Clean House - A Minimalist Approach to Mess, Housework and Overwhelm

I Brake For Happiness

Digging out… getting clear… finding happiness at home always seem to come back to the same three things.

Number one on the list being…

LESS IS MORE

It's such a cliche but so true.

It would be good for everyone suffering from the problem of overwhelm to write it down and post it somewhere that you will see it at all times to remind and motivate you when the temptation to bring one 'just one more thing' into your household comes calling.

BOUNDARIES – GET SOME

This action is related to 'less is more'. Those of us who are habitually overwhelmed very often have weak boundaries, and it shows in most areas of our lives.

It could be a weakness is determining or enforcing boundaries – with other people or with ourselves. 

BE CONSISTENT

Once you start doing less and then set and enforce boundaries – both with other people and yourself – it is of utmost importance to be consistent.

That means you need to keep doing it. Over and over again.

That sounds exhausting. The thing is that it gets easier over time as you get better at it. On a practical level there will be less stuff of any shape or form to manage OR the things you will find yourself working with will change.

The ratio of drudgery to things that make you happy will tip dramatically to the happiness side as the things that are currently weighing you down are cleared out of your life.

3 THINGS TO DO TODAY

• Stop. Stop taking on more of anything. Think hard first about the impact it is going to have. Is it going to weigh you down or free you.

• Think about your boundaries. Choose one to work on today. If it's a boundary with another person be kind but firm. Explain what and why the change is happening. Make it work for them too if you possibly can. Give a reward. Be firm. And…

• Be consistent. Do it again tomorrow. And the next day.

If you find yourself slipping, just remember these words -

One thing that will really help you to keep on track with all of these things is setting up a household routine.

As it becomes a habit, these principals will start to become a habit too because you will see how much easier they make everything to manage and look after.

I found this article called Household Routines Improve Your Happiness on the Stacks and Stacks blog (some excellent reading and practical tips there. Just be sure to go when you are on coffee break or as a treat AFTER you've gone and decluttered something. It's one of those easy to lose the time on type sites because there is so much good stuff :0)

One point, in the article they say that

"In a study of families, regularity in household routines improved daily personal satisfaction by about 5%."

I'd be willing to bet that it's more like 50% plus!

What do you think? How much do having household routines and systems improve your happiness?

Next Page »