How Decluttering Makes Holidays FUN again!
Hello, amazing humans, it’s STORY TIME.
This is the story of how decluttering has given me back the joy I used to feel as a kid when holidays and birthdays were approaching.
One day recently, I went to the grocery store for milk, and left with an extra bag full of party supplies.
(Yay, ADHD! This is why my husband does the grocery shopping. But I digress.)
Here’s the thing – the milk is located opposite the frozen foods aisle.
And at the end of that frozen foods aisle is a small display of Papyrus birthday supplies.
And naturally, I had to check out that display.
And they had these paper plates that my daughter would love for her birthday. Plates, cups, napkins. Sparkly pastel candles! (I tend to forget to buy candles.) Even a (sort of matching) birthday banner.
BUT her birthday wasn’t for a few months yet.
Now, here’s the crazy part:
A few years ago, one of two things would have happened.
- I would have bought the decorations – then promptly misplaced them, or even completely forgotten about them. They just would have become part of the general clutter landscape. OR
- I wouldn’t have bought them, knowing I would misplace them or forget about them. Instead, I would have waited until the last minute, been stressed to the point of tears, angry at myself because now I had to settle for something that was just “Okay.”
I realize this sounds ridiculous to “naturally organized people” (aka, people who don’t struggle with clutter).
“Why didn’t you just create a birthday section in the closet so you could buy things when they’re on sale, or when you run across the perfect present? Then you just put them away in the closet when you come home!”
Why indeed.
Because I just couldn’t figure out how to do this, for decades I chastised and judged myself just as harshly as I imagined everyone else was doing. (Sadly, I knew for a fact some people really were judging me, but that’s another story.)
The reality is that there are a dozen tiny skills one needs to know how to do to “simply” bring things home and put them in the right place.
And I didn’t know pretty much any of those skills.
Eventually, I began to piece them together. It was a time-consuming, frustrating, and frankly lonely process (even with FB groups). (Note: I can save you a lot of that painstaking work!)
And then one day, this magical moment occurred. Right there at the end of the frozen foods aisle.
(You know, just your typical place to have a huge stroke of clarity!)
That day I realized – I can buy these. I can take them home and even if perhaps I won’t remember to unpack the bag immediately, I’ll get them to the birthday section in my closet. AND I’ll definitely think to check there as we get closer to my daughter’s birthday.
(I would love to say I didn’t cry in the grocery store….)
Amazing humans – why do we do this to ourselves?!?! Why do we settle for making it through the days, when our days could be amazing, just like us?
I bought the decorations.
I instantly felt soooooo excited for my daughter’s birthday!
And it was just so easy – I knew where to put them, and while I can’t claim to have put them away immediately, I also did not misplace them.
And when I open the closet, I feel excited all over again for her birthday.
And it wasn’t just her birthday.
Easter is coming up, and my daughter and I have been finding little bits and bobs for the baskets for months now, because we’re getting to spend the holiday (FINALLY) with my niece who has just turned four, and is obsessed with my daughter. They are all organized, and we’re able to just be excited to be spending a holiday with family after so much time apart.
Decluttering truly gives us back parts of our lives that may feel lost forever.
Truly – they are not.
Bonus time: What has decluttering stolen from you, that you are ready to have back?! Click here to tell me!