When it comes to kids, the house and clutter, it can seem like a never-ending cycle. The kids (and everything else!) will naturally create more clutter but often the issue, asides from the fact that most of us usually hate trying to de-clutter our home (hands up who else is a hoarder?), is that it can feel like you're getting nowhere.
You tidy and tidy and clear up and out and still, it feels like you haven't made much de-cluttering progress. And as Red Magazine reports, there's a reason for this.
Your brain is constantly updating its internal picture of what that space looks like, so you don’t necessarily remember exactly how messy it was to begin with, making you feel like you're accomplishing very little, according to Rachel Hoffman author of Unf*ck Your Habitat: You’re better than your mess.
Her solution?
Whip out your phone and take a quick picture of your surroundings before you begin clearing anything away. Then take a few more pictures as you go along.
This helps your mental block disappear because you can physically see the progress you're making via the photos, thus making the de-cluttering process much easier.
As she explains:
Snapping a quick picture before you start and then at intervals throughout the cleaning process, and finally when you’re finished, accomplishes several things. First, after working for a while, you’re likely to feel like you haven’t made any noticeable progress. Having a clear “before” picture reminds you what it really looked like to start, and how far you’ve come. It can also be helpful in pointing out hidden areas that need attention. By letting you look at the environment from outside, a good “before” picture can help you turn a critical eye to the area and see things you may not have noticed before.
This way, when it all starts to get on top of you, you have a visual of your progress to make things easier. Then, use your “after” pictures as a guide to help you remember what any particular area looks like when it’s actually clean; this means the de-cluttering process will be easier the next time around.
Have a try and see if it makes a difference the next time you're doing a big clear-out, mums!
