A few months ago, I set a huge goal for myself – to have a clutter-free home by December 31st. I enlisted my husband’s support – to have it be a mutual goal, since his support is crucial to having this work, for a number of reasons. The clutter we accumulate (and whose it is, and who “should” clear it up) has been an ongoing issue for us and we don’t always handle it like partners. A big piece of the “issue” is that my hubby and I haven’t very effectively found a “home” for many of our things. For him, his stuff is straightforward – it goes in the garage or the shed (of course!). And his idea of making it all work is putting things away where it will work for him…”oh, I never use wrapping paper. I’ll stick it up in the rafters.” Mine (and ours) doesn’t seem as easy for me, so having his help and input – and doing it together – was important.

Shortly after setting the “clutter-free home” goal, I spent a couple of good chunks of time on the project. Felt like I made great headway. Didn’t think about the holidays creating more clutter. Lost some ground. Now we’re getting really close to the end of the year, Paul’s parents are coming to stay with us, and we’re nowhere near clutter-free. But we did work together over the weekend – in a way that felt like a partnership. We got a lot done, had some good laughs, and not too many cross words. I have most of my hair left. Plus, we still have time!

Being the perfectionist I can sometimes be, this is also a good opportunity evaluate what “clutter-free” really means to me. The images I have in my mind seem to be along the lines of “immaculate” – which seems a bit far-fetched. I wrote a while back that what I really wanted was to have “a place for everything” so that “10-minute pick-ups” would put the place back into order – and not a lot of “stuff” laying around ..no kitty toys next to the phone, no dog brushes on the entryway counter, counters and tables pretty clear, etc. And to be able to keep it up? Yowza!! Progress, not perfection! Good progress, too! (As long as I don’t compare myself with a Superwoman, like SAHMmysays – Stay at Home Moms – pretty clever and not just for Moms – this Grandma got some great ideas! She’s a crack-up (and a little scary, she’s so on top of things)! Don’t miss the GOYB Series !)

I’ve been around long enough to know about the correlation between outer clutter and inner clutter – duh! So, this clutter-clearing is obviously a pathway to my own inner clearing – and inner peace. It takes work and consistent upkeep and it doesn’t happen overnight. You want inner peace? You gotta become your own inner activist!

Inquiry

What actions are up for you to take to bring about more inner peace?

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