Time Management Tips for Healthy Living: Stress management tip: A cluttered home leads to anxiety disorder, stress and migraines; these simple home organization tips show you how to de-clutter your house quickly.

Simplify- it’s the new “downsize”

In the 90’s, the buzzword was “downsize.”  Instead of laying off employees, businesses would engage in “corporate downsizing.”  Switching from a minivan to a hatchback meant you were downsizing your gas budget.  Going on a diet meant you were downsizing your physical space.

Today, the new buzzword is “simplify.”  We have accumulated so much stuff- smartphones, laptops, Bluetooth headsets, instant text messaging, and hordes of other social media tools- that the surmounting stress has us gasping for breath, yearning for a simpler time- a time when we weren’t on-call 24-7.

A time when we could step out of our office, and actually BE out of our office.

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Save time, without going back in time

The days of snail mail and non-digital devices are (almost) over.  You can’t travel back to a simpler time, but you can learn how to manage the time you have.  By learning how to reduce clutter at work and at home, you will also reduce stress, and thereby alleviating anxiety, depression, and chronic migraine headaches.

Even if you’re not a Feng Shui master, you can effectively organize your house, even small living spaces, and simplify your life in a way that promotes peace and balance.

Here are some helpful de-cluttering tips:

De-clutter your workspace

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• Clear off your desk and empty its drawers.  For now, put all papers, desk accessories, and miscellaneous objects in one pile for sorting.  Using a non-scented all-purpose cleaning spray, gently wipe off all the dust and grime.  Now, sort through your pile of paperwork, and throw away anything you don’t need.  Consider taking digital photos of important documents.  Do you still need the originals?  Set up a filing system for need-to-store papers, like tax forms, and label each section appropriately. 
• Clear your computer space.  Do you have any saved files you don’t need?  Erase them.  Are your files organized in a way that makes it easy for you to find them?  Consider renaming files that don’t clearly describe their contents.  Reduce the number of icons on your desktop, and uninstall any programs that you don’t use or need.  Your computer will run more smoothly, efficiently, and you will increase productivity.

De-clutter your living space

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According to the Fly Lady, just 15 minutes is sufficient to declutter one living space, using what she calls the “27-Fling Boogie.”

• Put together your decluttering equipment, including garbage bags or boxes marked “toss,” “donate,” or “sort,” a bottle of spray cleaner and a dust rag.
• Set your timer for fifteen minutes per room or clutter zone.  So, if you live in a 3-bedroom apartment with living room, then you will spend a total of 75 minutes decluttering your home.  (You weren’t going to forget the kitchen, were you?)
• Starting at the door, get to work!  Pretend this is a reality show, and the object is to end up with as much stuff in your “toss” and “donate” bags.  Remember the “use it or lose it” rule- if you haven’t used something in over a year, then you might as well get rid of it.
• Now the fun part- put away all your items to be sorted, and enjoy your newly clean living area!
• When the timer goes off, go on to the next room, and start over.
• Throw out your garbage before you get second thoughts, and drop your bag of donations off at your nearest collection center.

De-clutter your breathing space

You’ve managed to simplify your work and home space; now it’s time to take the mental clutter out of your life.

• Make a list of all your commitments, including work, social life, and family.  Is there anything on your list that causes more stress than satisfaction, or anything that interferes with your home life?  Give yourself permission to let go of any unnecessary obligations that you don’t enjoy.
• Reduce the amount of electronic stimuli in your life.  Studies show a direct correlation between migraine headaches and eyestrain, and frequent smartphone usage.  Try to get by with less television viewing, movie streaming, or Facebook chatting.  You turn your cell phone off before meetings, but why stop there?  Silence your cell phone during meals, while exercising or just for a few quiet moments with your spouse.  You have voicemail- use it.
• Don’t multitask.  You might think that you’re getting more work done in less time, but you’re really just producing sub-standard work.  People who try to do two things at once get frustrated easily, are unable to concentrate, and are easily distracted.  Instead, focus on one task at a time, be it cooking, mopping the floor, calling customer service, or helping your child with his homework.

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Sources:

FlyLady.net- How to Declutter

Embracing the Art of Decluttering

How to Declutter Your Life and Reduce Stress

Top Clutter Zones Organized

“Mind Sweep” – Clearing the Stress of Mental Clutter

Simplify your life to reduce stress – MayoClinic.com

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