When I first moved to Hawaii, my son was 1 year old and my daughter was 2½. Those kids had a lot of energy! It was already difficult to keep up with them, plus I was busy unpacking boxes and setting up our new house.
To make matters worse, I was woefully out of shape.
Truth be told, I had never really been in shape at any point in my life. The physical demands of that season simply exposed that fact.
I knew logically (and because everybody who was in shape told me so) that regular exercise gives you more energy. It makes sense. When your body has cardio endurance and muscle, chasing a one-year-old doesn’t drain the life out of you.
Even though I really wanted that end result, I put off exercising for a long time because I knew that getting started would not be fun.
Simply put: I was afraid.
When I finally worked up my courage to join an exercise group, the first class felt like it would kill me. The warm-up alone took all the effort I had, and about halfway through the hour I was ready to give up.
Enduring the Pain of the Beginning
Thankfully, the instructor and the other moms were extremely supportive. One mom even offered to push my double stroller along with her own just to give me a break!
I barely made it through the workout, and that afternoon all I wanted to do was flop on the couch and close my eyes. I was sore all over, my kids watched way too much TV that day, and dinner was leftovers . . . again.
I certainly wasn’t excited to exercise again, but I went to another class two days later anyway.
Why? Because I still believed the end result would be worth the effort.
After a few weeks of forcing myself to go to class, there came a day when the instructor said it was time to cool down, and I remember thinking, “Hey! That wasn’t so bad!”
Surprisingly, I had been able to keep up with the others. That afternoon I felt surprisingly good. I ran my errands, took the kids to the park, cooked dinner, and did a load of laundry, and I wasn’t exhausted. It was working!!!
Getting your house to function better is a very similar process.
I tell this story, because the exact same progression applies to getting our houses in shape.
When there is too much stuff, and it is not organized in an intentional way, and especially when we do not have consistent routines, our house feels heavy and awkward.
We trip over our stuff and waste time looking for things. We feel irritated because every task feels harder than it should be. We become annoyed with family members who make more messes for us to clean. At the end of the day we are left feeling exhausted and discouraged.
We know logically that decluttering, downsizing, reorganizing, and training our habits will make everything easier. We believe other women who say that the work is worth the effort. But we also know that getting started is going to be tough!
If you push through the pain in the beginning, you will feel the relief in the end.
The first night you stay on your feet an extra 15 minutes to clear the kitchen counters and do the dishes, it’s not going to be fun. You will have to force yourself to follow through.
But the next morning, you experience the joy of waking up to a clean kitchen. You’ll have your coffee in hand before the kids come running. Breakfast faster, making it easier to get out the door on time.
You’ll say to yourself, “It’s working!”
The first time you donate a bag filled with clothes that you paid money for and barely wore, it’s not going to feel great. But one day you will be putting your laundry away, and you’ll realize you can actually fit all of your clothes and shoes neatly in your closet at the same time! You will be glad you pushed through the pain.
The first time you sit with your children to sift through their toys, you will have to summon a whole lot of patience and persistence. But, oh my goodness, the relief when your kids are finally capable of cleaning up the play room!
Most of us have been putting off the decluttering, downsizing, and reorganizing process, because we dread the beginning.
But this truth remains . . .
The energy it takes to live in a cluttered and dysfunctional house year after year is more taxing than the energy it would take to make the changes that cause your house to function better.
You have the power to get your house in shape!
Looking back, I might not have been able to push through those first few workout sessions had it not been for the encouraging and supportive group of moms who walked with me.
I want to give you that same kind of support with your home!
Every resource in the Home On Purpose program is filled with effective strategies, practical tips, and positive encouragement to help you get motivated to take control of your stuff and your spaces.
Just remember, if nothing changes, nothing will change.
If you are tired of feeling tired, and would love to make your home easier to manage, let Home On Purpose show you how easy it can be to completely transform the way your home functions!
Use the Home Diagnostic Tool to identify which areas of your home merit your attention most and first.
Enjoy our free resources, connect to the community, and discover everything Home On Purpose has to offer!
Trackbacks/Pingbacks