3 Things To Do When You Are Overwhelmed

I sat down at the kitchen table and looked around at the mess. My house was a disaster and my heart was heavy thinking about all the things I needed to do.

A weight sat on me making it hard to breathe as I looked around at the hot mess in this room. I couldn’t even imagine what the kids rooms looked like nor did I want to imagine.

There was so much to get done, I didn’t know what to do first. How do you prioritize what needs to be done when everything needs to be done?

I was overwhelmed and I was not getting anything done while agonizing over what needed to be done. I was simply overwhelmed.

Whenever I’m overwhelmed, I have 3 things to do.

1) Breathe – Simple yet effective.

Put your hands on your belly, breathe in your nose and out your mouth for four seconds each. Do this 10 times.

Don’t forget essential oils if you have some on hand. Something like orange is invigorating while lavender is calming. Either of these could be a great addition to your breathing.

2) Go outside.

Go stand on your porch or go into the yard. Don’t think about your house or the massive disaster inside.

Take 5 minutes to sit in God’s presence outside. Feel the warmth on your skin if the season is right. Listen to the birds, watch the squirrels, or find a pretty rock. Simply thank God for a moment to sit outside and enjoy His creation.

Be still and know that I am God. Psalm 46:10

If its cold outside, stand by your window and look out at the sky. The trick is to take a moment to focus on something beautiful and good. Like Philippians 4:4-9 says to do. If you do this before working, you will be in a better frame of mind. You will have a fresh dose of God’s peace to go with you.

3) Go back in and start at the sink.

When you come back inside, start at the kitchen sink.

Empty one sink and fill it with hot, soapy water. Load the sink with as much as you can. Silver in the bottom, then plates on top of that is a great place to start.

While that’s soaking, put away anything clean on your counter.

Start washing. Don’t think about anything but clearing out that one load of dishes. Wash, rinse, and put in the drainer.

If your water is dirty after this first load, start another sink of hot, soapy water.

Put the clean dishes away while the next load soaks.

Continue until you have to soak large items.

Look around. Looks better huh?

Go from there. Wipe the stovetop, table, fridge door while the big items soak. Can you feel the relief?

Before you know it, your kitchen is mostly clean.

Stay in the kitchen until you can relax here.

Once you get done, sit down with a cup of tea or coffee and enjoy this room before you go to the next. Breathe and relax. It’s all ok.