When there’s decorating going on in one room it tends to impact other nearby rooms. Ones that were already decluttered and tidy. What I’m finding in lockdown is that we are mostly working well together but occasionally my goals (or projects in this case) clash with theirs.

Let’s take decorating the lounge as an example…What do you do when your goal is to create space and order, and all around you is mess from decorating? Here are a few possible options that I came up with:

• Be patient and positive knowing that someone else’s parallel goal is in progress, which will eventually bring us all to the same overall goal.
• Be present in the mess and be okay with it. This is all part of the journey.
• Go somewhere tidy to feel better
• Go somewhere that needs tidying and create space and order

Being realistic when feeling stressed about the mess

Knowing that there’s a decorating project going on that you’re not leading, makes it impossible to work on your goal (create space and order in my case) in that particular area/room. So, the key is to either go somewhere where there is space and order i.e. outside, another room etc., or go somewhere where you can create space and order to make yourself feel better.

So, what did I do?

I need to learn to be okay with mess when I’m not in control of it. So, I tried to help the girls finish painting but kept noticing paint on the wooden floor where the protective covering had moved. They promised me that they would clean it up, so I tried to ignore it and helped instead by finding some more protective sheets to prevent more mess. I started getting in their way after that (and I was feeling anxious) so I decided to go somewhere else in the house to move forward with my goal of creating space and order. I knew that it would improve my state of mind.

Off to the garage

A voice in my head told me to go into the garage (my cluttered hideaway) where I would instantly be motivated to tidy something without anyone messing it up again. (There’s that I control feeling again).

To lift my mood, I stepped up and down on the aerobic step to a song that was playing on the radio. As I faced the back wall, I spotted the messy open shelves. They were hidden behind boxes last week and being exposed now, I could see that they needed some order. I knew that tidying a couple of them would help me to create space and order and allow me to go back into the house with a more positive frame of mind.

Revised 2020 challenge/goal

To create space and order in my house, my garden and my mind

I’ve added the words and order because I’ve realised that (for me) creating space without order hasn’t really been working. If the order is not there, things tend to go back how they were.

Appreciating the work done

The girls have worked really hard all day and the lounge walls are now completely painted apart from the skirting boards and coving which my husband and I said that we’d do another time (or get someone else to do it when we get the ceiling done one day).

The girls were so exhausted from all the painting over the last few days as it’s a big room, but they are pleased that it’s done. I made them some dinner followed by an apple pie…

We all helped to clean up the lounge, push the furniture back and put the mirror back on the wall. It made the room look really spacious and bright. We have space and order once again in that room!

The rest of the downstairs is an absolute mess but I know that the girls will help with that. I’m working for the rest of the week so it will have to be done bit my bit. I’m trying to be okay with that.

Added note: The funny thing is that I couldn’t post this blog last night because the internet was down for maintenance so I went to bed earlier. This morning the sun shone through the windows making me feel energised. The mess didn’t look so bad and I felt a lot more positive about how we would all work together to make downstairs look tidy again. It was nice to be able to add that bit to the post this morning.

Until later…

Sandra