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I recently received an email from a reader who was semi-annoyed that “my emails talk about so many different things and that she signed up for some cleaning tips and doesn’t really care about budgeting and could I just send her emails about cleaning and decluttering?”
And that got me thinking.
About the connection between all of these topics and how we don’t live our lives in a vacuum.
I write a lifestyle blog that focuses on three main areas: money and emotional spending, cleaning and decluttering and how to make your life the best it can be.
And so my emails and blog posts tend to be about something related to one of those three topics.
But here’s the thing ladies – while at first glance they might seem like unrelated topics, what I’ve learned is they go hand in hand.
Whether you’re working outside the home, are a stay at home mom, retired woman, or working part-time, money is coming into your life in one way or another. That money needs to be managed in some fashion.
To throw budgeting under the bus is just plain dumb. Budgets are a smart and necessary tool to help us achieve our goals, create wealth and plan for the future. Unless you’re a financial guru yourself, everyone can benefit from some advice on how to do it smarter. I know reading blogs, articles, and books about money were the primary way I changed my relationship with money and got out of 50K of credit card debt.
What we do with money and how we use it is just as important as how to manage it.
Nearly all of us use money in a way it was never intended.
Every time we make a purchase because we feel lonely, depressed, angry, entitled, happy, sad, celebratory….we are using money in a way that shifts our mood to make us feel either more of something or something better than how we feel in the present moment.
This results in homes that are overstuffed and overfilled with junk, clutter, excessive amounts of clothes, shoes, boxes, bins and storages containers.
The result is a home full of stuff we don’t want or need but can’t seem to part with.
We assign money the job of making us happy, and in the end, it does the exact opposite and makes us miserable.
When we can learn what motivates our spending, learn how to find better ways to get our needs met, money becomes less volatile and is instead used for it’s intended purposes.
Which brings me how to keep our homes clean and clutter free.
I owned a residential and commercial cleaning business for over 15 years. I’ve seen all kinds of homes.
Most of the homes fell into one of two categories:
They were either people living pretty simple lives free of clutter or people whose homes were so overcluttered it made getting them clean each week a challenge.
There was very little in-between.
When you’re struggling with clutter, debt, overspending and overbuying life can seem hard.
I try to provide positive and useful solutions to help lift you up and see your situation in a different light which if of course the final category I tackle.
So, yes I write about a bunch of stuff, and I’m hard-pressed to see where one issue starts, and one ends.
They are so intricately woven together.
So if you’re like my reader who I’ll call Jane and only want to read about cleaning, I implore you to see how these topics all fit together and how when you can master one it has a direct and lasting impact on all the others.
Hey, join my Facebook Pages: Happiness Is Free and Clean and Tidy. There we DO break it out so I can share specific strategies for your finances and home.
I’m a professional cleaner with over 13 years of hands-on experience cleaning homes, a published writer, certified money specialist, and the founder of A Mess Free Life. After paying off over $50,000 in debt, I dedicated myself to helping others master their homes and their money — proving that a clean, organized, stress-free life is possible no matter where you’re starting from. When I’m not writing, you’ll find me cooking, playing bocce, sipping an extra dirty martini, or enjoying the ocean with my cats nearby. I’m also a proud mom and grandma who cares deeply for my mother at home.
