Everywhere you look it seems there is bad news. The downturn in the economy is causing financial and emotional hardships for individuals from all walks of life. More and more people are suffering from extreme stress and anxiety. You can’t do anything about the suffering economy or the falling stock market. However, you can take control of your personal environment.
When you feel stressed out, look around you. Is your home a cluttered mess? Does your desk at work look as if vandals struck overnight and scattered your papers everywhere? Do you have five different remotes to operate the TV, vcr, dvd player, home theater, etc.? Do you really know where your car keys are right now? Having too much clutter and too many unnecessary items can increase your anxiety levels and contribute to your daily stress. A disorganized environment can drain your energy and keep you from thinking clearly.
The best thing you can do for yourself is to de-clutter and simply your home and work environments. You should pick one room of the home. Then pick one corner of the room to start in. Resolve to reduce the amount of things in this space by at least 50%. Have three boxes available. One box is for trash, one box is for donations, and the other box is for repurposing items.
Throw away things that you no longer want and are not good enough to donate. Donate items that you think will be of benefit to other families. Take a look at some of your unused items to determine if they could be re-purposed into something else. For example, old jelly jars can become attractive candleholders. Old shoeboxes can become letter and photo holders. Use your imagination to see how many things you can repurpose. This will not only help you de-clutter it will also save you money.
When your office desk is in disarray, it can affect your performance on the job. When job performance suffers your anxiety level increases as you worry about losing your job. A tidy desk has two purposes. One, it will help you be more productive and two, it will show your boss you are dependable and organized.
Downsize and organize your desk for maximum productivity. Get rid of all the cute knick-knacks. Organize your papers and documents into file folders. Make it a point to clear your desk every afternoon before leaving. Starting each day with a clean desk will do wonders for your morale.
Just because the world is in turmoil, it doesn’t mean your life has to be also. When you gain control of the clutter, you will find your stress level has reduced significantly.