Don’t forget to ask for help

I had decided that this month would focus on decluttering the entire house, every nook and cranny. While this was a cleansing and therapeutic experience for me, a part of me was petrified dealing with some rooms like the kitchen and the pantry. For me personally, I get overwhelmed when a place is a mess and unorganised. So having a clean and organised environment is vital to me.

Day by day, I had dedicated for each room, and today was the kitchen. I woke up at 6:30am and ready to tackle the kitchen at 8:00am. 8:30am alright, looking good smashed out the tea/coffee cupboard, 9:00 cupboards for storing plates, bowls, cutleries, cleaning supplies. Now it was 10:00am (ok, the Duracell Bunny battery in me is starting to get tired), so I took a break. As I took a break, I had realised how exhausting this job was and how much unnecessary things we had kept. It’s an oxymoron. I prefer to have the bare essentials and not double or even quadruple items/ electronics, taking unnecessary clutter in spaces. Eventually, I started to get annoyed because I was working so hard to declutter the kitchen and that no one was helping. While my mum came back from hydro, she started arranging and putting old extra back in their places (sigh, seriously??). (In case you didn’t know, I’m like Monica from friends and have everything in its place, yep, no junk drawers, what’s that? I would probably drive Phobe crazy as well).
I guess we must compromise. However, I was extremely thankful for her help, realising that I signed myself up for a job that was too much for me. While decluttering was a good intention, it was also essential to communicate with everyone what items they find joy in. This meant (even if it means that there would be additional items being stored in the kitchen).
While everyone in the house may not have high standards of order, I could have asked them for help but made excuses thinking that they would not help. Sometimes, the things that hold us back is ourselves. It could be pride, insecurity, wanting control of the whole situation. It is essential that we examine and be honest with ourselves and reach out for help, whatever it may be. People aren’t psychic, and we can’t expect them to know exactly what’s on our minds. It takes humility to say, I need help, and you should have to feel bad. This was an excellent reminder to ask for help when things are beyond my control or capacity.