Unclutter Your Life! |
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| Do you want a solution to feeling like you are running in circles not getting anything done? Do you want to feel a real sense of relief and see immediate changes in your mood and in your life? Who wouldn’t say yes to these questions? And, what kind of credible “fix” can do this? | ||
| One way to get some immediate relief from stress is to de-clutter your life. When we sit down to eat dinner, we have to clear the table and then set it for dining. If we sat down to a great gourmet meal with all the trimmings but the table was cluttered with papers underneath and there was no space for dining, the meal would lose some of its positive impact. Just the same as this, we lose some of our positive energy if we live amongst clutter. | ||
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We deal with small stressors every day that diminish our energy. Ironically, we may feel tired, overwhelmed while not being specifically aware of how small
things can impair our efficiency and add stress to our daily routines. Daily traffic, phone calls, interruptions, distractions by others are all daily things we cannot
avoid. Clutter is another stressor that insidiously binds our energy. |
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| Every day those piles of mail sit on the table, or that pile of clothes needs to be sorted, or that jewelry box needs to be organized, or files have to be alphabetized, we feel stress at some level. The things to do list includes those chores whether listed specifically or not. In our head, we list that as something we need to do before we can do something else. Each day that goes by where these chores are not completed, we feel it. So often, we feel that same need to “clear the table” of clutter before we can do another task. But, in life, this clutter seems unimportant compared to other priorities and gets put on the back burner. | ||
| Taking time to unclutter one closet, one counter, one drawer at a time actually frees up energy. Just like a computer that is operating inefficiently due to unused files taking up space, so do people operate inefficiently with disorganization and clutter. We need to clear our spaces to think better, to work better, to feel better. This not only makes our physical space look better, but it makes our emotional space more healthy and alive. | ||
| In order to start, make a plan of attack. Start at the place where you feel your energy is most depleted. Make a list of what things need to be cleaned up first and set a time frame for doing it. One chunk at a time. Trying to clean out the whole house, the office and/or the car will be too much at one time and won’t feel manageable. One shelf, one desk, one spot at a time. | ||
| We often hoard things like pack rats holding on to things “just in case one day we need them.” If you have not needed them and it is not something with sentimental value or something you absolutely love, get rid of it. For women, clothes do come back into style in cycles. Thus, saving pieces of clothing that you love can be very prudent. Make sure you would buy it today if you saw it in a store, that you still like it, that it is not damaged and that it still fits if you chose to keep it. Otherwise, toss it. If it is a journal or magazine that has articles that you want to read, see if those are still of interest, rip them out and toss the rest. Place those articles in a read when free file. | ||
| It is amazing how organization and clarity of space brings clarity, comfort and energy to our minds. | ||
| Happy purging! | ||
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This article was written by Dr. Laurel A. Sills, a Fully Licensed Clinical Psychologist (since 1987) and Life Coach. She provides direct, down-to-earth, short-term therapy with long-term results. She is passionate in her work and will help you stay motivated to change your life with regular commitment to changing habits in thinking and behaving. See her website at: www.DrLSills.com or www.BuildAStrongerYou.com |
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Copyright 2006© Laurel A. Sills, Psy.D. All rights reserved Back to Articles |