Have you ever thought about how the clutter that surrounds you contributes to your stress?
If you haven’t before, it’s something to consider. Clutter can be a physical manifestation of the things that hold us down. And every time you walk into your cluttered space, even if you’re not aware of it, you’re stressed out more and more.
So one way of managing your stress before your stress manages you is to work on reducing and organizing your clutter. Organizing your clutter is one step in organizing your life.
Read on for 4 tips on how to organize the clutter to help lessen some of the stress in your life.
Tame The Paper Monster
If you’re looking at your clutter hotspots, I’m sure that there’s paper involved. Paper has a way of taking over a space. The first thing that you can do is to gather your papers and start eliminating all the extra papers. Things like advertisements, old coupons, junk mail, old bills, etc.
Moving forward, if you don’t use sales ads or grocery inserts, throw them in the recycle bin as soon as you get them from the mailbox. Don’t leave them on the counter and let them collect for days or weeks or even months.
You should also sign up for online bill pay and cancel your print statements from your bank and utility companies in favor of receiving electronic statements. Electronic statements are a win-win, because you’ll have less paper clutter in your home and many companies want to reduce their paper footprint. And best of all, the trees will thank you!
Start Organizing Drawers and Cabinets
Your drawers and cabinets are another area that often houses a lot of clutter. So, you should go through all closets, pantries, cupboards, and drawers. Depending on how cluttered they are right now, this may feel long and arduous, but don’t give up!
Go with one room at a time, organizing it over the week or weekend. If need be, start with one drawer in a day and go from there. You can use drawer organizers, baskets, and shelves; anything that you need to begin organizing what you have. This is also the perfect time to get rid of or give away things that you don’t need.
If you’re a person who has a hard time getting rid of personal items, try thinking of it this way, by giving things that you don’t want or need to someone else who does, you’re engaging in self-care. I believe that performing acts of kindness and doing for others is one of the reasons why we’re here on this earth and in doing for others, we’re also doing for ourselves – hence self-care!
Create a Laundry Routine
Laundry is another area where people often have clutter and disorder. If piles of dirty clothes are getting to you, try coming up with a schedule to tackle it. For instance, you can do one small load every evening while dinner is cooking, or have your kids or partner help you with it throughout the week.
De-Clutter Your Closets And Other Storage Areas
Okay, so you’re almost there and hopefully, you’re feeling a lot less stressed. The next step is to tackle your closets. When decluttering your closets, you should divide your items into three piles:
Discard
Give Away
Keep
The discard pile should contain anything you don’t use, including clothes and shoes you haven’t touched in at least a year.
The give away pile should contain items that are in good condition (gently used) but are things that you no longer like, fit or use.
The keep pile should contain those items that fit well and that you use regularly.
Don’t forget to go through your garage, basement, attic, car and any other nooks and crannies, since stuff tends to accumulate in these areas as well.
So that’s it, 4 ways to start making sure that your life is less stressed and clutter free. It may not be easy, but you can do it. It’s all about making time.
Let’s talk, what’s your plan for attacking the clutter in your home so that you can stress less? Let me know in the comments section.
Pantry Photo by Heather McKean on Unsplash
Cassandra Martin-Himmons is a trainer, wellness coach and consultant who believes in empowering her clients and providing the tools that they need to make positive changes in their lives to manage their stress and increase their self-care. In her spare time, she enjoys papercrafting, volunteering and travel. Connect with her on Instagram or LinkedIn
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