Thank you all so much for your kind comments last week which warmed my heart and made me smile. I appreciated each and every one of them and found comfort in your words. After a teary Friday, my weekend continued on a happier note with a first birthday party, a night off cooking and a sudden burst of enthusiasm that saw me get stuck into a bit of organising, a bit of cleaning and a few craft projects I've been putting aside for much too long.
Back when our spare room became Sophie's nursery, our study became our 'dumping ground'. It wasn't that we didn't have the storage space for all these items, it was more that I didn't have the time to dedicate to sorting them out. Over the weeks and months, I threw more and more things in there. Piles of paperwork yet to be filed grew and grew, the carpet slowly disappeared under mountains of 'stuff' and I misplaced lots of objects. Struggling to keep up to date with our housework as it was, I didn't have the time necessary for tackling such a mammoth task.
Then last week, my Mum spent an afternoon helping me give our house a thorough clean. We don't see her a lot when she's working, but last week she was on holidays and so she had the time to give me a hand. I felt like crying happy tears that night as I stood in my sparkling, clean shower. It was the best it had EVER looked. And so, with the housework under control, yesterday became the day for claiming back our study. While Paul went for an afternoon bike ride, I plopped Sophie down next to me with a handful of 'random objects' from my desk drawer for her to investigate, gave Grace my box of ribbons to play with and I got stuck into sorting. Two packing boxes are now sitting in our living room filled with things to give away, sell on Gumtree or donate to charity. Aside from a pile of bills still to be filed and my craft and sewing boxes to go through, our study is now in an acceptable state.
I can't tell you how good that feels. Freeing our home of unnecessary clutter has definitely freed my mind from feeling so overwhelmed and given me the enthusiasm I needed to get things back on track house-wise.
This week, I'm planning to finish off some sewing and decorating projects and hopefully by this time next week, I should actually have some photos of things I've made and done to share with you...
How good of your mum to come and help you do some cleaning. I would be so excited to stand in our junk room and see it organised, I am a bit sick of it at the moment but we need to buy a desk and a bedframe before we can get sorting! Hope it stays that way for a while for you :)
ReplyDeleteI need to do exactly the same Amanda. There is so much crap laying around here, especially unfiled papers. It overwhelms me and I try to deal with it by creating piles of things.
ReplyDeleteI have a friend coming to stay in a few weeks so have a tonne to clean/spruce up before then!
I look forward to see what you have been making :)
xx
Oh Amanda your Mum sounds like a treasure. Sometimes you just need someone to help motivate you and get you going. I am in desperate need of a clean and toss to make way for the bits and pieces from my ikea and store shopping spree.
ReplyDeletehow good does it feel when you actually get the time (and the energy!) to sort through all that 'stuff'?!
ReplyDeletefirst of all your mum is a legend for coming over and helping you clean. gosh i love mums! and i had to laugh about your study being your 'dumping ground' because we call ours 'the den of sh*t'...which is now known as 'the den of danger' (because olive loves to explore in there with daddy's bikes and all sorts of dangerous things that could fall on her.)
good on you for taking the time and tidying it all up. i am inspired! (though won't get round to it for some time, i expect) :)
It's so refreshing & invigorating to have a clean out isn't it?
ReplyDeleteSo lovely of your Mum to come over & help clean. It is so hard to get much done with littlies around, I know.
Sorry, I didn't comment on your last post about your Dad's anniversarry! I am just catching up on blog reading now! So sorry Amanda. What a hard time for you & your family. I teared up reading it. Your in my thoughts!!!
xx
. . . and now you've inspired me to put this computer down and go and scrub my shower!!
ReplyDeleteI'm pretty onto sending clutter to the op-shop, much to the disapproval of the rest of the family.
rachel xo
Oh Amanda, I know how satisfying that decluttering can be. I also know how hard it is to keep on top of the organisation when you have littlies. Good for you. J x
ReplyDeleteI understand that overwhelmed feeling all too well Amanda. It must feel great to take back some of that control. Good on you. It's so hard when you have a lot on your plate and little ones and all their busy-ness!
ReplyDeleteDecluterring is like clearing the mind and distressing. Good for you!
ReplyDeleteI so need to do this - we have only been back from honeymoon a few days but the urge to de clutter and clean is striking me. Going to tackle this soon!! xx
ReplyDeleteWhat a lovely Mum you have to come and help you with some tidying. It is such a good feeling to get on top of things that have been sitting waiting for a while to deal with. Yeah to less clutter and to a clear mind. xx
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