I want to convince you of the power of Tidiness: including clear-outs or decluttering, wardrobe re-organisation, room re-organising. Yes, my sisters its not just a daily chore it’s a life changing, exhilarating, and satisfying coping mechanism. Big in America, huge, companies are doing it for you.
Everyone is talking about Mental Health no longer the taboo subject ooh does that mean I can talk about mine? Even though I don’t want to?
Better check those statistics before I say anything … latest poll 1 in 4 people will experience a mental health problem. Divorce, single parenting and job losses are a few to mention, Yes tick add me to the list of casualties I can score 10 out of 10 for these beauties.
Make that BOLD! It was June 2010 OMG it was a long summer. Baby steps, they say well hey nothing like jumping off the cliff. Time to put down Ruby Wax’s book and take some action.
So I had this Big crazy idea “I’m going to sort out the house a bit, tidy it up re-arrange a few things” so what happened … I started dismantling the house room by room. No polite re-folding of jumpers – this was serious it was clearing the decks cleansing / purging bloody well starting again. It was messy, forget the mess “just go with it” I kept saying.
Clothes were ejected from the cupboard and shuttled to the charity shop, furniture re-arranged, draws emptied, old documents thrown out. OMG this was the best fun I’d had in ages. The kids even started on their rooms if it meant a trip to the tip they were in.
I can genuinely say the experience was therapeutic and healing. Something shifted and Guess What I started to feel better.
End result:
Benefits from a kamikaze clear-out
- Focus more able to “cope”
- Exercise – it’s tiring bagging up clothes for charity and lugging them down the stairs
- I was properly physically tired.
- Sense of achievement started to shift the low self-esteem.
- Stopped thinking about myself whilst doing it.
- FREE no therapist taken hostage to bore about how my life had collapsed!
Present day
If I let the mess gather or settle it’s like a day off and there’s a break in normal brain transmission. The anxious feelings start and, the “I’m overwhelmed by the bigger picture feeling starts”
If I’m not careful the negative “I can’t do this, and I certainly can’t do that” thoughts flood into my head and it’s a struggle to do the tasks / jobs that are a breeze on a good day.
So now when I’m stressed or overwhelmed its back to sorting cupboards, rooms stuff, clearing out, I must re-set the sensors.
Weird you might think, why isn’t she reaching for chocolate or champagne but for me this works. Calm returns and the children sigh with relief, Mum’s not going bonkers again!
Getting organised doesn’t have to mean clinical OCD top of the class look at me I’m so perfect organised. It can mean a bit of sorting, re-organising cupboards Throwing out old stuff. Taking clothes to the charity shop.
Who’d have thought that a bit of domestic madness can be so powerful in the crazy world we live in.
TIPS:
Fun to get the family involved, husbands can get an idea of how much we superwomen do! Get rid of old toys, children clothes.
Recently divorced, get the girls round, bottle of wine, new beginning, new image.
