Not only does have a clean space for working and living feel good, I think it also improves the overall feeling in your home. Cleaning up, putting things away and finding new homes for things that are no longer needed in your home can make everyone feel better. It even helps with improve your relationships…. Here are some (mostly) fictional examples of what the inner and outer conversations people might have:
Before decluttering
- How many times can my husband/wife/spouse/partner/child walk by this pile of stuff without do anything about? Should I leave it here and see if they even notice it? I bet it will be here days, weeks, maybe even a month before anyone does anything about it. In the end I’ll probably end up being the one who has to put it away.
- Why does is there so little space in our house? I’m constantly walking over
around things or moving them to get at what I need. Where does all this stuff come from and where does it go? I’m tempted to just throw it all out.
- Did you see my _____? Why did you move it/touch it?
- Don’t touch that pile it is all sorted. I would put it away but there is no where for it to go?
- (Toddler) Why do I keep getting in trouble for touching this stuff? It looks like it could be fun to play with!
After decluttering
- Wow, our morning routine is much smoother now that everything has its place.
- I no longer get stressed when I walk in the door. I can now relax in our family room without worry about all the piles.
- Getting dinner ready is much easier when everything is in its place
- Our dinner time is much nicer now that we have dinner sitting at the table as a family.
- We are spending less time looking for things.
- (Toddler) Look at all the space to spread my toys!
