Why you need a reset day
I took two full days last week to reset my house.
You guys, it was a disaster. And honestly, it had been since Christmas. There were boxes and bags and papers and laundry and I just could not catch up. And it was getting to me.
I’ve heard it said that physical clutter is mental clutter, and that’s SO TRUE for me. I cannot function well in a place that’s chaotic. I can’t be productive when I’m overwhelmed by all that needs to be done. I need clear space and a system in place.
Honestly, I didn’t totally know this about myself before this move. In our last three homes, I had space to spread out all the stuff. If one place was a little messy, I could go work in another room that was at least semi-clean. I could hide from the chaos.
But guess what? In a 900 square foot home, THERE’S NOWHERE TO HIDE.
And the clutter & disorganization totally killed my productivity over the last few weeks. I got nothing done. I would start working on a blog post, and I’d get distracted by a mess I needed to clean. Or I’d take a look at my email inbox and get so overwhelmed that I would just head to Facebook for a “brain break”. (Ha.) Or I’d start to do the dishes and then try to clean the counters off, and then have to reorganize the pantry because nothing fit anywhere. Ahhhh!
So, on Thursday of last week, I decided I’d had enough. I read somewhere last week that overwhelm isn’t having too much to do, it’s not knowing where to start.
Yep. I get that.
So, I just started. I decided I was NOT going even try to work for the entire day, and instead I was going to systematically attack my house. I knew that getting my space in order would help clear my mental clutter, and then I might actually be able to get some work done.
It took me the ENTIRE DAY, but I got the living room, kitchen, and kids rooms organized. I purged and folded and cleaned, and basically reset all the rooms.
However, when I clean the rest of the house, the master bedroom tends to be the catch-all for allthestuff that doesn’t have a place. So, I had to use Friday to clean that room. And that one room took me the ENTIRE DAY on Friday.
But today is Saturday (well, it’s Tuesday on the blog, but I’m writing this on Saturday, so there you go), and do you know how I feel? Free, my friends. I FEEL FREE!! Free, and inspired and so excited to attack more projects!
It’s so amazing, I just had to share it with you. My mission: convince you to do it, too. 😉
Why You Need A Reset Day (or two)!
- The saying is true – physical clutter truly is mental clutter. And when your mind is cluttered, you’re not at your best, plain and simple.
- Sometimes, doing a little at a time just isn’t enough. When the mess is too big, or the tasks are too time consuming, we can’t reclaim order just by doing a little bit of work. Nope, we have to dedicate some serious time to getting a difficult task done all the way. It might feel unproductive to put your work on hold while you clean up your workspace (or putting playing with your kids on hold while you’re cleaning up your home), but I GUARANTEE that you’ll be more productive, more peaceful, and much happier once you’re done!
- Your sanity is worth it. As a mom, it’s so easy to neglect our own needs in order to take care of things for others. But that feeling of being overwhelmed leads to frustration, short tempers, and exhaustion. And that’s just not good for anyone. It’s so helpful to set aside a day or two to get your own stuff in order, so that you can function as a sane, organized person!
Need some help getting started? I’ve got a few tips for you…
RESETTING YOUR HOME:
- Play fun music. It just makes everything better.
- Start in one room, and don’t leave that room until you’re done. Make a list of each room in your house, and work through that list systematically.
- Get three boxes, or start three piles: Keep, Toss, & Donate.
- BE BRUTAL. If you don’t love it, get rid of it. If you haven’t used it in six months, get rid of it!! Seriously – clear the clutter. You will feel SO MUCH BETTER, and if you don’t love it or don’t use it, you’re not gonna miss it.
- Take short breaks. Not Facebook breaks either. I see you over there busting out your phone. Nope, take a break that has a set end time. Do a puzzle with your kid, eat a snack, drink a bottle of water, have a 2-song dance party. Then, get back to work!
- Reward yourself when you’re done. What would you love to do? Read a book? Go out for coffee with a friend? Go on a walk with your family? Working toward a goal will get you through the task a lot faster.
Sometimes, it’s not our just home that needs a reset, it’s our schedule. When we’ve said yes to too many things, our schedules can get just as chaotic as our cluttered homes. If you’re nodding along to what I’m saying here, these next tips are for you!
RESETTING YOUR SCHEDULE:
- Clear everything off your schedule. List it out on another piece of paper.
- Go through the list, and highlight your tasks in three different colors: Needs, Shoulds, and Loves.
- BE BRUTAL. Don’t put a “Should” task in the “Needs” color. THIS IS HOW YOU GOT INTO THIS MESS.
- Start filling your schedule back in. Needs ONLY.
- Now, schedule in 1-2 things a week that you LOVE to do. Rest matters, you guys. Don’t fill every minute with work.
- Lastly, look at your “Should” tasks. If you realistically have any room left on your schedule, add one or two of these in. Throw the rest out.
- Seriously. Throw the rest out.
If you need a little more step-by-step help resetting your schedule, join us for our FREE course on designing a morning routine that brings peace to your whole day! Sign up below!
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Friends, your sanity matters. And if your house or your schedule are driving you insane, then I’m giving you permission to put the rest of your life on hold for a day or two, and take control of your spaces again!
(Not that you need my permission, but, you know. Sometimes it’s just nice to hear someone say it.)
So tell me. What space of yours needs resetting this week?
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Kayse Pratt serves Christian women as a writer + designer, creating home + life management resources that help those women plan their days around what matters most. She’s created the most unique planner on the market, helped over 400 women create custom home management plans, and works with hundreds of women each month inside her membership, teaching them how to plan their days around what matters most. When she’s not designing printables or writing essays, you’ll find Kayse homeschooling her kids, reading a cheesy novel with a giant cup of tea in hand, or watching an old show from the 90’s with her husband, who is her very best friend.
When I say I NEEDED this I mean I needed this! You took the words out of my mouth when you described how distracted and chaotic your brain was in the mess. Just last week I had moved almost all my stuff to my bedroom and office before our floor refinishing guys came. Even after the project was done, I hadn’t done anything about the mess I had made and it GOT TO ME. But after reading your article I cleared my schedule and got to work, and I feel like a weight has been lifted! Thank you!
So funny I read this today, because I literally did the same thing the last 2 days. I realized that having fallen behind on MOST of my “life” stuff, including keeping my house clean and organized, was preventing me from doing anything else.
So I knew I had to give myself the time to address all of that before I could tend to other areas of my life.
Like, i had a full day off of work, and i would normally hit the gym, but I chose to spend the day tackling all this stuff that was getting in my way! And I feel so much better 🙂
Thanks for sharing this.
This is my month. literally. I cut back to just the basics for the kids’ schoolwork for the month and am working through the house decluttering. I went through the upper cupboards in my laundry room yesterday and was actually a bit miffed when I was done because I didn’t remove anything. I straightened but didn’t find anything to remove. I even looked back through to make sure I didn’t miss something. I guess I’ve done better with that section of the house. Others are probably going to take days (Master bedroom, because like you, it ends up as a catchall)
I’m not sure I could do it in a day or two? Or maybe I am jumping from a pickup and put things away to a deep declean. I tend to make the project bigger or more overwhelming than it needs to be maybe? Right now it feels like I am a mouse and the resetting job is a mountain. :/ Thank you for giving me a bit of hope though.
This! Is exactly what I’ve been doing I had Monday and today (Wednesday) off work. Made a list of each room Did a little on Monday Your email came this morning when I was meditating on what to do today. First thing was, shower, shave my legs and condition my hair. I’m usually a quick shower er today I took time to enjoy my shower time. Got dressed including my shoes. I REALLY appreciate the encouragement I’m gonna finish one room, the kitchen, before I take a break then move on to another area in my list before I walk to the library to print of February of my SOS planner.
Thanks again, let’s crank up the worship musica ? today and stay focused. ?
Thank you so much for this. It’s like you peeked into my house and just knew I needed help! LOL
Love this!! I read a great ebook yesterday about resetting our playroom so I’m thinking that may be my next job!!
Your comment about email overload and Facebook being your brain break made me laugh! But seriously have you ever tried unroll.me for your email? Of not, it’s amazing!! And it’s free!
I used to do the same thing when my kids were young. Movies all day—-no problem! Now that my kids are older, it’s not diaper changes and making them food. It’s pick up after them, talk to my daughter away at school or listen and give advice. I agree with EVERYTHING said. When I do it though, I pick a room, pick a corner and start there. clean top to bottom all the way around. Wipe the wall, move the couch, (get the pound of dog hair out) wipe each picture, vacuum under the baseboards clean everything, put it all back and move around. That way if you have to stop, the whole room isn’t totaled either. Usually getting to the bedrooms last but, they get done eventually. Living in a 1500 square foot home with 3 children, it is a must that you purge and declutter, otherwise you get so overwhelmed ! I think the key is to do what you can, when you can. But, keep it up !! And do NOT beat yourself up for what you didn’t do when life gets in the way!! However you get it done, doing it makes you feel lighter and accomplished !! You then are more peaceful, a better person and mom in the end !!
Yay Kayse! I can’t wait to do this at our home! We’ve been finishing some remodeling of the kitchen and the piles are everywhere. Everywhere. Its been hard to believe there is an end in sight, but it is close and a reset will pretty exciting. I am taking your words to heart and getting rid of everything we don’t use or no longer like. I read somewhere this week that white space is where the magic happens. I am longing for white space and so happy you created it in your family’s lives, physically and in your schedule. Love reading about your challenges and victories, both energizing and encouraging.
I needed this today. I have a packed schedule right now due to Physical Therapy and doc appointments for my mother. Added to that are all the things I normally do and issues with health insurance and having to change bank accounts. My place isn’t a mess but my schedule and mind are. You post was just the things I needed to get myself in gear and unsettled. Thanks..
Kayse, your emails, and blogs are always right on time for me. I had been working for months in chaos, and feeling guilty because of it, but not knowing where to start. So I did a little there, and then life happens, and new stuff comes in, or new projects get added, and it starts to pile up even more. And to think of taking a day, let alone two days to reset seemed impossible. But after reading your blog, it’s necessary. Because, you described all the characteristics I was displaying in a cluttered house, snappy, unsettled, irritable. So thank you for permitting me to reset my house.
This is a wonderful reminder! Thank you for the quick tips! I will definitely be referring back to this post, a lot!
Good post, and very practical…..thankyou for sharing this post with us,,,,,,,
I’d never heard of this before I read your post. I LOVE IT!! Such a great idea – I certainly agree that physical clutter leads to mental clutter, and I gotta admit that there are some areas in our home that get me down because of disorganisation. Am definitely going to try this. Thanks for the tips.
I asked for a day off from work to do this very thing. I’m excited to get a reset!
I read somewhere that we should diarise a “catch up Day” “reset Day” into our diaries at least every month to catch up on those things that are bugging us that we never got done. Block the day out to do these things
Oh Kayse, I spent a whole day ‘resetting my house’ (well, except the master bedroom – cause you know, that one seems like it never gets attention) and I had soooo many other things to do, but I just couldn’t think straight. I felt weird that there were other tasks that were more ‘pressing’, but I really couldn’t think straight. My house was a WRECK! I felt so much better after, and I didn’t mind that the other tasks were put off for a little longer once the house was more in order. Thanks for the outpouring of grace in this post!!!
Where were your kids while you were working? Our home desperately needs a reset, but I work full time and have, not only a preschooler but also a–very mobile one year old. Did you get laundry caught up as part of the project or was that a separate thing altogether? You purged and organized, was actual cleaning part of it too? Teach me Jedi master.
One of my kids was in school, and the other I totally let watch Netflix all day the first day. Am I proud of that? Nope. But it was one day, and he will survive. Also he thought I was the coolest mom ever. 😉 Laundry – we had caught up on that over the weekend, but I’m already behind on that again. Laundry is a monster. It’s easier to deal with right now though, since the rest of my house is clean. I did purge and organize, and I did basic cleaning – nothing too deep. But sweeping, vacuuming, wiping down all surfaces – that sort of thing.
You have TINY CHILDREN. Don’t stress about doing this perfectly. Even just purging one room at a time can bring relief. Can you maybe just do your bedroom over a few days? Then you’ll have a retreat when life gets crazy!
Thank you for the feedback Kayse, that’s encouragnig, and very helpful! I can do one room at a time… 🙂
Good post, and very practical.
I feel ya, friend. We did the opposite–moved to a bigger space and I got overwhelmed immediately because we had more spaces to clutter and it takes so much longer to clean! But we’re slowly reclaiming, purging, and everyone is understanding that this mama can’t function amid the chaos and is helping turn it around. Now if I could only stand to tackle our new catchall… the basement.
The more organized and simplified my home gets, the better I feel! I started several years ago. (Had collected a lot of stuff.) I would go through and organize/toss/repeat. I’m now at the final stages. In fact, this week, I have been doing some final passes on our main living areas and it’s amazing. Things that I couldn’t/wouldn’t have let go a few years ago, I can now toss/donate/gift without a second thought. It just gets easier and easier. And you’re right about the feeling free.
Since my oldest son started college this year, suddenly our house seems too small. My younger son is an artist and he’s always worked at the kitchen table, and now my older son is set up there all day (and often evening too). There just seems to be papers and books and STUFF on my kitchen table and hutch ALL THE TIME! When you walk in my front door, my kitchen table is right in your line of sight. I never feel like my house is clean. I really, really need to figure something else out because it’s driving me crazy. Also, I have to spend 10-15 minutes just clearing the table off so we can eat!!! We’ve switched seasons, but my house has not caught up. Since I went back to teaching this year, I have very little time either. My plan is to take spring break to really tackle things, but after reading this, maybe I need to do it sooner!