Here we are well into this quarantine lifestyle and we are all needing a break from it. I don’t know exactly what it is we are doing differently these days that we weren’t doing six months ago. But the lack of things to do is really affecting everyone in various ways.
Frankly, I don’t feel like my life has changed much since we were home a lot anyways. I was working but other than that we were home. But I do know this isn’t the case for a lot of you and now you’re just sitting at home. I bet you’ve binged watched everything on Netflix and have been spending more time with your refrigerator than your family. It doesn’t have to be like that for any of us. There is so much you can be doing right now and I say this from experience. You see I am a bored eater.
The first couple weeks of quarantine I drank a lot of wine, snacked on all the junk food, started gaining weight, and was just irritated with everyone in the house. The kids and the dogs were getting my wrath. My kids were doing the SAME thing too. Snacking on junk food, fighting constantly and just being angry. Obviously not drinking the wine. That’s mine I don’t share. HAHA! But we weren’t eating meals regularly, everything was a free for all in our house. We were only a couple weeks in and we had devoured everything in the house. Come on Tammy get it together, right? I tell you this because I am not perfect, but I do believe that every situation gives us opportunities that we didn’t have before.
A great way to look at this quarantine is to think about all the things we can be doing. Stop focusing on what we cant do today. Some of the stuff we have been doing in our home is; cleaning, decluttering, fitness, health, education, and dog training. In this blog we will focus on cleaning and decluttering but I look forward to talking more about the other topics in future posts.
It can be hard to find the motivation to get moving when you're in a funk, but making small moves will accomplish huge things. When was the last time you cleaned out that refrigerator that you’ve been spending so much time in? What about those kitchen cabinets, your bedroom closet, you bathroom cabinets, or even your garage? Usually, people say “I’ve been meaning to do that but I just haven’t gotten around to it.” or “I just haven’t had time to do it.” I’m here to tell you, this is your time to do it! Now is that time and you will not get another chance like this to get any of those projects done.
I’m not telling you to get rid of everything or anything at all for that matter, but why not focus on something else. Stop obsessing about not leaving the house and make your house somewhere you want to be. I’ll share some of the things I’ve done and maybe it can give you the boost that you need to tackle a new project. Things we’ve done to get organized, declutter, and reduce the stress in our home. I’ll attached some of the products we used to help us get our clutter under control. #affiliate
1. Master bedroom closet (closets in general). We tend to just store things in them all the time and we don’t even know when or where the stuff came from. Also, go through those clothes. Start clearing out things that you don’t care for. You know the clothes I’m talking about, those ones that worked for one event but you have no intention of wearing it again even though you are trying to convince yourself that you will.
2. Kitchen & Pantry. These are places that we use daily and tend to get cluttered with stuff. Go through the cabinets and donate those items that haven’t been used in the last year. If you have five pie pans but only use three, why not donate a couple? I went through and organized all my drawers and cabinets. One of the things I love is our drawer dividers they make everything look more tidy and easy to find. Also, go through those junk drawers. There is no need for a junk drawer. Everything should have a place and if it doesn’t find one for it. The junk drawer is a stress drawer.
3. Kids rooms. My kids have tons of clothes and so many don’t even fit them. I went through and pulled out all the clothes that are too big for them and put it in a tote. I’m not getting rid of this stuff because these are things we will use in the future, but now they don’t have access to it until its all needed. This also reduces the clutter in their room. I also pulled the stuff that is too small and gifted/donated.
4. Office/Desk. This one is hard for me. I went through everything and tossed what we don’t need and filed what we do need but I am so bad with just piling paperwork on the desk and I always tell myself I will go through it later.
5. Car. I don’t think this one is mentioned enough. We spend so much time in our cars (obviously not right now) and all kinds of stuff ends up in there. From water bottles, toys, food, hair ties, you name it. Our car is the central hub for everything we do. So why not clean it out and get some organization in there, especially right now? Pete ordered me these fantastic back seat organizers and they are awesome.
Helpful tips:
-Get the kids involved, let them find things to donate. It will make them feel involved, get them excited, and its less work you have to do.
-Tackle one task at a time and take your time with each task. Not everything needs to be accomplished tomorrow. Just go with the flow and do you. -Have a glass of wine. Don't let the cleaning get the best of you.
I hope you can find things to focus on and keep you moving. Not everyday will be perfect but everyday is an opportunity to strive for your perfection.
I hope you enjoyed my first official blog. I cant wait to share more with you.
Be sure to check back soon for the next installment of Quarantine Tips and Tricks Brought to You by Tammy.