Declutter Your Home and Reduce Your Stress

DeClutter Options - Which is Right for You?

#1 Reason to Declutter is to reduce the amount of stress in your life. The world, economy and environment are changing at a rapid pace and if you allow it, stress will creep in. One area that you can take charge of your stress is with the reduction of the clutter in your life. We have all become accustomed to the availability of what we want, when we want it and without knowing or meaning to, we have cluttered our lives with “stuff” that we don’t need and can definitely live without.

Consider how you feel when you arrive home after a long day at work...not taking into fact that you may have to add several hours for a commute. Does the stress immediately hit you like a brick across the back of your head? And from the moment you step into the door, the children are hungry, homework needs to be done, dinner needs to be cooked and the house is a wreck! There just aren’t enough hours in a day to get everything accomplished. By the time that you finish everything on your list it is after 10:00 and you are finally sitting down to “enjoy” some time with your spouse but you can hardly keep your eyes open because…in 6-7 hours it all begins again. And the clutter builds and builds and builds.

There are several directions that you can consider when taking charge of your clutter. The first option is to dedicate a specific amount of time each weekend to a certain area and get it under control. This works if you are truly dedicated to your cause and are willing to block out the time to accomplish your goal. The second option is to find a family member or friend to help with the elimination process. The key to this solution is that your family member or friend can’t be an enabler. They must understand that it is your goal to downsize and eliminate clutter and they are not allowed to help you find a “reason” to keep anything. The third option is to hire a Professional Organizer to work with you to reduce the clutter. They will assist you in every decision that you must make but will not allow you to make excuses as to “why” items should be kept. A Professional Organizer is affordable and valuable to the reduction of your stress level and will change your life. No matter what option you choose, remember to eliminate items that you truly don’t need or want (or can’t remember the last time that you used them), downsize and get back to the basics.
Remember, DON’T AGONIZE-ORGANIZE

Health and Clutter - Are They Related?

Health and Clutter – Are they related?
The answer is Absolutely! You know how it feels when you look at the room and see the clutter day after day after day. STRESS!!! It is a known fact that Clutter leads to stress which leads to Health issues and concerns. Therefore, it is relatively safe to say that Clutter greatly affects your health. Stress is directly related to heart attacks, high blood pressure, muscle disorders and headaches just to name a few medical concerns. We’d like to share just a few tips that you can use on a daily basis to help begin the process of reducing your clutter and stress to improve your health.
First – Our steadfast home rule is that if something can be completed with just a few minutes (2-3) then DO IT NOW! An example is putting the dishes into the dishwasher or wiping off the counter, immediately taking out the trash when it is full, putting items back into the refrigerator when you are done with them, . Take just a few minutes to do it while you are right there at that time and in that moment. You WON’T regret it.
Second – Don’t use the floor as the drop point for anything!! You can avoid an extra step by putting everything in its place Instead of the floor – that is what you bought those dressers for, right? Your hips will eventually get tired of bending over and picking it up! Save a step…just put it away immediately.
Third – Do a clean sweep of your living space prior to going to bed. Make sure that the sink is clean and empty, dishes are put away, clothes are put away and anything else that you will immediately have to look at first thing in the morning that will cause you stress. It is very relaxing and begins your day the “right way” when you don't have to look at “yesterday’s” mess first thing in the morning.
These are just a few things that you can do on a daily basis to ease your stress and ultimately improve your health. The old saying…when mama ain’t happy, ain’t nobody happy, well I promise you that if you follow these three simple steps you will be happier and healthier. The key is consistency! Keep it up. I know that you can do it.

Your Family - Working Together to Eliminate Stress

Have you ever wondered how it would be to come home from a long day at the office and be stress free. Does your arrival at home normally leave you feeling immediately stressed out, wishing that you could get back into the car and even go back to work where at least there isn’t arguing and chaos. If you have a family with school age children you may never think that is possible ever again. Well, I’m here to tell you that it is….

This will be the first two steps of our series that you can take in order to avoid stress and chaos upon your return home from work at the end of the day.
These tips are for families that have school age children that are capable to assist with daily activities.

First: Everyone needs to know the weekly schedule (who is scheduled to be where and what time). I would recommend a family meeting at the beginning of the week – Sunday evening – to go over the schedule. This should be posted on a calendar on the refrigerator for everyone to see as a reminder. This will also give children the opportunity to remind you of events that they may have forgotten to tell you about earlier and it will avoid the mass rush of trying to figure out who needs to be picked up when and most importantly, if you will need assistance from a friend or neighbor in the delivery and pickup of your children from their events. This gives you and your spouse (or significant other) the opportunity to share responsibility of the children and their activities.

Second: Everything that can be prepared in the evening for the next day should be done prior to going to bed. This could be preparing lunches or setting out lunch money, laying out clothes to be worn the next day, defrosting meat that can be put into the crockpot for the next evening’s meal, ironing, loading of backpacks, school forms signed, checks made out and anything else that you can think of. Being prepared for the next day will allow you to get a better night’s rest, wake-up without stress and begin the day with a positive attitude (which will set the tone for your entire day). The morning attitude and behavior sets the tone for their entire school day….why not make it as positive as possible?

These are two simple things that you can do to develop family routines that will help you avoid stress. Remember, it takes 21 days to form a habit and your children are looking at you to set the example so it is extremely important that you make a commitment to these changes.

Beginning to develop systems is also the beginning of your Home Organization and the avoidance of clutter.