Decluttering and organizing

It is amazing how so many seemingly different things all have the same effect on a person. Since January I have been working hard on organizing my finances as well as making my weight loss a priority. This weekend I started the long process of decluttering my house and getting it looking good for my party next weekend, as well as giving me some extra space. As always when I'm doing random things my brain tends to wander and I started to realize that each of these three things are all sort of tied together, only I didn't really realize it until now.

Last year when I was 405 pounds I didn't care that the house was a mess. It was easier to ignore it then it was to clean it. The effort required to make my body bend and lift and move things around was to great and made the task of cleaning the house seem impossible. Although it was driving me nuts, I just put up with the clutter. At the same time it was easier to spend money then it was to save. Why save it when I could just buy another movie or more junk food or fast food (the three things I spent the majority of my money on before tracking). Those three things would let me feel better and escape reality a little.

So what changed? Well if I think about the timeline of my life in the last year it all starts with my weight loss. As soon as I started losing weight things like my debt and the clutter in my house started to frustrate me. It's hard to get excited about something like losing weight when everything else felt so crazy. It is also hard to keep making one part of you life better and change nothing else. So with the positive momentum of my weight loss it was time to turn my sites on my finances. With the help of the show 'From Debt do Us Part' I finally figured out how to make my money work. The first few weeks were a bit tough but then when i started seeing the difference in my debt and in my savings and chequing account. Those changes started to feel really positive as well. Again using the positive feelings of accomplishing other goals it became easier to start to think about making a difference in my surroundings. So I started cleaning at first just the basics, but now I'm in full on deep clean mode. I spent this weekend moving, rearranging and boxing stuff up. I'm getting more space and feeling great about it.

I guess what I'm trying to say with all of this is sometimes all it takes is one change to start the ball rolling on getting everything you want. I watch so many of my friends trying to change their lives all at once and wondering why they can't get it figured out and I think sometimes we just try to do too much at once. I know that has been my issue in the past. I don't know if it's right or wrong but it's working for me. Each step seems to lay itself at my feet when the time is right and I just keep going with it. The best part is the more positive stuff I let into my life the more positive my outlook becomes. Even when things are going wrong and seem really negative I can change it and frame it so that it does not effect me as much. For the first time in a long time I'm starting to feel like myself again.