Decluttering My Brain and Resetting My Space: What I Do When Avoiding Stress.
When I’m avoiding stress, I don’t do the productive, healed-woman thing first.
Which to many persons surprise isn’t always journal. Or meditating. I reset my space so my brain has somewhere calm to land.
This is what that actually looks like in my home:
1. I finally started the paint by numbers Santa my man bought me last year.
It sat in the closet for a year because I was "too busy." Turns out, when I'm anxious, following numbers is exactly what my brain needs. No decisions. Just tiny little squares and the Santa slowly appears. It's on my dining table now and I do 20 minutes at a time with coffee.
My Masterpiece!
Grab your paint by numbers Santa, and other’s I’ve linked here on my LTK SHOP!
2. I puzzle. Like, really puzzle.
I love puzzles in a way that is borderline feral. This year alone I've finished a 1k, a 2k, and a 3k puzzle. When my brain is buzzing, sorting 3000 pieces by color is the only thing that shuts it up. I put on a podcast, no phone, and just sort.
My dining table is currently a puzzle table. I'm not sorry about it.
Here’s the 3k piece puzzle I finished a few months back. It took me about five weeks to complete and I only have ONE missing piece out of the entire thing!
Linking my puzzle board, sorting trays, and the 3k brand that actually has good pieces.
3. I organize, clean, and make space.
This is my classic avoidance move. If I can't control what's happening out there, I can control a drawer. One drawer. One closet. One shelf.
I don't do the whole house. I pick ONE space and make it my kinda of perfect. Empty it, wipe it, put it back better. That one small win resets the whole day.
I love my built-ins within my closet and if I maintain some sort of discipline, maybe I can keep it looking neat or more than a day.
Shop my organization and House Hushing post over on Sandalwood & Serenity | by THQ — our cozy home edit.
4. I color and hunt for the perfect colored pencils.
Coloring is not just for kids. Finding the perfect colored pencil that layers without streaking? That's a whole hobby. I have a tin that I am very particular about and a coloring book that lives by my bed.
It's paint by numbers' quieter cousin. Same slow, repetitive, no-stakes calm.
5. I sit outside and listen to birds.
I sit on the porch, no phone scrolling, and just listen. I started using the free Merlin app - it's available on iOS and it actually identifies the birds singing around you in real time. I had no idea we had so many different birds in our yard.
It forces you to be still. You can't hear them if you're rushing.
6. I take the bath. The real one.
Not a quick shower. Bath bombs, hot water, door locked. My current obsession is Kush Queen bath bombs - they actually make my shoulders drop. That's my final reset when organizing and puzzling isn't enough.
That's it. No perfect morning routine. Just the real things I do when I'm avoiding stress that actually help me come back.
Paint. Puzzle. Make space. Color. Listen outside. Soak.
What do you do when you're avoiding stress? Tell me yours in the comments - I need new ideas for when I finish this Santa.
Shop My Reset:
[LTK Widget: Paint by numbers kit / Puzzle board / Organizers / Colored pencils / Bath tray / Kush Queen]
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Hi, I'm E. Lynn, founder and editor of The Hollow Quill.
Through Flora & Fauna, I share honest conversations about perimenopause, midlife wellness, and healthy aging—because no woman should have to navigate this season alone.🌿
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I finally started the Santa paint by numbers my man bought me last year. My dining table is officially a puzzle table - 1k, 2k, 3k finished this year. One drawer organized at a time.
This isn't a productivity routine. It's what I actually do when I'm avoiding stress - 6 cozy, low-stakes resets that calm my nervous system without pretending I'm zen. No journal required.