Senseless clutter can create stress. A burdensome mess makes it difficult to relax. It bombards our senses with excessive stimuli. It makes us feel trapped and weighed down. It can even encourage feelings of guilt and depression.
While some people get a creative boost from a little messiness—like a cluttered desk—there are certain areas of life that benefit from a little overhaul. Here are 5 areas that can desperately benefit from a little organizational TLC:
Meals. With our busy 21st Century lives, it’s not always easy to get a healthy meal on the table. Many of us find ourselves exhausted by the end of the day, preferring to order in or opt for something fast and tragically unhealthy. But, an unhealthy meal is the last thing you need when you’ve been busy and stressed.
By organizing and planning your weekday meals, you can ensure that you have something nourishing to nosh, even when you’re completely spent. Consider making a big pot of soup or stir fry on Sunday night, so you have near-instant access to easy, healthy leftovers for those rough weekdays. A nutritious, home-cooked meal can make a huge difference in your outlook. By fueling your body properly, you’ll be a lot more balanced throughout the trials of the week and succumb to the hangries a lot less frequently.
Mail. Filing your mail could make all the difference. Bills, spam, notifications—all should go into separate folders. Don’t leave anything piled on the counter for days. This simply becomes a physical manifestation of mounting stress as the pile soars higher and higher throughout the week. This goes for both postal mail and email. Nothing is more stressful than opening up your email only to be bombarded with 671 unread messages.
Also, if you are in the habit of signing up for newsletters and discounts online, as I begrudgingly am, consider creating a separate email account for promotions. I learned this after realizing that 90% of the dozens of emails I received each day were promotional and cluttering my work life. That way, you can peruse promotions on the weekend when you check in on your alternate email.
Clutter drawer. Sure, by its name, it defies organization. To clean it would be to render it a “clutter drawer” no longer. But, emptying out your clutter drawer on a semi-regular basis helps to avoid clutter overflow. The drawer is not boundless like Mary Poppin’s handbag, as much as it may seem to be. One day will it will up, and the clutter will begin to overflow into other parts of your house—a stressful prospect to say the least. Keep the clutter contained.
Once a season, empty out the drawer and find permanent homes for the bits of clutter, or toss it. If you can keep your clutter drawer in check, imagine how manageable the rest if your life will be!
Schedule. Don’t get caught off-guard! At the beginning of each month, make a schedule of special events, deadlines, large chores, bills and whatever else you should not forget. Check in every week to make sure you have no unexpected surprises lurking in your week’s horizon. This keeps your mind free to think about more important, creative things while helping you to keep some semblance of a schedule.
Closet. Not solely a woman’s issue, a cluttered clothes closet can be an overwhelming sight first thing in the morning. Have you ever noticed that some of the world’s greatest thinkers tend to wear essentially the same outfit every day? That’s because figuring out what to wear can actually become a pretty complicated yet unimportant decision if your closet has any sort of heft to it. Clean out things you haven’t worn in a few years, things that don’t fit you right now and things with holes. You can donate them, gift them to friends or sell them online. It doesn’t matter. Simplifying your closet by getting rid of unnecessary items will make each morning a little less stressful.
You may not realize how much your clutter weighs on you until you get rid of it. Clearing out the clutter of your life will, in turn, clear the clutter of your mind, allowing you to think more creatively and freely because you’re not worrying about the inevitability of having to tidy up and organize. Of course, a little clutter is natural.
Source: Care2.com by Jordan Cormier
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