Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of my Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to make one spot in your home
Speaker 1: a haven. We can't always control other people's messes, but
Speaker 1: if clutter bothers you, having one spot that is tidy
Speaker 1: can leave you feeling far more serene. Anyone who has
Speaker 1: seen my office knows that I am not too bothered
Speaker 1: by messes. I get focused on what I am doing,
Speaker 1: and when I am focused, my physical environment just doesn't
Speaker 1: rise up my priority list. That said, even I have
Speaker 1: a limit, and in a family of seven people, sometimes
Speaker 1: the stuff can get out of control. Rather than spend
Speaker 1: my life picking things up, I know I can always
Speaker 1: retreat to my bedroom. I'm never in there except for
Speaker 1: when I am sleeping, and maybe the thirty minutes or
Speaker 1: so before I am sleeping. My closet and bathroom are
Speaker 1: both down a little hallway, which means there's no need
Speaker 1: to stack stuff in the bedroom itself. All that is
Speaker 1: in there is a bed, a rug to night tables,
Speaker 1: two lamps, a chair, and a decorative shelf with nothing
Speaker 1: on the shelf because the shelf is new and I
Speaker 1: kind of like keeping it empty. In other words, there
Speaker 1: is really nothing to clean up. If the bed is made,
Speaker 1: then the room is completely tranquil. If other places feel
Speaker 1: like a mess, I can always go in there and
Speaker 1: shut the door. Maybe you could consider creating one such
Speaker 1: space too. The primary bedroom is a good spot in
Speaker 1: many houses since most of the time the kid clutter
Speaker 1: doesn't wind up in there. Not always, of course, if
Speaker 1: you are sharing sleeping quarters with a baby or toddler,
Speaker 1: then obviously that is going to change things. But if not,
Speaker 1: you might have a fighting chance of keeping most of
Speaker 1: the stuff out of there so everything stays tidy with
Speaker 1: minimal effort. If that is not an option, maybe you
Speaker 1: can find another spot. Sometimes a bathroom can become an
Speaker 1: adult only bathroom and take on a spa like atmosphere.
Speaker 1: Or perhaps it's an office or a guest room that
Speaker 1: no one would naturally use much. If one of your
Speaker 1: kids has moved out, that child's old bedroom could be
Speaker 1: re envisioned as a low clutter spot. Or maybe it's
Speaker 1: just a corner of the living room where you fight
Speaker 1: the good fight to keep everything away. People know not
Speaker 1: to leave a dish on mom or Dad's favorite coffee
Speaker 1: table over there. Or move the pillows from their carefully
Speaker 1: arranged spot. The rest of the home can be a disaster,
Speaker 1: but if you arrange one corner and have the ability
Speaker 1: to sit facing away from the mess, this can make
Speaker 1: things feel more in control. Now to be sure, I
Speaker 1: know people can go overboard on linking physical clutter with
Speaker 1: mental unhappiness. I do not buy the idea that life
Speaker 1: begins when you put your house in order, since housework
Speaker 1: is never done. That is just a way to keep
Speaker 1: people from feeling like they can ever do anything in
Speaker 1: their lives except pick things up. Since we can't always
Speaker 1: control other people's messes, that means we are defeated from
Speaker 1: the get go. So please go build your are big, beautiful,
Speaker 1: fabulous life, whatever your house looks like. But if you
Speaker 1: do enjoy a calm and serene spot from time to time,
Speaker 1: you don't need to go full minimalist to make it happen.
Speaker 1: Just clear one room or one spot and make that
Speaker 1: your haven. Go there when you need a break, then
Speaker 1: you can emerge to everything else feeling better. In the meantime.
Speaker 1: This is Laura, Thanks for listening, and here's to making
Speaker 1: the most of our time. Hey, everybody, I'd love to
Speaker 1: hear from you. You can send me your tips, your questions,
Speaker 1: or anything else. Just connect with me on Twitter, Facebook
Speaker 1: and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod. That's b E the
Speaker 1: number four, then breakfast p o D. You can also
Speaker 1: shoot me an email at Before Breakfast podcast at iHeartMedia
Speaker 1: dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled out with all
Speaker 1: the letters. Thanks so much, should I look forward to
Speaker 1: staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production of I
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