I'm a pack rat. Not the kind that has piles of newspapers blocking the doorway to the living room, but the kind who has a hard time throwing things away. It was always manageable... until I had kids. You see, we bought our house with the intention of having two kids. However, sometime around November 2007, God gave me the two for the price of one feature.
The things about twins... they need a lot of stuff. You think one baby has it a lot, imagine two of EVERYTHING. Well not quite everything, but pretty darn close. As we needed to make room for two cribs or two swings or 18 million toys, I was stuck with trying to find places for the existing items in the house. And like I said, I can't throw things away. (I blame my mom for this disease.) So rather than Monica's closet, I had Sarah's office (but there is no door). And Sarah's laundry room (that one has a door). And I had a lot of clutter.
Did you know that clutter can drain you emotionally? I've tried explaining this theory to Keith, but he's easily distracted by the bright shiny computer or the ear-piercing scream of a child who is mad because another child took the legos even though the screaming child wasn't even originally playing with the legos...) Anyway.... it can drain you. And it can drag you down. The heaviness of all those THINGS - and that's what they are, just THINGS - caused me more stress than I realized.
Rather than make resolutions for 2013, I made an action plan. And the goal of that plan is to focus on me. Because I'm awesome and I deserve it.
My mantra used to be "embrace chaos" because that was the only way I felt I could make it through the craziness of my life at the time. But now, it's time for a change.
My new mantra reflects what I want to accomplish this year:
Peace, Health, and Simplify
There are a lot of ways that I can achieve what I want - learning to say no, stop trying to please everyone but myself, become a better wife and mother... but I'm starting with the closet. And the office. And the laundry room. And the toys.
I've thrown away or donated quite a bit so far, but I'm not done yet. It's amazing how much lighter I feel.
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