Stress, Stress Comes From a Mess

Do you ever find that your laundry pile never seems to go away? The dishes are constantly there and needing to be washed, dried, or put away? Your magazine pile grows quickly and you don’t have a chance to read through them, but you don’t want to throw them away because you think you will read through sometime soon?

I dont’ know about you, but all of these things apply to me! When the mess becomes overwhelming (i.e. piles of clothes on the floor waiting to be put away, piles of magazines or miscellaneous papers lying on any horizontal space available), the stress level accelerates at lightning fast speeds.

My parents are visiting and whenever they visit, George loves it because my stepmom helps me to organize my home, straightening things up and putting things away as we go along. She is super good at organizing – finding different sized bins to make storing things easier, clearing my piles from horizontal surfaces, etc.

When we moved from our previous home to the current home we rent, I had to get rid of a LOT of stuff. Not that George made me get rid of it, but I got rid of it because I was tired of storing the extra, never used items and didn’t want to FIND a place to store it at our new home. I got rid of sheets and towels that had been boxed up for 5 years, toys that were broken or never played with, clothes I had from when I was in high school and couldn’t possibly fit after having 3 children, and books that were never read and would never be read. I felt in control getting rid of things I no longer had use for.

Not only does the lack of a mess help me feel in control, but it also decreases the level of stress felt by myself, my kids, and my husband! I have learned that it is okay to throw away magazines that are 2 or 3 months old and haven’t been read through. I have also learned that the kids seem to behave and act much better when there aren’t messes all around them! Thank goodness they visit 3 or 4 times a year! 🙂