The messy middle — the period of time between the excitement of a fresh start and the glee of completion — is stressful. Whether you’re in the messy middle of a house remodel (like we are!) or the messy middle of life (like we all are, thank you 2020!), it can drive you bonkers.
This week on Instagram, I did a walk-thru of our new house and showed you the real messy middle of our lives. Our house is a physical mess right now and it’s driving me crazy. Click here to watch the Instagram Live and keep watching for a surprise appearance from my mom, Mimi!
In sharing my life with you all, there is one common thread and that thread is MESS. I feel like I’m always in a state of mess: picking up after three kids, starting new projects, and the life-long thrill of chasing “fun” as an Enneagram 7. Even though it might be a natural state for our lives, the mess gets to me.
Here are my three quick tips for how to handle the messy middle!
Put on tied shoes and keep moving!
On days when I need to tackle the messy middle, I put on tied shoes — I have a theory that a shoe with tied laces will help you accomplish a little more in a day — and get to work. Don’t worry about how much you’re going to get done, give yourself a block of time (5 minutes, 30 minutes, a couple of hours!) and keep moving.
Organize by putting like things together.
While at the construction site that is our new house, the mess was truly starting to drive me crazy. I knew I couldn’t clean it from top to bottom, but I could gather all the paint samples and put them in a pile. If I can do nothing else, I can put like things together. Believe it or not, adding a little bit of order to the chaos is going to help you proceed forward.
Clean one little thing.
Again, don’t let the overwhelm get to you. You may not be able to clean your entire house today. You might not even be able to clean an entire room today. Give yourself permission to tidy one area. Trying to tackle it all and not doing anything are both extremes that could lead to more chaos. Clean one little thing. Progress is the name of the game.
How are you tackling it all friend? Share below your favorite ways to handle the messy middle of life!
I’m sharing the behind the scenes of our house remodel, updates on life, and many many messes over on Instagram. I hope you’ll join me and follow along!
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