How we're tackling this challenging time 

My mom had stored away a Scottie dog toy she'd had since she was 4, so it was well over 80 years old. During her Swedish death cleaning phase she found it in a box, lamented that it was old and tattered but didn't want to part with it. I didn't want it. I suggested -- and she whole-heartely agreed -- that I would have it cremated with her. That made her very happy. And that's what I did.

We call it the itchie-gitchies. Nothing is wrong but nothing is right and it is incredibly strong right now!

When my mom moved into assisted living, she had so little extraneous stuff that, in order to have a living estate sale anyone would bother stopping at, we asked friends to add their stuff to the sale! Mom's linen closet had exactly four things in it. Her house was so clean that we only had to vacuum and wipe down counters in order to get it ready to show. It was such a wonderful gift to us!

Every year, when spring comes and the sun starts to shine In my window I have a high for spring cleaning. It's like out with the old winter and in with the new spring. Spring has sprung, and everything new has begun.

It's the post-Covid plus the war in the Ukraine, plus the economy, and the political climate in the U.S. It's a bit scary 😨!

I found the sympathy and Mass cards sent to my grandmother when my grandfather died in 1966. My mother had saved them and they were in her household stuff. She died in 2015. I had an awakening when going through the cards. I knew many of the people but my children and grandchildren have no idea who they were! So I took the time to remember those people with fondness and acknowledge how wonderful ❤️ it was that my grandparents had so many friends. I was able to let the cards go. I still carry a positive feeling from encountering the cards and letting go.

There was ABSOLUTELY a sort of weird comfort when we were all inside during the height of the pandemic. It sounds weird to say out loud, but there are plenty of times when I miss that. It was just my daughter and me (although she went to her dad's too) with our two cats, and she did school synchronously for the last part of her 6th grade year and the entirety of her 7th grade year - and we both LOVED it. We got creative on how to spend our time, took a lot of walks, played with our cats, and binged countless shows. It felt cozy and safe. I think a lot of us didn't really realize how much security that provided us.

Yes to all if it! Restless and can’t decide what is important. Thank you

I think what is making us all feel challenged is transition, so many people have trouble with transition and especially those of us with adhd. When winter fades into spring we are happy about it but it brings so many changes to our daily life plus the feelings of guilt and stress that we are not prepared, we didnt plan the garden, we didnt think about our summer schedule and how we would make the most of these fleeting months of good weather. Graduations and other events creep up on us. Overwhelm is what can make us paralyzed. One of the big benefits of living a decluttered life is having the time to plan for transitions, and we won't be perfectly ready for everything but things will go much smoother. During an emergency like covid (or a flooded bathroom) we actually perform well because we have less choices to make, we act appropriately under pressure but we cannot live our life like this, creating emergencies by procrastinating and being unprepared. Routines are so important because we are calmed by at least the sense that we have a plan and having a decluttered life style gives us more time to follow our routines. Happy spring!

It’s nice to hear you talk about this. Many times I feel so unsettled. Can’t put my finger on exactly what is wrong.

I have cleared my clutter and it is the best gift you could give yourself. As far as inheriting my parents possessions when they passed, I only kept one small item. The rest went to relatives that wanted it, thrift store or sold. I read a quote that I found put t in perspective for me. Inheriting items (peer pressure from dead people)

Swedish death cleaning of my things has really motivated me go get so much done, despite feeling tired at the end of the day.

When you said I keep telling the kids no, it is exactly what is happing with us right now. Things are just upside down and I keep saying till we get to this spot or till we get to that place I'll have time,etc. It's terrible. I know this is not right to be here but I am.

"Clutterphobe" ? this is a new one ! and I can say that in the past year, I have joined the club ! I went from normalizing constant clutter my whole life to finally realizing how much it impacted my stress level. Now I cannot tolerate it anymore. Your channel has helped me a lot, your no-nonsense attitude is appealing to me and the content that you present is always relevant. My home is now 75% where I want it to be. So thank you Robyn for being there for us !

This is how I feel right now. There's too much. I can't juggle it all. I can't enjoy time with my family because of all the things to so.. let alone do anything for myself. I need your channel!

post covid cabin fever. our perspective has changed after covid, but now it's spring so we have that normal cabin fever, spring cleaning feeling combined with that "there must be more to life" ick... im there. covid, kids, working from home had more of a chaotic, stressful impact on me as an introvert so now I'm trying to figure out how to fix it. oh, love the tulips and the coffee cup!

Exactly! 💯 Thanks so much. Love your videos & your tulips 💐 God bless

The other day I literally stood in the middle of my living room saying "Oh my God I have so much to do around the house and I just cannot start". Complete overwhelm, could not pick up the to-do list and just pick something. So I made myself a cup of coffee, enjoyed that coffee, and then deep cleaned my den. Sometimes you have to step back to move forward. And I love your garden!

Absolutely LOVE LOVE LOVE the tulips!!! 😍And I loved checking in with you Robyn.

I call it “feeling unmoored” - that directionless, ungrounded, chaotic, anxious feeling that becomes so overwhelming. I have the same new Birks. Love this style! I am finding the straps harder to break in - socks at home are brilliant. ♥️

I totally agree with you. Our family is also dealing with putting my 83-year-old father into a care home. I can totally relate with what you’re saying. I’ve been feeling like this for a year. Covid has really done a number on us.

So good -> "It's not bothering him enough". "Embrace simple living." I know what needs to be done and yet I can't stop watching tv long enough to get things done. I've always been rather private about people coming to my home, not because its messy, I'm more or a loner. All of it is starting to bother me, I'm going to have to stand still long enough and think things through. Thank you...

Thank you for this video, and for sharing your garden. Also, thank you for encouraging us to not take on so much. My blood pressure is too high because I have too much to do right now. But starting in the summer, it won't be as bad. I'm looking forward to some time to relax.

You hit sooooo many good points on this one. Thank you for validating my feelings on many many things. Glad to hear i am not the only one that feels this way post covid.

Nowadays I start with a little meditation with God... for inspiration and to ask help me with .. !! AND I make a priority list... what is important for today. Maybe I do not get all of it... but at least I now what matters to me the most .. helps me to start and to tacle some issues I than later I can see... yes I did this and that.... MAKES ME FEEL GREAT !!

Im sitting in a motel room, freaking out at the clutter! It creates that level of anxiety that only decluttering cures. Thankfully we'll be packing it all into the car tomorrow and heading home. I love your channel and i also love where you live. We lived there for 25 years before moving out to Calgary to be near our kids and grandson. ❤

Yes, but during spring break my chronic pain got to a new level of pain. I am having to learn to live in a new level of pain. Can NOT drink more medication, because I would sleep all day.

Yes, just had a conversation about this with my husband....

Excellent points. Thank you.

I read that after a big natural disaster, divorce, crime, mental health etc, all goes up statistically. No doubt the pandemic has brought about a similar feeling of helplessness. I feel like the internet is a minefield of people looking to argue these days. It's hard not to reply, but I unfollow anything that brings about more stressful interactions. Thank you for being the calm in my day ❤

The two royal rebels got into a cat fight LOL 😂

My house is a wreck, the toddler just went down for a nap, im hella pregnant and on low-energy... thank you for the encouragement to say screw it all and go outside for some sun and chill time. ❤

Yes I'm feeling like this at the moment. Overwhelmed and struggling to say no to people and not putting myself first

I listened to you talk about stressing. I can see that in both my adult daughters, but I don’t feel it myself, at least not right now. Thanks to you, and other RU-vidrs, I have decluttered, I do feel the freedom of having less stuff crowding me. I also learned to say NO and to remove toxic people. I feel the freedom to do the things that make me happy, that I did not have the time or energy for in the past. It’s the season of live, my season vs. my daughter’s. I wish I could give them the gift of peacefulness that I feel. But it’s not happening. I can only hope I can give them the tools and example so they figure it out on their own and embrace it as if were their own idea!. ADHD, as you often mention is present in both girls, one is hyper focused and hyperactive, the other struggled with focus her whole life. (Like living with the odd couple). They are both grown with children… but I am their sounding board, they both talk but don’t listen….. their season is the stressful season, I moved forward from that. I appreciate your content so much, especially your words on ADHD. I also raised a grandson with diagnosed acute ADHD and ODD. At that time I worked in a school for special needs kids and took advantage of every training opportunity available. My grandson is 26 now, he is an amazing young man, and I’m still sane! Drinking decaf green tea with honey in Pennsylvania.

I’d like to add that one reason folks feel jittery or ill at ease might be because they are Solar sensitive. Not everyone is, but the sun has sent several M class solar flares toward earth, and at least one coronal mass ejection arrived Tuesday evening (5-9-23). For some, this extra output from the sun causes lethargy and for others it energizes them to greater productivity. The output from the sun varies and it typically takes 2-3 days to reach us when a coronal mass ejection occurs. This temporarily erodes or assaults the magnetic field of the earth and can show up in various ways, including how people feel. Radio blackouts occur with these events, but the effects are not uniform across the earth. The sun is the major input for heat and energy into our atmosphere, so the sun drives weather events and enhances the dynamics of storm systems globally. The earth also receives some energy from deep within the core, but that usually only effects magma stored there and we see it in volcanic eruptions when they occur. For the most part, the sun is the major input of energy. If you feel differently from one day to the next, and you’re otherwise healthy; you might investigate solar output. Sometimes it might just match as there are different frequencies and you just might discover that you’re sensitive to a particular range of solar output. It’s hard to know because some people are not affected by it in the least.

Totally in that season right now. I DO feel like I'm drowning. I have a list of health complications that I can't seem to keep up with. Therefore, I'm tired ALL of the time, so I'm constantly playing catch-up with housework while trying to fit in family time and self care. I have now been admitted into the hospital for more health complications after a major surgery. Away from my two year old, and my husband, and the house. Stepping back is giving me an opportunity to come up with solutions, but I got nothing but anxieties. Send help ☹️❤

It’s Maycember the absolute worst time of the year! Att least the weather is awesome!

This is all so well said. I will watching this a few more times to really absorb the truths here. Thank you!

Love your videos.

Yeah, I am really feeling the overwhelm right now. As a working mom and feeling guilty about not spending time with them. 😔

Thank you, again, for a great video that says what I need to hear. I really really want that feeling of freedom too.

thank you for putting this out right now. I am getting ready to make another move this year and it is still thanks to covid. We got so used to Geoff working from home and we were told that his job would remain remote. But the power that be changed and now we are moving back cause he has to be in the office 2 days a week so here we go back to Pittsburgh from Harrisburg PA .....oh well. great for decluttering. Charities around Harrisburg are going to get a lot of good stuff. clothes books household stuff I haven't used in a year bye bye.. Trying to keep the stress at bay but we shall see.

i have declutter most of my home and i am still working on it i am liveing in my Dad & Moms home they passed away and i still decluttering from them and from my stuff too i just about done i have just a little bet do but i love getting all the stuff in order it is so much better now . have a great day !

Wow, you are right on about the itchie-gitchies. I didn’t have a name for it before. This video hit me at the right time!

I just wore my socks with sandals today working from home and just had to get out !

Stressed right now with a house sale. Legal papers are so awful. Just want it to be over.

Cheers ☕️, I loved your tulips 🌷 Thanks for sharing!

Hi Robyn, I'm really struggling, here's a back story so you'll know. I'm a widow (67, with a back disability, limited mobility, pain, and raising my 3 grandsons, they are 10,13,& 14. Yes i know they can help and they do but I'm so tired of trying and starting decluttering and something always comes up. I'm not one to say no but it's really taking a toll on me. I can't get anywhere so I'm so overwhelmed and very frustrated. Then by chance, if i end up having a day to declutter, I'm so tired, or my back won't let me. I will say I'm not a patient one. i want it done yesterday. I want my house to be so minimal that it doesn't take forever to clean it. Help me Robyn I'm desperate and losing it and i don't know what to do. 😢😢! Other than the boys i don't have any help. I hope you understand cuz i could go on and on but I'm sure you get what I'm saying. 🤔😬😭🤧. Thank you and any suggestions would be greatly appreciated❤

I’m with you. Atmospheric weirdness is what I call it.

We freaked with covid. But in time we adjusted and turned abnormal into normal to mentally survive. Now we go back to normal and our brain is freaking again cause now old normal is not normal. We are adjusting all over again. We need to be patient with our selves

Lol my house is not clean the teenagers are there haha I feel the same when my 27 year old is home

Eclipses happening. Might feel weird for a bit longer!

Me: Searches "Dancing Bacon" on RU-vid

Querida Robyn: a comentarios estúpidos, oídos sordos😘🌻

Wow! Your dark pink tulip bed is gorgeous! Just had to say that. Also, I just realized I've been spelling your name wrong ;-/ my apologies. Commitment declutter should definitely be a thing. I'm so bad about always overfilling my plate with all the things I say I'll do or feel like I should be doing, lol. I'm not sure if I get more stressed by my stuff or my commitments. It seems like most of the decluttering fundamentals should apply to commitments the way they do to things...you think?

100%

🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷🌷

Clutterphobe huh? My mom told me I was OCD bc I couldn't stand clutter,she's a hoarder. I was so insulted by her statement. IMO,, she's the one with the problem and I'm the normal one.