How many of us end the year, every year, looking around our homes in despair and disgust? Many of you are probably completely overwhelmed right now, between social obligations, busy work schedules, end-of-semester stress, the holidays, and everything else. Now that it’s all finally winding down a little, you’re left surrounded by an unholy mess. So my gift to you is a game plan for getting that mess under control while still keeping whatever part of your sanity you had going into the season.
1. It’s not gonna go away on its own. Staring at the boxes and bags and dishes in anguish and misery isn’t going to make them go away. Roll up your sleeves and get ready to get to work. The longer you wait to start dealing with it, the more risk of it becoming somewhat invisible to you and eventually just being part of the landscape.
2. Slow and steady. In this, like in all of our home projects, doing a little at a time helps to keep you from getting buried under the metaphorical (and often physical) weight of the task at hand. Set your timer for 20 minutes, or pick one surface, pile, or small area to focus on, and get started. Chip away at it a bit at a time. You’ll make more progress than you think.
3. Once given, gifts are yours to do with as you wish. You do not have to hold on to stuff you won’t use or don’t want. The gift has been given to you, and you are under no obligation to keep it forever if you don’t want to.
4. Keep at it. You don’t have to devote all of your free time to cleaning up, but if you consistently do a little bit when you can, things will shape up just fine. Once you’ve cleaned up a spot, let yourself feel a little smug about it, and enjoy the little feeling of calm that sneaks in. And then, when you can, move on to another spot and repeat until your home is reset to something that’s livable and enjoyable for you.
End-of-December chaos control: A few steps to reclaim your home and your sanity
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