Something I feel all too often... and hear oh-so frequently from the people I work with is that “Life is too busy,” or “I can’t find the time.”

And mind you, generally, what we can’t find time for, are important things--things we really want to do, things that make our lives easier in the long run, things that enable us to connect with the people we love, things that are really important.

This can leave you feeling like life is a rat-race where you move from one distraction to the next. Like you have no control over the course your life takes.

1. Getting dressed in the morning takes way too long, it’s stressful and you don’t always like the results. You have a closet full of clothes, but nothing to wear!

2. You resent constantly picking up after your family...so much so that you consider taking a trash bag around the house with you instead of putting things back where they go!

3. Cleaning your home is like a marathon: slow and steady and man does it take forever.

4. You have holiday cards up from last year, and--now that you mention it--pictures that got stuck up on the fridge years ago, and knick-knacks you’ve never touched except to dust.

5. You are constantly purging, but it just doesn’t seem to make any difference. Your home still feels cluttered right after you’ve spent a good chunk of time picking up and purging.

6. You target everyone’s stuff but your own. My stuff?: ‘Oh, it’s pared down about as far as it can go.’ (No judgement--I’ve been there.)  

7. You have so much “useful stuff” in your garage/junk drawer/utility closet that when you actually need that widget, you can’t find it, even after an hour of hunting. You could go out and buy another for $3, but you don’t, because you know it’s here somewhere!

8. You’re not 100% sure what is at the back of that closet, deep down where the light never shines.

9. Walking into your home at the end of the day, you feel overwhelmed and exhausted. Everywhere you look, there are things to do, piles to put away. You plop the mail down on the growing stack--you’ll deal with it “later.”

10. Just figuring out what to make for dinner is so overwhelming, you decide to order out… again. It’s just so much easier.

11. You’re not comfortable hosting Bookclub or having friends over---your space doesn’t accurately reflect YOU.