Blog
Consumption is the Mother of all F@*k Ups.
Today it was announced that GDP has fallen for the second month in a row.
The price of petrol has never been higher, the weekly food shop, coupled with rising gas and electricity bills are causing some families to have to choose between eating, or heating.
Amongst some, the discontent with the eternal rat race suffocates them further. Were we meant to work to live, or live to work?
The requirements of our family are continually met on a surface level, with the essential iphone, clothing, school trips etc. But does the work life balance afford parents the time to meet their children’s emotional requirements?
We are living in a time of financial unpredictability, and yet the nations homes are bursting with “stuff”, all paid for by hard earned cash. It is evident from overflowing wardrobes, stuffed full drawers, kitchen cupboards filled with well-intended gadgets. You really did mean to make pasta from scratch, bake fresh bread daily and juice all your fruit, yet you can’t quite remember why you don’t, or why it was even important to you in the first place.
If your schedule allows you to utilise these gadgets, I’m happy for you, but my research suggests people don’t have the time to use them. Money earned is spent buying excess items that aren’t doing their job, or earning the place or the space they take up in our home.
We are continually spoon fed the notion that pursuing a new, equipment heavy interest or wearing a particular brand, or trying a new face cream will be the answer to our problem. It will tell others something about us. It will enable us to be enough for society.
We buy things we don’t really need, with money we don’t really have, to impress the people we don’t really like.
Deficit advertising encourages us to hand over our cash because, in the amazing ad we just saw (whilst mindlessly scrolling social media) we felt like it would all be better in our life if we just pressed buy now.
The money has left our account before we’ve spent anytime considering that what we need to feel fulfilled, cannot actually be “added to basket”.
Change will have to come, as this level of excessive consumption is not sustainable. Neither financially or practically.
When we live in an environment of excess, it clutters the space we live in and it clutters our minds. All that “stuff” adds to our discontent, rather than adding to our happiness as we were told in the impressive advert it would.
But what if you shopped considering the intentional use of your purchases. Where will they go when they get to your front door? Think about what you already have that might do the same or similar job. Do you already have 3 sets of bedding per bedroom? Will this new set, really add true value to your life?
If you know you need to declutter and organise what you have, there is no better way than to put the time aside, and invest your money on a service that will add value to your life.
Hiring a Professional Organiser will enable you to be accountable for more of your current habits. Starting the process is beneficial because the more action you take in decluttering, the more action you will want to take. Start the ball rolling, get organising and decluttering your home. There is also the added benefit of selling off your unwanted items. Bringing you money and peace of mind. Additionally, donating them to charity or others, contributes beyond yourself to the wider community, and gives someone else the chance to give that item a new purpose. Besides taking up valuable space in your home.
The Home Spruce, Planting the Seed
In 2020 (just before the pandemic) I resigned from a job I’d had and loved for almost 20 years. It was time for a change. As a wife, mother of 2, with a household to run, it was apparent I needed a change in direction. I had one week to myself to decompress and the week after I, like so many other began home schooling my two primary school aged children. I was mesmerised by the divine timing of it all. My previous job would have meant I was a key worker, so I was beyond grateful to have this opportunity to reflect on what mattered to me, and be at home with my family.
As in many households, I took stock of my living environment and also I reflected a lot on what had led me to where I was now. A search for greater personal understanding of mindset, has led to a deeper knowledge of how our environment sets such a president for our mental wellbeing. Day to day routines and behaviours, contribute to how we feel. Through my own experience, plus my background in healthcare and working with people, I knew I was heading towards a new vocation, that came from my passion of helping people feel better.
I started The Home Spruce in the following March, and am now offering Professional Organising, decluttering services and general coaching in maintaining a streamlined household. Along side running The Home Spruce I’m volunteering for a local charity who work with socially vulnerable members of the community who’s hoarding habits are putting them at risk of eviction. This role works mutually in helping the community and I also receive valuable training in an area that requires specific expertise.
I believe that our surroundings impact our well being. If it’s a stressful environment with clutter and disorganisation, it creates negative feelings. Once our bodies start producing the stress hormone cortisol, our cognition is effected and subsequently our motivation is too. We can’t think, so we make bad choices, and so we continue the spiral of environmental disarray. We judge ourselves, feel guilty, and therefore begin to believe this is all we are worthy of. I believe everyone should feel good when they walk through their front door. Spaces should be functional, organised and aesthetically comforting.
For me, The Home Spruce is a passion, not just a job.
The Clutter Zone
Quite often, we feel overwhelmed by our home environment and our cluttered surroundings. We spend time looking for misplaced items, which delays us. No one can find anything… EVER!! This adds to our stress levels. We feel negative about our home, which effects our motivation. The disorganisation has a knock-on effect.
To break the cycle, have you ever spent time considering just how your home became so cluttered?
One thing’s for sure is it didn’t happen overnight.
Think about your home when you first moved in. Perhaps it was just you? Or just the two of you before you had children. You could well have more than doubled the people and your possessions under your roof?
It’s natural that during the years you have acquired more items. Things you’ve needed, must have gadgets and equipment, toys and gifts for example.
Are you guilty of quick click online shopping? Do you feel better when you press the buy button?
How many separate birthdays have there been whilst you’ve lived here? Or how many Christmases?
If you’ve lived as a family of 4 for 5 years in the same home and received an average of 5 presents per person per year for birthdays and 7 for Christmas that’s 240 gifts. (And let’s face it, it’s probably more than that!) That’s 240 new objects to be housed and unless you’ve adapted your home to accommodate all of it, that’s a lot of squished up cupboards and drawers.
Unless we regularly take stock of what we really need, love or use it’s easy to see how the clutter accumulates. The hard thing can be just knowing where to start!
Hiring a Professional Organiser to help you through the process reduces the overwhelming feeling when organising your home. A couple of sessions will kick start the momentum you need and enable you to feel good about your home environment.
During June there’s a discount for anyone who’d like my help. Just quote the code CLUTTERZONE and email [email protected]
How To Start Organising Your Home
Have you ever looked around your home and thought you don’t even know where to begin when it comes to organising your home?
Here’s my top tip to help you on your way.
Start with one drawer.
If you feel overwhelmed when organising your home, start small.
Whether it’s your socks, your bits and bobs drawer or your cutlery drawer. Just make start. It’s tempting to jump in and empty an entire cupboard and then feel like the task is too big! Starting small in a great way to re learn how to effectively declutter your home. It can be difficult letting go of things, but if we start small we get used the feelings associated with it, and can move through the process in a less emotionally challenging way.
Start by throwing away what its either broken, no longer used, or anything that’s been superseded.
Wherever possible, it’s best to make a quick decision on whether something is staying or going. The chances are if you’ve not been through the drawer for a while, you won’t need it. I always think if you’ve not missed it, then you won’t miss it.
Remember why you are beginning to organise your home. Your space is valuable. Quite often we don’t need more space, we need less stuff. Excess clutter is a burden on our mind set and being surrounded by it can really get us down.
If you know that you need help, contact a Professional Organiser.
I stated The Home Spruce because I feel that everyone should feel comfortable and calm in their own environment. I have a non-judgemental approach to helping declutter and re organise your home. I’ve had specialised training in hoarding support and feel confident I can help you re gain control of your home environment and help you on your way to independent organisation.
During June, there’s a discount for anyone who’d like my help. Just quote the code CLUTTERZONE and email [email protected]