What the clutter?
It has been nearly five months since moving into a larger home. After six years in my 605 square foot condo, the upgrade was necessary and the move to a 2100 square foot home happened.
The move occurred amidst the pandemic which caused many of us to transition to working from home. I am lucky that the new home allows me to have a full home office and it’s become my dream office! Decorated in a peacock theme with an incredible deep purple accent wall with all my cute knickknacks in view. Having also opened this private telemental health practice during the pandemic, the office has been ideal! However, the office has also become the indiscriminate location for items that are “in need of a home but not sure where they’ll live yet”. Am I the only one who says their belongings “need a home” within your home?
Every time I turn around, there’s another box to be emptied or another area getting filled with clutter. Hence the topic of this blog: clutter! Where does it come from? Why is it never ending? Does it ever end? I’ve also realized that the more clutter there is, the more my headspace feels cluttered.
It was quite overwhelming to look at the messy and cluttered office. I kept making excuses as to why I couldn’t make the time to clean it up. Those random items still needed their home within the home. I noticed that in between clients, I would glance over and shudder at how the office looked. Finally, I attacked. I took control over the space and turned the office into what it’s meant to be.
A day or two later, I felt a sense of calm while in the office. I recognized that the clutter that took over my office was directly correlated to the increased stress and anxiety that I was experiencing. Taking control of the overwhelming mess and emotions, putting in the time and effort, and relishing in the rewards of a clean space truly helped my mental well-being. It’s not easy making the leap of taking control. There are so many unknowns attached to it and the end goal is not always clear. My plan of attack was only successful because I went piece by piece, box by box. I took the overall attack plan and broke it down into smaller, more manageable, tasks.
We find peace by gaining perspective.
In this situation, my peace came from an un-cluttered perspective within my home office.