As a professional declutterer, you might imagine my home is a serene, perfectly organized sanctuary 24/7. And while I strive to maintain a peaceful home, the truth is, life happens. Just like anyone else, my family and I experience busy seasons, unexpected demands, and the occasional explosion of “stuff.” The end of the school year for three girls, coupled with a packed work schedule, recently brought this reality home in a big way.
At the end of the school year, after an especially long day, I walked through my front door to a scene that might sound familiar: unfolded laundry threatening to engulf the bed, a full dishwasher silently judging the dirty dishes in the sink, books colonizing the coffee table, Legos staging a coup on the living room floor, and a smattering of miscellaneous items across the kitchen counters. It wasn’t chaos, but it definitely wasn’t “magazine-ready.”
And guess what? That’s perfectly okay.
Decluttering Isn’t About Perfection, It’s About Reset
Here’s the secret I want to share: being happily decluttered isn’t about achieving a flawless, perpetually tidy home. It’s about building strong habits and creating simple systems that allow you to easily reset when life inevitably gets messy. Because it will get messy.
Instead of feeling overwhelmed or defeated by the disarray, I saw it as a temporary situation. My home wasn’t “failed,” it was just showing the signs of a busy, full week. My approach was the same one I share with all my clients:
- One Step at a Time: I didn’t try to tackle everything at once. I started with the most impactful areas first. For me, that meant getting the kitchen under control so we could enjoy dinner and pack lunches for the next day.
- Ask for Help: I’m not a superhero, and neither are you. I enlisted my family. My girls helped with the Legos and putting away some of the books, and my partner tackled the dishes. Decluttering is a team sport!
- Prioritize: We focused on resetting the spaces that would give us the most immediate relief and make the biggest difference for the next day. The laundry could wait until morning.
Within a relatively short amount of time, our home felt calmer, more functional, and ready for whatever the next day would bring.
Your Real Life, Decluttered
My “messy moment” was a powerful reminder that decluttering is an ongoing journey, not a destination. It’s about creating a home that supports you, even when things are hectic. It’s about having the tools and the mindset to easily get back on track.
So, if you’re looking around your home right now and seeing some “real life” messes, please know you’re not alone. I’m right there with you. My goal isn’t to make your home look like a showroom, but to empower you with the habits and systems that make it easy to live a happily decluttered life, no matter how messy things might get.
What’s one small area in your home that you could “reset” today?
I just moved so the decluttering was traumatic despite the fact I do declutter often. This was a declutter nightmare given the size of the new place but your point is so valid. Clutter happens and the important is getting to it before it escalates out of control. People have to live.