Decluttering For the Holidays

Oh man oh man oh man - I can’t believe the holiday season is upon us. How does this happen EVERY YEAR? But to be completely honest, my mind has been floating different holiday ideas and scenarios around since probably early July. Yep, these holiday ideas (and anxious thoughts) just dance around in there like sugar plum fairies for months, looming in the shadows until it’s holiday time. This makes it sound like I dread the holidays, which isn’t true at all. I thoroughly love the idea of the season. But where the rubber meets the road, I’ll be the first to admit I get overwhelmed and sometimes forget what this time truly stands for amid all of the hustle and bustle. Look, we’re all human and I’m trying. But if I sit down with myself in a moment of complete honesty and try to brainstorm the positives and negatives of holidays past so as to avoid any future conflicts during this season's endeavors, I find that a lot of the issues come down to the physical spaces we find ourselves in. As humans, our brains crave some sense of order - some of us more than others. Everything having a home where you don’t have to call up a flight of stairs, “hey honey, have you seen my ________?” is the key ingredient to having a smooth(-er) holiday experience. So, as the holiday season is creeping its bedecked little way towards us, now is the perfect moment to take the time to clear out the clutter and get the heart of our homes in working order - however that looks for you and your family. For me, the holidays start in our kitchen. Naturally, this is the space that I was drawn to sort out in preparation.

Why does clutter matter?

Research shows that when we walk into a room and see clutter our brains instantly feel cognitively drained. Additionally, neuroscience resear