I heard a statement years ago that really got me going.
It said that a messy house indicates a messy mind.
I denied it up and down, left, right and center… only to realize years later that it was true.
Whether the messy house is the result of a messy mind, or whether the messy mind is the result of the messy house, I'm not sure, although I do have my own thoughts about it.
As I found myself digging out of the abyss, when my rooms became clear, as I peeled back the layers, I did indeed find my mind was freed from cluttered thoughts, that I didn't even realize I had.
Although the process of decluttering and getting my house back in order did not happen over night, the change in my clearness of thought did.
Once I hit the tipping point at home, the point where I could go pretty much anywhere, take a deep breath and feel calm and at peace, rather than feeling guilt and the ever present ' take note to clean this, take note to clean that – when I have time', I had an instant change in the state of my mind.
I no longer fought what I call 'the fog', or the invisible treadmill that I forever seemed to be running in my mind.
So yes, I do think that a cluttered house can create a cluttered mind, as well as a cluttered life in general. Nothing runs as smoothly when it's a mess.
Mess = More Mess.
It's like a snowball gathering speed until we stop it.
HOW DO WE STOP IT?
We stop it with a plan, a routine, consistency and sheer will power.
We stop it with self discipline and a strong sense of self.
We stop it with a vision for ourselves and our family.
We stop it with effort. We stop it with love.
We stop it by using getting a BOOST every day.
You decide what you need to do. Plug it in and do it.
Easy as 1, 2, 3.
Hi Jan!
I completely agree with this post.
First time I got in contact with this “concept” was years ago and I gotta say I was a little sceptic. I can´t remember where I read it but it said that taking baby steps was the best and like for example a clean kitchen had to start with shining your sink. My first thought on it was that it was totally stupid to always keep your kitchen sink shining clean, but once I started doing that, the cleanliness of the sink actually started affecting the rest of the kitchen in a positive way.
I feel it is really related to how you value your life as well. How you value the things you already have in your life. I mean, if you don´t take care of the things you already have, you don´t put real value on anything you would like to obtain in the future either. Or atleast, that is how it feels to me 😉
Thanks for stopping by my blog and commenting, going to have a look around here, looks like “my kind of site”!
Hi Miriam, I find that the shiny sink concept (sounds like Flylady) works for the whole house in general. If it’s out of control, starting with one room to get the feeling of peace that comes with order and clear spaces works wonders to motivate us and give us strength to do the rest.
The shiny sink is also practical because it is one of the most functional areas of the room. That concept works well for all rooms – bedroom = bed etc.
I totally agree with what you said about valuing your things. I find this to be a cornerstone to keeping them nice, not just for the practical and obvious reasons, but because it quiets the frame of mind that we always need more, always need to be searching.
When we are happy with and value what we have, it seems to quiet something in us, slows us down enough to find ourselves focusing on looking after it and getting rid of what harms us – mainly clutter.
I need to go back to your blog, I really enjoyed it too!
Yeah that´s it, the Flylady LOL
I´ll be off on a short holiday soon, so I won´t be posting there for a while, but hey, you´re welcome anytime!
cheers!
Mirjam