Tidy up the mess and introduce clear thinking

Many people recognize that clutter creates confused thoughts and overloads the brain. Where does a person begin to put order in his life if everything in front of him is a disaster? Some companies even commit to paperless offices in an attempt to ensure a tidy approach, or insist that every night all surfaces are left clean and fresh for the next day.

Let’s look at some areas where we can start to reduce clutter.

– Possessions. Surfaces can become littered with ornaments, significant items, things made by children, accumulated over the years. They collect dust and can become invisible if they’ve been there for a while. Introduce a rotation system if you can’t bear to throw things away. Change things up every three months and you will refresh your environment as you begin to appreciate what you have and see things more clearly. Empty the cupboard under the stairs. Often things are placed there, never to be seen again. Empty it out and you have a useful area that can be brought back into the home. Food cabinets often have sundries that have been there for a long time; something that looked interesting at a market or was received as a gift. Be strict with yourself and remove clutter from your closets and from your life.

– Clothes. Many of us have clothes that we have hardly ever worn. Maybe we were saving them for the better and outgrew them, fashion changed, or we forgot we had them. Opening a wardrobe full of clothes we never wear leads to frustration and confusion. The comment ‘I have nothing to wear’ that causes so much amusement may have its roots in this very situation. Set aside half the day, perhaps with a friend, and decide to go through, toss, sort, and dispose of everything that hasn’t been used for a year. A friend of mine is so disciplined about keeping her wardrobe relevant that she sometimes has to go back to the charity shop and buy things she passed on to them. That may be a bit extreme, but she has a point.

– Friends. We can keep people in our lives without even considering their impact on us. Some of us may have kept people we call friends in our lives for many years, but if we really stop to evaluate relationships, we may discover that they no longer serve us well. Some relationships may be over, others may be destructive as our tastes and attitudes are so different that there is nothing connecting us apart from our history. Sometimes we have to stop and assess the people we spend our free time with. Free time is such a precious commodity that we must spend it wisely, with people we enjoy and who are good for us.

– Activities. Wanting to be healthy and full of energy is important, but we must choose the things that we will actually do. The best way to ensure that we will stick to a plan is to have the help, support, and commitment of others. Doing things together usually ensures that at least one person stays motivated. And it’s also important to do things that we enjoy, whether it’s sports, dance sessions are a hobby of some kind.

– Family. Often things are chaotic in a family. There is always something to do. Clear thinking is ensured by taking the time to plan for the week ahead. Take the time to organize each person’s schedule, keep a journal with wall charts for activities in a visible place, designate tasks for each person. It may take a while to get everyone on board, but if they learn that this system provides organization and calm, everyone is more likely to come together. Being organized means that the home becomes a pleasant place where everyone participates. Efficient systems help share the load.

A few basic rules can ensure that once the confusion is resolved, it stays resolved:
Put things away as soon as you finish them, buy them, classify them. If something old is replaced, throw it away immediately.
Discard what is not wanted or not used.
When things need to be filed away, carried upstairs, moved to a different room, do it right away. It’s a good way to burn a few calories and prevents a whole new pile of clutter from starting.