Clutter and Discouragement

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Welcome to Day 7 of our 30 Day series, A Time to Clean. Today we’re talking about how clutter and discouragement often go together. It’s easy to collect clutter and grime when we feel depressed and it’s easy to feel more depressed when we collect clutter and grime.

How Clutter and Discouragement Go Hand in Hand @ AVirtuousWoman.org

A Time to Clean: Day 7

Do you ever find yourself day dreaming of a different life… or maybe you just feel dissatisfied with the way things have been going in your life. Discontentment can severely affect everything from your relationships to your homemaking. I wish I could say I’ve never been discontent, but that wouldn’t be true!

Life is hard sometimes. A lot of times. And there are definitely seasons in life that are harder than others.

Discontentment Can Lead to Clutter

Discontentment will eat at you until you feel so helpless and dissatisfied with life that those things that are precious to you can lose their appeal. Like homemaking. Or marriage. Or motherhood. For me, it was my house.

Often times, clutter or a messy house is a symptom of discouragement, discontentment, and depression. A lack of energy or excitement about home is a classic reason why it’s so hard to keep it neat and organized. We shop for new things because we are unhappy. We hold on to things because we are unhappy. We find it hard to let things go because we are unhappy. And we’re unhappy because life seems harder than it should be.

When we’re depressed or discouraged, the house gets messy and a messy house makes us feel more stressed, depressed, and discouraged which leads to more discontentment. It’s a viscous cycle.

So, how do we go from being depressed and discouraged when life may very well be hard to feeling content and finding our joy again? For me, it was making the decision to laugh more, focus on what really mattered to me, and learning to say no {setting boundaries}.

Figuring out why you’re so unhappy might require some deep soul searching. The source of your discontentment may not be crystal clear to you, but I believe that if you pray about it and ask God to show you why you’re feeling unhappy with life that He will give you answers. Other times, you know why – maybe your marriage is difficult or you have a parent who wants to control your life or maybe your husband has been out of work for months.

How Clutter and Discouragement Go Hand in Hand @ AVirtuousWoman.org

Whatever the reason, when life is hard, sometimes you have no control over that. So, instead of trying to control your circumstance, you have to change the way you think about things. We can choose to be happy. I had to choose to be happy. I found a new way of looking at life and it has set my soul free.

The Opposite Effect

Clutter can also lead you to feel discouraged and discontent. Studies have shown that excess clutter in your life can lead you to feel more stress. It is harder to focus and and actually decreases your performance overall. Which you have probably already realized!

In fact, I’ve read that if you get rid of 1/3 – 1/2 of your stuff that you’ll live longer and feel happier. Do you think it’s true? I do.

Clutter adds a lot of unwanted “things” to my life. Things like:

  1. The house gets messy so fast.
  2. I feel overwhelmed when I walk into a messy room.
  3. I can’t always find the things I need when I need them.
  4. I can’t always be spontaneous and invite people over.
  5. It stresses me out and makes me unhappy.

And if stress is a leading cause of death… well, maybe having less stuff really could add years to my life!

Remember how I said, focus on one pile, one closet, one drawer at a time? When clutter has overtaken your life, it’s important to understand that it probably won’t go away over night. When you begin to declutter, don’t get discouraged. Don’t look at the mess in your house as a whole. Break down each room into manageable tasks.

Today’s Goal

  • Ask God to show you what things may be causing you to feel discouraged about life in general. Are there things going on that are out of your control? What can you do to change the way you deal with those things {change your mindset}?
  • Or do you think that clutter is the main reason you feel stressed and unhappy in your own home?
  • Pick up a journal and write down your thoughts about what He has shown you or print my free prayer journal.
  • Choose an area in your home you want to tackle.
  • Fill at least one bag or box full of stuff to give away.
  • Take a picture of your bag. Share it on Facebook or Instagram – use hashtag #atimetoclean {optional}
  • Leave a comment below about what you chose to get rid of.
  • Do your best to wake up early tomorrow and spend time in prayer. Use your prayer journal.

 

How does clutter make you feel? Do you feel discontent at home?

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12 Comments

  1. I love this blog! I stumbled upon it while I was doing research for a talk I'm giving at our church's ladies night this week. I was asked to speak about "Being Organized". As I gathered my material, I had been struggling to find scriptures to support organization, but then I thought about Proverbs 31. I opened my Bible and began reading, but found it difficult to relate to a lot of verses. I continued my research online and found your blog. I love the 10 Virtues of the Proverbs 31 Women. I am going to print & pass them out to the ladies that night. Then I found" How Clutter and Discouragement Go Hand In Hand". This is really helpful information. I look forward to reading more on your blog and I'm going to order your book! Thank you!
    1. Thank you Melissa for your comments. I found your site quite by accident a few weeks ago. I am overwhelmed by clutter with 6 adults living in a home for 4 people. We all have stuff, and reluctant to get rid of it. I ache for a tidy home. My depression and anxiety all relate to the clutter as you said l see this and want both a tidy home and brain. That khou for you wisdom and help . I look forward to reading more of your blogs.
  2. I never thought that clutter could make me have these types of feelings. But you have described me to a tee! I literally teared up! This makes me feel hopeful and also gives me a place where I can start my journey to feel happy again in all aspects of my life! Thank you so much!!
  3. Thank you for a very inspiring post. I really need all the encouragement I can get at this point! I am happy I ran into it and I cannot wait to read more around here! Best regards from Athens, Greece!

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