maintaining your sanity in a household of packrats

While some of you may be fortunate enough to live in a minimalist environment, most of us aren't. I come from a big family, and share a room with 3 siblings. I have to navigate through an obstacle course just to get to my bed. Some days I want to grab a trash bag and throw it all away, and other days I feel like locking myself in an empty closet. But lately, I just smile and walk around the mess.

I’m not saying it doesn't frustrate me anymore. But I’m working on accepting things for how they are, and learning how to influence my family for the better. I’ve also realized that it’s okay to be different. They don’t have to be just like me and I don’t have to be just like them. Yes, it may make it harder to live together, but that’s alright. It’s part of life.

Three rules I’ve been trying to follow:

1. be an example. I can’t stress this enough. If you keep your space uncluttered and live simply, others will notice and want what you have.

2. be helpful. Offer to help someone clean out their closet or organize a drawer. Pick things up off the floor occasionally, even if they don’t belong to you. Do the dishes if they are sitting in the sink. Fold the laundry if it’s piled up. Help out by keeping things neat.

3. be positive. Don’t worry about what you can’t change. Be thankful for what you can. Rejoice at improvement, whether it seems significant to you or not. Encouragement helps tremendously, trust me.

You know what? It's working. Granted, I'm still living with a bunch of sweet little packrats - but I see a teeny bit of potential trying to squeeze its way through their piles of endless junk. Things aren’t going to change overnight, but small steps go a long way.