Mindful Mama Mondays #7: Declutter Your Headspace

Ever clear off the dining table—dump the toys, sort the mail, chase off those rogue socks—only to find it a mess again within the hour? That’s my brain lately. 🧠

Nowadays, I’ve caught myself walking into rooms and forgetting why, opening the fridge three times before remembering it was milk I needed, and mentally rehearsing a week’s worth of tasks while rocking a baby with one hand and replying to a school WhatsApp message with the other.

It’s not just “mom brain.” It’s mental load, decision fatigue, and the fact that my brain now functions like 37 tabs open in Chrome… with one frozen and playing Peppa Pig on loop.

So this Monday, let’s declutter our headspace. Because when the brain fog lifts even a little, everything — from parenting to pouring chai — gets just a bit lighter.

📦 What Exactly Is Cluttering Our Minds?

If your brain feels more overstuffed than your toddler’s toy basket, it’s likely due to:

• Mental load – the invisible, never-ending to-do list we carry: doctor appointments, vaccine schedules, grocery refills, remembering which pair of undies your toddler will not scream about.
• Decision fatigue – how even simple choices (What’s for dinner? Can I wear leggings again?) start to feel impossible by 6 PM.
• Background stress – things like postpartum recovery, family expectations, or even that WhatsApp group you’re too polite to mute.

Research backs it up. A study in Nature Communications shows we make over 35,000 decisions a day. For moms, add another 10,000 micro-decisions we don’t even count.

(Is that a poop face or a thoughtful one?)

(Should I say no to screen time or say yes and get ten minutes of peace?)

And unlike physical clutter, you can’t just toss your brain into a laundry basket and promise to deal with it later.

🧠 Signs Your Mind Needs a Spring Cleaning

Before we dive into decluttering, here are a fewn signs that your brain might be overflowing:

• You’ve started adding “shower” and “eat lunch” to your to-do list just to cross something off.
• You’re replying “Sure!” to questions no one asked.
• You finish a task but immediately forget you did it (hello, double diaper orders).
• You cry over spilled milk. Literally. Then you wipe it up and cry again.

I once opened the door to take the garbage out and almost left without the garbage. That was my sign.

✨ The Mindful Decluttering Process

(a.k.a. Marie Kondo for Your Brain)

Let’s not KonMari our entire lives in one go — we’re moms, not magicians. But we can start small.

Here’s your brain-tidy starter pack:

1. The Braindump Blitz 🧾

Grab a notebook (or the back of your toddler’s scribbled worksheet) and write everything floating in your mind. Appointments, to-dos, thoughts like “should I be feeding more greens?” — get it out.

This is your mental “laundry basket.” Don’t organize. Don’t edit. Just unload. Experts call this “cognitive offloading,” and it works wonders to reduce stress.

2. The ‘Do, Drop, Delegate’ Sort 🗂️

Now Marie Kondo that list.

• Do: Things that genuinely matter today or this week.
• Drop: Tasks you’ve been carrying out of guilt (like planning a Pinterest-worthy birthday party for a baby who just wants cardboard boxes).
• Delegate: Yes, your partner can book the vaccine appointment. Or your mom can prep the dal. Let go of the idea that only you can keep all the balls in the air.

Personal note: I recently let my husband take over toddler bedtime. I lost 40 minutes of control, but gained 40 minutes of mental silence. Worth it.

3. One-Minute Meditations 🧘🏾‍♀️

You don’t need a Himalayan salt lamp or flute music. Just pause and do this:

• Close your eyes.
• Breathe in for 4 counts.
• Hold for 4.
• Breathe out for 6.

Do this when you’re nursing, waiting for water to boil, or hiding in the bathroom. That’s one mental tab closed.

Mindful Mama Mondays:  “Breathe, Mama, Breathe”

4. Plan Your Pause Buttons ⏸️

Schedule tiny buffer zones in your day — five minutes of no scrolling, no noise, just sipping tea and watching your cat judge you from the windowsill. It’s not lazy; it’s resetting your brain.

Mindful Mama Mondays #5: Screens, Screams & Sanity

🪄 Mind Tricks I Swear By

(That Actually Work)

• Default Outfits: I wear the same four kurtas on rotation. Zero decision-making. More brain for bigger things (like remembering where I hid the snacks).
• Theme Days: Monday = doctor stuff. Tuesday = grocery list. Friday = low expectations. Simplifies the chaos.
• Batch Small Decisions: Pre-make snack boxes or pick toddler outfits the night before. You’re not lazy — you’re a time wizard.

🧡 A Little Real-Talk Pep Talk

Mama, your brain is doing A LOT. You are carrying your baby, your household, your WhatsApp family group’s emotional wellbeing, and your own healing — all at once.

No wonder it feels crowded up there.

But clearing space isn’t about doing more.

It’s about setting down the things that were never yours to carry in the first place — the perfection, the pressure, and that overloaded mental browser stuck in buffering mode.

Just like we clear out toys and outgrown clothes, we can gently tidy up our minds too — one small, mindful step at a time.

🧘‍♀️ This Week’s Mindful Mama Challenge

1. Do a 5-minute brain dump tonight.
2. Highlight 3 things you can drop or delegate.
3. Practice one “pause moment” each day — even if it’s hiding in the bathroom with a KitKat.

Stick a post-it on the fridge:

“Clearer Mind, Calmer Mama.” 💛

See You Next Week…

…when we dive into “The Sunday Night Reset Ritual” — a soft, soulful guide to ending your week with intention (and maybe a clean sink).

Until then, here’s your dose of good juju — may it bring peace to your mind, lightness to your heart, and maybe one less sock on the floor.

With all the mental white space you can muster,

— Mama-in-Chief