From Chaos to Calm: How Decluttering Helped Me Breathe Again

For most of my life, I’ve been called “OCD” by family and friends. But I never saw it that way. I just liked things clean, calm, and organized. I didn’t have a name for it until later – minimalism. Not the stark, bare version you see in magazines, but the kind where everything in my space has a purpose and brings peace.

I’ve always believed our home should work for us, not against us. That it should feel like a sanctuary. But once I got married and had four children, that vision became hard to hold on to.

My husband? A proud maximalist. He enjoys a home filled with character, keepsakes, and… stuff. Lots of stuff.  And our children? Wonderful, energetic, and creative, which means toys, books, blankets, shoes, bags, crafts… everywhere. No matter how much I tried to limit the clutter, life just kept bringing more in.

For years, the only space I could fully control was my office at work. It was the one place I could keep clean, minimal, and completely functional. Everything had its place. Everything served a purpose. And even though work could be stressful, I felt calm there. Focused. In control.

But at home? I found myself increasingly tense, overwhelmed, and anxious. One afternoon while driving home, I felt a tight pain in my chest, like I couldn’t breathe. That moment scared me. I later realized it was anxiety. And I knew I had to do something about it.

That night, I sat at the kitchen table with a notebook and pen. I needed to understand where this pressure was coming from. I wrote everything that might be causing stress – 
The kids? No, they were amazing.

Bills? We were doing okay.

My husband? Supportive, loving.

So what was it?

I looked around.

Counters filled with clutter.

Toys spilling out of bins.
Rooms packed with too much furniture.

It was the house. The physical space. It was overstimulating, chaotic, and exhausting.

And that was something I could change.

So I made a plan.

Step 1: Declutter.
Step 2: Organize.
Step 3: Deep clean.

It didn’t happen overnight, but little by little, room by room, I began clearing out everything that didn’t serve our family or bring us peace. I let go of what we didn’t need. I created systems that made cleaning up easier. My husband helped me rearrange furniture to open up space.

And you know what? Even before I finished, I felt it – relief.

That tightness in my chest disappeared.

Coming home started to feel like… coming home again.

No one else seemed to notice the difference at first, but I did. I felt lighter, more grounded, and far less overwhelmed.

Since then, I’ve committed to regular decluttering, every season if I can. Because life keeps moving, and things creep back in. But now I know how to reclaim my peace when I need to.