First and foremost, my husband and I are both much less
stressed. I’m the one who gets stressed
easily and my wonderful, naturally laid-back husband has told me more than once
that he only feels stressed when I am at my highest levels of anxiety. I was so overwhelmed by so many things that I
had everybody in the house worked up.
Now that we have the main living areas decluttered and under control,
and I am happier with myself, I have relaxed and so has everybody else. We’re no longer being overwhelmed by all of
the STUFF.
According to my husband, it’s a lot easier to come home and
enjoy being home now that it’s comfortable.
With this new shift, the stuff is gone, and just as important, the
tension it caused. For myself and the
kids, the routines have been the biggest facilitator of this peace. Now that we have a routine and some basic
organizing systems, it’s easier to keep these spaces maintained. Also, because I’m not constantly drowning in
housework, I can spend more quality time with my husband during those short
periods when he is home. (And he’s not
spending all of that valuable “time off” helping me bring the house back from
the brink of disaster.)
I’ll admit, I was caught a little off guard when he told me he was proud of how
well I was finally adjusting to my new career, too. Take about a confidence boost! And, you know, he’s right. I’m more excited about being a mom, a wife, a
housekeeper, and a writer than I ever was about any other job.
He’s also very happy about the part of my attitude change that has affected how I feel about “stuff.” My husband used to dread helping me go through things. He preferred to do it alone: much faster and much left stuff left at the end. Of course, control freak that I am, I just couldn’t let that happen! Now going through things together is much less painful. In fact, tonight we have a date with all of the clothes we’ve received for the kids and I’m looking forward to it!
I wish someone had told me a long time ago what a difference good routines and less stuff could make!
He’s also very happy about the part of my attitude change that has affected how I feel about “stuff.” My husband used to dread helping me go through things. He preferred to do it alone: much faster and much left stuff left at the end. Of course, control freak that I am, I just couldn’t let that happen! Now going through things together is much less painful. In fact, tonight we have a date with all of the clothes we’ve received for the kids and I’m looking forward to it!
I wish someone had told me a long time ago what a difference good routines and less stuff could make!