| What's your de-cluttering style? Do you just ignore that | | | | could accomplish in a short period of time and start to |
| build up on the dining room table, the end of the bed, | | | | feel good about making progress. |
| the floor of the garage and anywhere else you | | | | The first thing I did was clean out my fridge and pantry |
| accumulate stuff? Do you move piles from one room | | | | - what a relief. I was embarrassed at all the out of |
| to the next or do you have a 'junk' room, even a junk | | | | date products we found in the pantry, which had to go |
| draw? Even the most organized and tidy of the | | | | in the bin, it felt so wasteful. As a result we have |
| people I know can identify somewhere in their house | | | | decided we will not keep too much in the pantry at all |
| that they feel is disorganized, untidy or cluttered, more | | | | from now on. It is so nice to go to the pantry and be |
| importantly for the purpose of this article, that is | | | | able to see what's in there. The fridge is a weekly task |
| impacting on how they feel - and potentially on their | | | | we do just before we go shopping it serves 2 |
| mental health and wellbeing. | | | | purposes, firstly we get rid of anything that needs to |
| I realized I had been feeling a sense of overwhelmed | | | | go and secondly we know what we already have and |
| for a while and I was letting the mental list of | | | | avoid buying more than we need. |
| de-cluttering jobs really weigh me down. One of my | | | | The next task was the linen cupboard, I thought it |
| patterns is to take the 'all or nothing approach', where I | | | | would take me ages however it took very little time |
| won't or don't start until I have time to do the whole | | | | and I was able to donate our excess sheets and |
| job. Now given that my life is pretty full and I wanted | | | | towels to a local charity for recycling. Each time I do |
| to sort through my whole house and garage this | | | | one of these tasks I find myself going to open the |
| approach was not working so well for me, let's face it | | | | cupboard just to look at how nice and neat it is, to be |
| that would take me a substantial block of time. The | | | | honest I often take other members of the family with |
| outcome of this was that I just never got started, the | | | | me so they can admire my handy work, and get the |
| clutter remained and so did the frustration. | | | | clue to keep it tidy, I hope! |
| Have you ever felt like the clutter in your house, office, | | | | So how about taking a step by step approach to |
| workplace, wardrobe or garage was getting you | | | | de-cluttering your life and, in doing so, improve your |
| down? How did it feel when you finally did something | | | | mental health and wellness. There is even some |
| about it? Did you have a sense of relief? Did you even | | | | evidence to suggest that the clutter in our life may also |
| feel lighter or happier? Sometimes we find ourselves | | | | contribute to holding onto clutter on our bodies - |
| feeling overwhelmed by the 'clutter' in our lives and this | | | | excess weight. How much more motivation do you |
| has an impact in ways we don't even imagine; it can | | | | need! |
| even have an impact on our mental health and | | | | In a recent de-cluttering mood, I decided to clean out |
| wellness. | | | | my wallet , amazing what you find in amongst all those |
| Eventually I decided that even though my home would | | | | receipts. I had a ticket I had purchased for a Lotto |
| never have been seen by others as a mess, the toll it | | | | draw a few weeks ago, I took it to the newsagents |
| was taking on my own metal health and wellness was | | | | and guess what? Yep it was a winner $30.65. So |
| certainly not congruent with living an outrageously | | | | whilst this is not going to see me retiring on a tropical |
| healthy life. I realized I needed to start breaking things | | | | island, I did take it as a sign that I was on the right path. |
| down into smaller bite sized pieces, small tasks that I | | | | |