Feeling blue? Getting rid of clutter can be good therapy!
Feeling blue? Getting rid of clutter can be good therapy!We all have those bad hair days, when everything that can go wrong does. Some of us can get several bad hair days in a row. Schedules go awry, your child is ill and the boss decided to get on your case, because she was having a bad day! This can get you down. One of the best ways I know of to cure me of the blues is to start getting rid of clutter in the house.
Psychologically, clearing clutter brings a renewed sense of order to your mind, as well as cheering you up with an improved visual experience in your home. My favorite candidates for a declutter therapy session are those which I can see without opening a door or drawer. Organizing the kitchen junk drawer is not nearly so rewarding as getting rid of clutter at your desk or bedroom dresser. The kitchen junk drawer is too vulnerable to returning to its former messy state within the week. Once you've cleaned your desk, without a paper, receipt, grocery list or stray book in view, it provides lots of satisfaction every time you pass by. When it's your desk or dresser, other family members aren't likely to mess it up.
First, you've got to define clutter. In my book, it's an assortment of unrelated items that might find a new, more appropriate home, or should be filed. In the case of your desk, you may keep track of your expenses on a weekly basis, so you save your receipts on a corner of your desk for weekly processing. You pull the dictionary off the shelf to look up a word and don't put it back. No time to sort through today's mail? You see where these practices lead to a cluttered mess.
Rather than be tempted to store those receipts on your desk top, in a cute little basket, just put them in an envelope in a file folder and pull it out each week. Believe me, the more paper clutter you get rid of, the happier and more well organized you'll be. Save desk space for your favorite family photos. You want to see as much of that freshly polished desk as possible! Which makes it easier to polish as well. Getting rid of clutter makes the most dismal day a lot brighter.
Getting rid of clutter is mostly a case of putting items where they belong. For example, I used to this is hard to share store my daily vitamins on my desk! My rationale was that, because I spend much of my time there, I wouldn't forget to take them. Then it dawned on me. The real solution was to change my habits. I now have them in the bathroom cabinet and take them at bedtime, after brushing my teeth.
Unless your desk or dresser has acquired more clutter than mine (!), it shouldn't take more than an hour or two to have everything ship shape.
Think of it this way: getting rid of clutter is free and effective therapy.
