Breaking the Vicious Cycle of Anxiety and Clutter

I have an issue with anxiety and clutter. I'm sitting in my clean bedroom and breathing in how wonderful it feels to have everything put away and organized. I am asking myself, why did we let it get so bad? Why did it take me so long to get things cleaned up? The answer: my anxiety, combined with my husband's attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), got in the way. When not under control, anxiety and clutter can form a cycle in our home. 

The Start of the Cycle of Anxiety and Clutter

When it comes to my husband's ADHD, if he can't see an item, it is like that item doesn't exist. This leads him to leave out items he frequently uses or doesn't want to misplace. While helpful for him, this often creates clutter in our home. Clutter makes me feel anxious. My anxiety is triggered because I'm not always sure what to do with his things, and I don't want to be the cause of him losing them. I can do pretty well at maintaining the house's cleanliness generally, but if my anxiety builds, so does the mess.

The clutter isn't all caused by my husband, either. We have two kiddos that contribute to it, and if I am being honest, myself, too. Sometimes, it's hard to feel motivated to take the extra time to put things away fully when I can drop them in my bedroom and deal with them later. I hope we can find solutions because our home feels much better when clean. 

Helping My Husband and Children Break the Cycle of Clutter and Anxiety

We are finding a balance, but don't have any set answers because this will always be evolving. We have purchased organizational tools to help with clutter, like charging stands for video game controllers, cases for the games, totes for this and that, and toolboxes for my husband's tools. These things can condense his items and give them a home. Some of these solutions help him still see his items but keep them contained in a smaller space. This can combat his tendency to forget about his things, and it also helps me know exactly where to find them if he can't. 

To help my children learn how to clean the house, I have a small whiteboard on which I write a daily chore for them to complete after school. Having them voice positive feelings about completing the chore and how good the home looks afterward helps them take pride in their efforts and want to do more. 

Helping Myself Break the Cycle of Anxiety and Clutter

To overcome my anxiety and get busy tackling the clutter, I pick a simple task or easy spot to start with, put on some music, and get busy cleaning. Once I finish a simple task, I feel more capable of tackling a harder one. Before I know it, what seemed so daunting has been chipped away one task at a time, and I am sitting and enjoying a clean room. 

For a recent personal example of how managing my anxiety and clutter changed my kids' lives for the better, watch this video. 

Since this is an evolving circumstance in our home, our solutions might change in the future. In the meantime, I'll stick with what we've been trying because, slowly but surely, it is starting to make a difference.

As we come together as a family to break the cycle of clutter and anxiety in our home, tell me, what solutions for clutter have been helpful for you?