Walking through your front door after dropping the kids off at school, you’re suddenly overwhelmed by the huge amount of clutter that fills not just the hallway, but the kitchen, the living room, and your child’s bedroom. There are toys and clothes everywhere!

You go about picking things up but you get sidetracked when your boss rings. The call takes at least an hour and then you need to head to the shops, choose out a bunch of meals for the week, and rush home. Then it’s back to cleaning, gobbling down some lunch, working for a couple of hours, and before you know it, it’s time to pick up the kids. Not only is the house full of clutter, your mind is also filled to the brim with a busy schedule, a bunch of choices, and a ton of information!

Parental life can be very cluttered at times, physically and metaphorically, which can lead to feelings of stress. So, over the course of two articles, we’ll offer suggestions on how to de-clutter several aspects of your life and hopefully reduce those stress levels.

Now, before we get on to several strategies, let’s quickly examine why decluttering our homes and minds is so important.

Why will it prove helpful to declutter my life?

When we have too much stuff, too many choices, too much information, and too many thoughts in our heads, we overwhelm our systems, which puts us on edge and causes feelings of stress. Simplifying and decluttering our lives can help us to feel calmer and less easily triggered, and what’s more, it’s not as complicated as it sounds.

So, which aspects of a parent’s life are we hoping to declutter?

In part 1, we’ll cover:

Physical clutter. Oftentimes, just seeing things pile up around the home, even if you’re not having to deal with them, can cause feelings of stress.

The choices you have to make. We often assume that having plenty of options is a good thing, and sometimes it is. But more often than not, when we have too much to choose from, we spend an age agonising over the decision and then worry afterwards that it wasn’t the right one. On top of this, decision fatigue is a very real thing. Making hundreds of decisions a day wears us out and makes future decisions harder.

So, there’s a whole lot that we can declutter that should help to make day-to-day life a little less frantic.

How can I simplify and declutter these aspects of my life?

Physical clutter.

Resist showing your love with “stuff”. Too many toys can make it difficult for kids to figure out how and what to play with, and equating affection with gifts can be damaging.

Declutter when they’re not around. Of course, you’ll want to keep their loveys and any special toys, but if it’s not being played with, donate it.

Teach your kids how to de-clutter as they get older. If they aren’t willing to get rid of stuff, it’s up to them to keep it out of the way in their room.

Organise a family declutter day. If everyone is pitching in, no one will feel picked on.

Set up a donation box. Encourage the kids to place at least one item a week in the box and then drop it off at the local charity shop or donation centre.

Choices. When it comes to making a decision, switching your thinking to “good enough”, as opposed to “perfect”, will prove really helpful because ultimately, nothing is perfect. Besides this, we have a few more suggestions.

Let go of as many decisions as possible. Kids enjoy self-autonomy, so when they’re younger, let them make the choice when the outcome doesn’t bother you – what they’ll wear, whether to bathe or do their homework first. As your kids get older, allow them to make more decisions and deal with the consequences.

Remove choices. Have a think about the rules you have set in stone in your household, and then enforce them. For example, if you’ve decided there’ll be no TV on Sundays, enforce this rule and your kids will stop asking and pestering.

Make choices when it’s easier to do so. Choices become a whole lot more difficult if we have to make them when we’re rushing, tired, or hungry. So, plan meals for the week on a Sunday night and ask your child to put out what they want to wear the night before. If a choice keeps coming up and causes you to stress, see if it’s easier to figure it out at a calmer time.

How to simplify and declutter my life (Part 1)

Keep things clean and straightforward with Unii.