Every morning, drag myself out of bed to start our normal family rhythm. Feed the kids breakfast, scroll through social media as I drink my coffee while I wait for them to finish. Then I do the dishes as the older ones get ready for the day. The younger two play in the lounge room. I change some nappies and start doing the some more tidying before school time begins.
I spend a majority of my time doing the same tasks every day. Squeezing clothes into tallboys, while an endless amount of dirty laundry waits to be washed. Looking around at all the surfaces I have cleaned but still look cluttered. I feel like I am drowning in my own home from the stuff that it everywhere. It seems to be filling every corner and surface throughout the house.
I have a large family of ten, plus one gorgeous Labrador and two cute cuddle cats. All squeezed into a small 3 bedroom rental. Our home is overcrowded but it also feels overstuffed. All of this is adding to making me feel frustrated and overwhelmed.
Just recently I have come to realise that I am missing out. My children are growing up so quickly, but I am missing out at being involved in it. I am instead standing on the sidelines watching while I constantly tidy. Continually asking them to wait as I clean or organise something in the home that is overstuffed with stuff.
I don’t need more space, I need Less Stuff.
All of these feeling of overwhelm and like I missing out on being there for my children has lead me to the decision of making a change. That change is to overhaul our home and purge as much as possible. I have tried many time to declutter and organise but have struggled over the years. I will either procrastinate or avoid the task I have set myself. Or have rewarded my efforts by buying more stuff. Which is so helpfully unhelpful.
My journey to living with less is going to be difficult but I need to push through so I can start being more present in my children lives. Instead of tidying up after it.
That is my end goal.
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