Perfectionism Part 2

(Or how being a perfectionist affects your relationships)

Do you struggle with perfectionism in hiding? Maybe you’ve decided now is the time to tackle being a perfectionist and have even been inspired to start decluttering. First off, as a ‘recovering perfectionist’, be careful not to tip over to the other extreme- perfectionism in action. The last thing we want is for you to feel driven to declutter like an obsessive minimalist! Is your goal to impress people with your perfect home, or rather, to make them feel at home? Your friends take you as you are, and what the postman thinks of your hallway is really not important.

People come first

I founded Free Your Space on the philosophy that it’s never about the stuff- it’s about the people. If you don’t feel comfortable in your own cluttered home and can’t have people round then it’s definitely time to take action. But equally, if your house is so ‘magazine perfect’ that you never let your children have friends round, or leaving a cup out on the side is a disaster, then perfectionism is getting in the way again.

If you book me to help you declutter your home, that’s just what we’ll do. We’ll clear the clutter and look at how you use the space; and that’s the point- your space needs to work for you, not just look perfect. And if having a messy hallway stresses you out, that’s a really good reason to tackle it. (If routine makes you tick, you may even keep that hallway looking perfect; but remember, good enough is good enough…)

Are you a perfectionist? Coming clean about the mess

And here’s another thing to consider. Why don’t we all start a new trend and come clean about how our homes really look- even when we don’t have visitors planned? Perhaps we could post pictures of our everyday mess on social media. That way we’d start to see that almost everyone lives with a bit of mess. If your neighbour is on the doorstep why not do something radical and just invite them in for a cuppa even though you haven’t done the washing up- and better still, do it without apologising!

This is the important truth I aim to live by- that people matter more than places. It’s more important that you are happy, than that you live in a perfect home.

So join me as a recovering perfectionist, and declutter any shame about your less than perfect home.

Let me know in the comments below what you think about perfectionism and if it affects you and your clutter.