!” Overall I just needed to get my house back in order after ignoring it for so long. Like I said, it was always clean but just not organized the way it had been in the past and I missed that. The goal here was happiness and the way things were looking around my house was not making me happy. These resolutions were not difficult, but important to my overall happiness. And I’m still working on this all the time. I have a home project notebook that has all my organizing ideas and repairs that need to be done around the house. There is always SOMETHING to improve at home. The other day I decided to redecorate with items I already I have. This is one of my favorite things to do when I get the shopping bug or the urge to do big redecorating. I will move some furniture around, hang pictures or move existing pictures to other parts of the house. Or I’ll rearrange knick-knacks, and bring things out of closets and cabinets to let them see light of day and find a place for them to bring life into our home. It always does the trick for me. When I’m done I stand back and smile.

Are you thinking about decluttering your home?  Try the following:

If you don’t already, make your bed every day and see how it makes you feel.

Keep living areas decluttered by taking care of messes as they happen.  Don’t’ procrastinate!  You will be surprised at how little time this takes.  Another little tip is to listen to an audio book or podcast when doing these types of chores.

I’d love to hear how your decluttering goes!  Please comment below.  Thanks for being here!