Don't Let Your Stuff Steal Your Peace

I took my kids for a two-hour walk today. We laughed, and played, and danced, and I was fully present.

To you, that may not seem like a big deal, but for me that's huge.

You see I have spent the first six years of motherhood barely surviving, and I honestly just believed that's the way this season went...

On a typical week, my internal dialogue would sound a lot like this:

"The house is a mess. I'll clean today, and play with my kids tomorrow."

Then tomorrow would come, and the laundry would need to be done.

"I'll get it all done today, and then tomorrow I'll take them to the park."

The next day they might ask me just long enough to play a game with them that I cave. So, we'd settle for a quick card game, but the entire time I'd be thinking about how the kitchen was a disaster.

You get the point.

I'd constantly be trying to finish my to-do list so that I could finally be caught up and fully present with them, except the to-do list never came to an end, and my kids always came second.

I'd clean and sort and grocery shop and cook, just in time for Saturday to arrive only to remember everything is picked up, yet now things actually need to be cleaned.

So a typical Saturday for me would involve my husband taking the kids to do something fun so that I could stay home and deep clean the entire house and have it all done at once.

He'd be the fun parent, and I'd be...well...do they even like me?

So I'd vent. I'd make my best attempt at finding someone, anyone, to give me a solution and here's what I would get:

"The dishes can wait! Be present with your kids and ignore the mess."
"The laundry will still be there tomorrow, your kids are only kids for a short time."
"Parenthood is messy, you just have to deal with it."
"Appreciate the toys scattered everywhere, it's a sign that you have healthy kids who love to play."

Except, yes, the dishes and the laundry will be there tomorrow and the pile will be double the size. Guess who's getting stuck with that? Why am I expected to just deal with a mess, and appreciate the toys? Really?

Maybe I'm just a nut job, but these answers were not sufficient for me.

It's impossible for me to relax in a home full of clutter, yet no matter how much I would kill myself to get things caught up and organized, I felt like a hamster on a squeaky wheel getting nowhere. My tasks caused me to feel so distant from my kids that I wasn't even sure if I truly had relationships with them.

"Am I merely a live-in cleaning lady?" I'd think to myself on a regular basis.

It was depressing and exhausting and I desperately hoped there'd be another way.
I resented my kids.
I resented my husband.., especially on Saturdays.
This was not how I pictured motherhood.

And then one day as I was explaining to a friend that I felt like throwing everything away and starting over, she told me about a girl named Allie Casazza.

That day, I went home and subscribed to her podcast, "The Purpose Show," and little by little my life began to change.

Listen, I know that sounds hyperbolic, but I promise you it did.

I quickly became obsessed with what Allie was teaching. Each night, as I chiseled away at my mountain of laundry, I would listen to her podcast. With every hour I listened, I began to feel more and more understood. She was breathing truth into the things my mind was thinking. For once, my frustrations didn't make me feel like a failure. She addressed so many of them, and not only did she address them, but she offered solutions (ones that didn't involve ignoring the mess) and gave me hope that it could get better.

I listened to every podcast. I enrolled in her free courses, and without spending a dollar, my life changed. The energy in my house changed. My relationships changed.

Allie's focus is on creating an abundant life. So many of us have this misconception that a life of abundance means that we must have an abundance of stuff. What I have learned is that you find abundance through the exact opposite. I found an abundant life when I began to let go of "stuff" which is something that I always wanted to do, but I had so much guilt for doing it. Through her courses and podcasts, Allie taught me that I shouldn't feel guilty for holding onto things that are weighing our family down.

Allie considers herself a minimalist, but she is so much more than that. She teaches simplicity, not just to have less, but to have more. More time. Better relationships. More fun. More headspace to discover what your true purpose is.

With her help, I implemented systems, cleared the clutter that was crowding my life, my heart, and my mind. My kids starting behaving differently, I began to feel a weight lifted off of my shoulders, and for the first time in a long time, I looked into the eyes of my two beautiful babies, fully, intently, and undistracted.

After I listened to every podcast, got my hands on just about every freebie she offered, and obsessively stalked her on social media like a creeper, I thought that I kind of had a grasp on everything that she was teaching.

The small changes that I made were making such a huge difference that I would have paid thousands of dollars had I known the freedom these things would give me, but I hadn't spent a single penny.

I decided to buy Allie's Courses, Your Uncluttered Home and Unburdened because honestly, it was the least I could do after the way my life was changing. I figured that I'd fly through the information and simply be able to check off boxes of all the things I had already done and quickly consider myself a graduate.

Wrong again. Her courses took me even deeper, and as I went through them, I realized that I was only scratching the surface of how amazing and "Unburdened" my life could be. Every single day, my life improves because of this amazing woman.

Back to the two- hour walk.
They asked me questions, and I answered.
They made jokes, and I laughed...like really, truly laughed.
I was present, and they felt that.
As a result, their demeanors changed.
They were kinder to each other, they were kinder to me, and the day was more filled with peace.
Their love tanks were being filled, and for the first time in a long time, I felt like maybe I wasn't failing them.

And I didn't have to fake it because, for the first time in my life, my to-do list was less important (and it was nearly done.)

The laundry was caught up.
The dishes were done.
The house was clean.
Dinner was planned.

And I wasn't counting down the minutes until my husband got home. The day flew by, and we were able to welcome him in with brand new energy.

My kids were truly my priority.

All because I made a choice to change. I chose to say yes to what truly mattered, and let go of what was sucking the life out of me, and the entire time I felt like I had a dear friend holding my hand through it.

I will never go back to the life I once knew because it wasn't truly living.

Allie hasn't just changed my workload as a mom. She's changed my relationship with my kids and my husband as well. I am happier, my kids are happier, and I am no longer spending Saturday's playing "cleaning lady." She's changed how I wake up in the morning. She's really changed the entire trajectory of my life. She's changed everything, and for that, I will forever be indebted to her.

Listen to her podcasts, they are completely free.
Subscribe to her email list, it doesn't cost a penny.
And if they are changing you, don't cheat yourself, get her course.

Use the link above and receive $30.00 off of "Your Uncluttered Home."

Stop letting your stuff steal your life, your time, and your peace. You deserve a more abundant life, and Allie can help you every step of the way.