Benefits to Decluttering
The clutter around us can come in a variety of ways. It could be physical, emotional and/or mental. However, why declutter? Why take the time to remove the clutter in and around our lives. Well initially you may not notice but there are many benefits to decluttering the areas of your life.
Imagine going through your hallway and it is free from items lying around be it children’s toys, clothes or even boxes.Also, imagine how you would feel when the amount of free space in your home just seems to have increased. This is just a tip of the iceberg on how you would feel once you declutter. After all, do you know that the less stuff you have translates into the more time and space you will have. That’s because, you will be able to spend more time doing the things you want to do as you are not spending it managing all the things you have.
Decluttering is also a great way to save money as you become more aware of the items you own and thus don’t find yourself buying duplicate items. Yup, you know those times you think you have ran out of an item only to realize later on that it just wasn’t where you thought it should be. Well such incidences can be reduced thus saving you time and most of all money.
Further more, when you declutter you increase your level of productivity. This is because you are able to find items faster as everything now has its place. You know, “a place for everything and everything in its place”. This will help everyone around the home find items for themselves and others alot faster. Your productivity is further increased as you can focus on what is truly important instead of worrying about where to find this and that.
You can also earn some extra money by decluttering as items you no longer use can be sold. The used books, CDs and DVDs can be sold on Amazon.com or you can place items on a web classifieds site such as craigslist.com or oodle.com. Keep in mind though that you most likely wouldn’t get alot as the items are used but a little something is better than nothing at all and the items still in your home causing you stress.
But you can reduce stress too by decluttering. Do you remember what it feels like to sleep in a room that has just been thoroughly cleaned and tidied? How “light” it feels and how you just fall right off to sleep. Well a serene environment does that as it gives you peace of mind. After all, who wants to come home from a stressful job to another environment that causes stress.
Another benefit to decluttering is that you can have a social life again. You might be asking, how so? But do you recall how you felt when someone showed up unexpected and you literally just ran to tidy up in a hurry or how you didn’t want them to use your bathroom as you knew the state it was in. Well decluttering will allow you to have peace of mind and gladly open your doors to friends and family. Also the hobbies and other interests you can now pursue due to the more time you have.
So begin the decluttering process and start to feel all of the benefits that go with decluttering.
How to Declutter Your Mind…Part 2
Decluttering your mind can be as simple as just making a decision. As opportunities, challenges or any situation presents itself, make a decision. However, be sure that you keep track of what is important to you whilst making that decision. That is, identify what your personal guidelines are and make your decision based on whether you will be fulfilling those guidelines or not.
That being said, it is ok to say ‘NO’ when being asked to take on addition tasks or duties if they will hamper you from doing your best on your current tasks or if you wouldn’t be able to do your best by taking on that new task.
However, if you are one of those people who already have a full plate to deal with then don’t be afraid to take some time for yourself. Use this time, be it 15-30 minutes to recharge your batteries so to speak and focus on the things in your life that are important to you. Don’t forget to take vacations as well as the longer time frame allows you the privilege to better re-evaluate and focus you mind.
During these times of re-evaluation you may also realize another way that you can declutter you mind. That of sorting out feelings towards past situations where anger and hurt may have resulted. To come to a point where you can forgive and hopefully forget. Forgiving is good for the body as the bitterness you hold inside will eat away at you and could lead to sickness. Don’t be mistaken though, when you forgive that is not to say that you and the person start holding hands and singing songs but more of that you have accepted the hurt and are prepared to let go of the painful feelings and memories. Thus giving you a clearer less cluttered mind.
A preventitive way to address possible situations that could lead to hurt and resentment would be to deal with them as soon as possible. Be it immediately, or by giving yourself some time to clear your thoughts before addressing the person. Bare in mind though that the longer you allow the situation to progress the harder it will be to address it and the more stressed you will become if it is a situation that constantly presents itself.
A key way that you could declutter your mind would be to take action. Keeping track of all the things that need to get done doesn’t do any one any good. You just have to get it done. Be it making a call to get the sink fixed, to buying glue to stick a broken ornament you need to take action. When you take action to do these things you will feel a sense of accomplishment to the point that you may even feel like taken on more important task or freedom from the burden you once had.
As you declutter your mind make it a regular process so that you can have a more productive life filled with the things you enjoy doing with the people you enjoy being with.
How to Declutter Your Mind…Part 1
When it comes to decluttering areas around our homes we as individuals always tend to focus on the things outside of us when we think about decluttering. However, we need to start looking internally at times.
When you do this, you need not look any further than your mind. When you declutter your mind you open up a whole new world towards achieving progress in your life. I mean, yes when you declutter your home you get this feeling of empowerment, of feeling more in control but imagine those feelings coupled with those you will feel when you are making better decisions and being able to really focus on the things that are truly important to you.
So how can you begin take back control over your life by decluttering you mind.
Well you can start by keeping track of those things that you have been putting off for one reason or another. You know, those things that you have been procrastinating about. Then decide and make a plan on how you will go about getting them accomplished.
However, as you identify those things that you want to accomplish you will need to prioritize them as well as any other challenges or situations that may arise. Once you do this be sure to stay focus on your priorities. If you identify any promise or commitment that no longer qualifies as a priority don’t be afraid to let the relevant person know that you will no longer be able to follow through on it.
On your way to prioritize those things you want to accomplish be sure to avoid any unnessary distractions. Be it your cell phone ( a 24 hours a day access tool), your junk mail or just people walking into your office. When it comes to your cell phone you could always change the tones of rings/messages, to allow you to identify a person you want to hear or not at the time. Regarding your junk email consider updating your spam filtering software, configuring server side filtering and/or just getting a new email address. If you are one of those people who always seem to be getting calls from telemarketers and you would like that to stop then just head on over to http://donotcall.gov and sign up to have your name removed from “The List”. For people walking into your office you could always have set times where possible were you ask not to be disturbed.
Some say you can declutter your mind by having what I like to call, personal cheerleaders around you . Those people who want want the best for you as well as those people who are always positive. Such cheerleaders can be all around you or just come from books and even tapes geared towards keeping you positive about life and what you can achieve. By the way, don’t be afraid to leave people who want to keep you down where they are and surround yourself with positive people.
Further more, just being thankful for what you have is a great practice as you will come to appreciate more and more how focusing on those things you don’t have were cluttering up your and mind. So with that said, don’t be afraid to be yourself and go around pretending to be one of the Jones’. This false reality does more harm than good due to the anxiety and worry that builds up just trying to keep up appearances.
It may feel a little overwhelming just thinking about decluttering your mind but in all you do as with in life be sure to stay calm. You know, don’t worry. After all, staying calm will allow you to be able to enjoy the present and all that comes along with it. I once heard this phrase from a guy “Why worry, it is not worth your time. Because if you worry and nothing happens then you would have worried in vain, but if you worry and something happens then you end up worrying twice.” So in the words of that song, “Don’t Worry, Be Happy”.
