clutter and routine

 what is it about clutter? or routine?

who even cares?

it's boring. isn't it?

but for me, it SO is part of psychological health

So long ago. At Mum's on Christmas morning. I'm second from right.

Have you ever been to homes where you can relax, sit and chat. And everything is so nice, and uncluttered? Have you ever wondered why this is so? Or even how someone has managed it?

I surely have. I've had many times in my life when my working hours were all over the place and I didn't have time to always be tidying up. And yet, mysteriously, usually everything was tidy and ran smoothly. The confusion for me was often how people had the time to sit and relax. It was truly a mystery to me, having that sort of luxury.

But now I do have that time. Due to my life changing, oh and covid too. And now, surprisingly, it suddenly is harder to be tidy and methodical. AArrgghhh!!! I'm quite sure that lockdown does have a lot to do with it, though. 

why does it bother me?

And why does it even matter? For me, I am a very visual person. And I'm sometimes seeing through three eyes - right, left, and third eye. (I'm a clairvoyant) So that's really visual. Having a lot of stuff around me is hard. My eyes get sore and my attention is constantly distracted from what I'm doing. It becomes, for me anyway, quite difficult to stay focussed. 

Interestingly, I was "chatting" with one of my sisters who is the tidiest and cleanest person, ever. She said she is very methodical (yes she is) and that clutter and mess are exhausting for her. Gosh, I thought, that's the word that sums it all up. We get exhausted by an overload of things awaiting to be cleaned and put away. 

I know that for some, having stuff everywhere doesn't bother them. I know people who even love it. Which is great. But that's just not me. 

kids playing is not mess to me

However, I do love it when kids are playing with their toys and taking up lots of space doing so. As they should. My youngest grandchild loves coming to Granny's and checking out that all of her special stuff is in the right places. I've found that this makes it easier for children to play.

I've had to look long and hard at making life more efficient for myself. I work from home, so everything that needs doing - I can see it! It makes things harder for me to concentrate. 

routine and regularity helps me. heaps.

Some things I aim to be regular about are:

* Bed making. Eh? Doesn't everyone do this? I dispensed with my top sheet. Because it took me ages to get my bed looking nice. Oh, and every night I got tangled up in that darned sheet. Now just have a bottom sheet, 3 pillows, and a duvet.Everything gets washed at least once a week, and it's so-o-o quick and easy now to make my bed. Why didn't I think of this sooner?

* wiping out the bathroom basin everyday. A quick swish of the loo.

* Make sure that any dishes are washed before I go to bed (no dishwasher), and sink clean.

* I do washing, frequently. But, as it's just me, I'm not quite as anal about it as I used to be. I just make sure that I do a few piles every two to three days, and pop it all onto my old wire clothes horse. In winter, I often use my drier.  My grandmother taught me how to hang washing so that everything looks good when it's dried. In the days when every mum ironed incessantly, I learnt as a young mum, to fold everything nicely as I took them off the clothesline. And thereby skip the ironing. I still do this. 

*  I've been slowly rearranging my cupboards and things that I've got tucked away for future use. The word for it all is actually culling. What I don't use, isn't needed - off to an op shop asap. I actually do this as an ongoing way of life, however, covid lockdowns have made drop offs a no-no.

Mum had eight children and brought up a grandchild. Her house was very full. Every morning it was vacuumed and tidied, and tons of washing done. It was a regular routine. The eldest daughters did a lot of work around the home. But Mum did too. I truly don't know how she did it, as she also worked most afternoons as well as five evenings a week. I know why she was so strict with all of this. Can you imagine how chaotic life would have been for her and her family if she hadn't had clean and tidy habits. And her home, although modest, was lovely. She made it so. Honestly, I still wonder how she managed everything. 

** link to magic in the home here

** link to more about decluttering and a funny story, here

** and of course this weeks yoga post here about chakras and such

living a life