Give Yourself Some Love!

I realized last week that I was tired of cleaning, tired of clutter, tired of never feeling like I was ever caught up with anything! (can anyone relate?) I decided that I needed to find someplace to declare a sanctuary, and I decided that my bedroom would be it.

You know how it is, you get married, you "nest" and get pretty bedroom furniture and linens and hang nice stuff on the walls and then the kids come along and over time, your room gets filled with piles of little clothes, random toys, diapers, and pretty much anything else that doesn't have a home in the rest of the house because nobody sees your bedroom except you, right? And all that pretty stuff is still there, it's just buried under all the junk!

So here is my beautiful thrifty challenge to you this week: CLEAN YOUR ROOM! Ditch the clutter, dust the pretty furniture, hang another picture, and vacuum the floors. Then, grab one of those candles that have been gathering dust on your dresser and LIGHT IT! Make your room a sanctuary. Then get in bed 30 minutes earlier than usual, turn on your bedside lamp and read a good book or thumb through a favorite magazine. Trust me, you'll feel renewed! (don't forget to blow out the candle before you doze off to dreamland, though!)

After you've created your sanctuary, be sure to protect it! Keep it off-limits to anything that doesn't make you feel peaceful and calm. My new decluttering question is: If this item were to get ruined or destroyed, would I feel a) sad or b) upset because I would have to replace it? If I would not feel either of those things, then it's probably something I don't need. For example, my closet is filled with extra linens. If that tan comforter got torn up somehow, would I be totally bummed because it was a favorite? No. Would I be concerned about replacing it with a new one right away? Nope, not really! Goodbye comforter! You'll find that there are a lot of things you can do without, and releasing the weight of all that clutter is freeing! You'll have more breathing room, less stuff, which means that cleaning will be easier and take significantly less time.

So make yourself a sanctuary, a place that you can escape to, even when there are piles of laundry on the floor in the laundry room, dishes mounting in the sink, and dust bunnies chasing each other through the halls. Give yourself a place where the only person you have to clean up after is you, and where you love yourself enough to not make yourself work too hard, and where you can light a candle, put up your feet and relax. Enjoy!

Do you have a sanctuary? If not, are you going to create one? Leave a comment and tell me about it!