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Jun 06
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Reduce Stress and Mind Clutter: Minding Your Mind

By Blog, Quick Organizing Tips, Simple Living No Comments

“Hey Sherry,

Could you write about how to free mind clutter?”

 

Have you ever gone to bed at the end of a stressful day, only to lay there for hours thinking of all the things you need to do the next day?

 

You stress over all the things you need to do and try not to forget when you get up in the morning. Things like calls, emails, and texts to reply to. Kids’ school papers to sign, groceries to buy, what to cook for dinner, and a birthday party to plan. Oh, and don’t forget all the errands, too!😮‍💨

 

Next thing you know you’re waking up exhausted in the morning with a major lack of sleep from all the mental notes to remember.

 

This is called mind clutter.

These are stress signs from your brain that you need to slow down your mental pace and reduce mind clutter.

You could organize your house a hundred times over but when it comes down to it – your headspace follows you everywhere in life. You need to declutter your mind in order to really take care of your personal well-being.

 

No amount of reading quotes online or thinking “I need to get back to myself” is going to transform your mind to a state of peace. You just simply have to do the work.

 

Which brings us to the question…how can we reduce stress and mental clutter? As a Professional Organizer, I have had a ton of experience teaching how to organize both physically and mentally.

 

I see firsthand every day what works and what doesn’t. These habits are what I incorporate into my everyday routine and I now reap the benefits of my mind clutter being off my mind.

 

Saying Goodbye to Mind Clutter Anxiety:

 

✍️ Write it down:

Do a “brain dump” and get your thoughts onto something visual like a notebook or your phone. Write down all the tasks, reminders, errands, dreams, and goals that are cluttering your mind and keeping you awake at night. Don’t evaluate or try to organize this list, just let it flow onto the paper. This exercise alone will remove most of the mind clutter causing you stress, anxiety, frustration, and sleepless nights!

Download "Brain Dump" Exercise

📝 Prioritize Your List:

Look at the list you just made from the mind clutter brain dump and highlight or circle the most important tasks that you want to accomplish next week. This will make the biggest impact on cutting your list down! Sometimes completing one task will take care of many other small tasks, kind of like a domino effect.

 

🧘🏽Meditate:

The goal of meditation can fluctuate. It doesn’t always need to be a deep experience or take a lot of time. Allotting yourself time throughout the day to focus on yourself is highly rewarding. The length can be flexible; maybe some days you have a good hour, some days only five minutes. It can be however best fits your lifestyle and however often you feel will give you the benefits you desire. Try asking yourself what you really need in the moment and allow any feelings, words, or images to flow.

 

Listen to your body and notice how you feel after just these few exercises. Are your shoulders more relaxed and not up at your ears? Are you breathing more calmly? Do you feel more in control and confident that your reminders aren’t slipping through the cracks?🤔

 

All these emotions and feelings are mind clutter. Let’s uncover some more on how to reduce stress and mind clutter:

 

📆 Use a Calendar System:

Pick your tool and stick to it! I can’t stress this enough. Use a digital calendar or a hybrid of a paper planner, daily task list, and/or digital planner. Digital lets you capture appointments and reminders within the moment no matter where you are. Writing down in a traditional paper planner to plan the next day works for others who are more hands-on. Personally, I use a paper planner and a digital planner and I like to plan my day the night before. This sets my mind at ease – which means I get better sleep and I’ve already put my plan in motion for the next day.

🕐 Batch and Block Time:

This is the secret sauce to being highly productive. When you batch time to do specific tasks, you reduce the mind clutter of switching back and forth between different tasks. Batching also saves you time as you’re not multi-tasking and unfocused.  Things to batch are; calls to make, checking your email twice a day, content creation, errands, organizing your computer photos, family time, meal prep, and the like.

 

In conclusion, the more we can consciously manage our to-do lists, the more we are able to unpack our stresses. When a weekly schedule is organized it leaves us with more time to relax and enjoy that time with our loved ones – and who doesn’t need more of that?❤️

 

If this article reminds you of someone who needs to declutter their mind, pass along the tips!

 

 

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May 07
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7 Psychological Benefits of an Organized Home

By Blog, Quick Organizing Tips, Simple Living 2 Comments

Untidy environments increase stress for most people. Do you declutter your mind while you declutter your home? Science says yes.

 
We all know the feeling after accomplishing that thing we’ve been putting off, and oftentimes that thing is tidying up. But where does that feeling come from, and how can we get more of it?  



Is this you?


People who have a hard time to declutter your home often struggle with:


  • Time management and project motivation
  • Feeling overwhelmed easily, which can lead to procrastination
  • Perfectionism and finishing tasks
  • Holding attention and being distracted frequently
  • Saying “no” to others
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Orderly environments are linked to more healthy choices.


Our surroundings shape our thinking. If you’re constantly looking at all the things you’re putting off, it’s going to reflect poorly on your mental health. It's more enticing to prepare healthy meals in an orderly kitchen with an easily accessible pantry, and most people sleep better in a tidy room with a made bed.

Pro Tip: Split your fridge, freezer, and pantry into sections that make sense to you, and put items back after use every time.  


Improve focus.


Disarray makes it harder to find what you need and makes you more prone to frustration. It may also distract you while doing another task. Declutter your home by sorting through visual clutter can help your focus and attention span.

Pro Tip: Start with your most frequently used spaces. Clear off your kitchen and bathroom counters. Find a place for each item.


 

Alleviate depression and anxiety.


The only thing a messy home can add to your life is more burden to your mind. Clutter will make you feel worse and scatterbrained, and it is more challenging to want to clear up the space when you see piles accumulating. You may not feel like doing it, but any small steps you can take will improve your overall mood.

Pro Tip: Ask for support while organizing. Having someone around can make the task less dull and more fun.  



Reduce dust and allergies.


You may think that your home is clean despite being disorganized. But you would be surprised at how much dust, pet debris, and mold can build up when hidden. It's important to regularly declutter your home, otherwise, it's harder to clean around piles of belongings.


Pro Tip: Give yourself 20 minutes a day to tidy up any piles laying around the house.  



Enhance self-esteem.

Cluttered spaces erode your confidence because it causes you to feel less in control of your life. Feeling proud and at ease in your home gives you an automatic confidence boost. A living environment that looks more respectable can be extremely empowering.

Pro Tip: Find inspirational pictures and try to imitate them in your home.  



Better relationships.


It’s a drain on your energy and for others in the home to keep clutter lying around. When a household can delegate organizational tasks to everyone, it creates a sense of teamwork and strengthens bonds. Plus, it gets everybody motivated when you can declutter your home together.

Pro Tip: Consider a “Homeless Things” basket for any items you find scattered around the house. Set a ritual once a week where each person checks the container to remove the items that belong to them.


 

Free up time and energy.


When you’re chasing mess after mess it’s impossible to mentally relax. There’s a reason insomnia is linked to disorganization and the accumulation of too many things. Having fewer things means making fewer choices throughout the day.

Pro Tip: Keeping a schedule for tidying up; maintaining a system is easier than creating a new one each time. Try to donate or sell items that you no longer need.

 
 

Decluttering can actually be quite therapeutic; play some relaxing music, visualize your desired “after” of the space, sort in a system that works for you, and simply enjoy the zen that comes with a tidied home.

 

Which room will YOU start in? Comment below!

 
 
 
 
 

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Jan 17
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Why You Have Unfinished Projects + How to Deal With Them – Part 1

By Blog, Business Organizing, Home Organizing, Simple Living No Comments

Where do Unfinished Projects Accumulate?

 

Unfinished projects can accumulate just about anywhere. The first places that may come to mind are at home and in workspaces, but how about beyond these?

 

Have you been noticing all the new storage facilities going up in your area over the last few years?

 

 

I sure have, and I’m not surprised when I think of all the stuff that people have accumulated over the years. Especially since quick fixes and disposable gadgets have became very popular seemingly overnight, this situation has only inflated.

 

In fact, retail stores are now carrying more organizational products than ever before and personal storage has become a multi-billion dollar industry… and it is still growing.

 

With the current state of the economy though, more people have been thinking twice about their purchases and going back to the basics. We’re asking ourselves more often, “What’s really important in life?” and “Do I really need all this stuff?”

Clutter Anxiety + Too Much Stuff

 

People’s stuff says a lot about them. Your stuff, and amount thereof, is a direct reflection of what’s emotionally going on inside of you.

 

I often say, “A cluttered mind is a cluttered space.”

 

Many people avoid dealing with some deeply personal, unresolved issues. The consequence of this is that their things end up getting put off and piled up.

 

They say, “I’ll get to it someday” or, “I’ll deal with it later.”

 

The problem with things being left for “later” is that they can pile up quickly in a short period time. It can become such a big pile or spill into a bunch of piles, then you are stuck with not even knowing where to begin.

Next, this feeling of overwhelm and fear of failure sets in and they abandon the piles altogether. I’m sure we’ve all been there!

 

 

Emotional Clutter

 

For some, their identity is so wrapped up in their stuff. This inhibits them to live outside of the past. Their stuff and unfinished projects make them tired, lethargic, depressed, and also encourages procrastination.

 

For other cases, it’s people who haven’t developed good organizational habits yet. They’re still randomly putting things down on the first available flat surface they see. Oftentimes these people are late for appointments because they couldn’t find their car keys, reading glasses, wallet, etc.

 

And for others, their stuff really affects their finances.

 

Simply put; your stuff can run your life if you aren’t being intentional with it!

 

When peoples’ stuff affects their quality of life and/or the lives of others, that’s when you know it’s really problematic. Sometimes people put too much emotional value into their stuff, continue to live in the past memories, and aren’t able to live in the present moment.  They worry if they get rid of some of the stuff, they may need it someday or will forget about it.

 

The definition of clutter is “to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness.”

 

The definition of hoarding is “the act of collecting large amounts of something and keeping it for yourself, often in a secret place”  

 

Consider it an immediate warning sign to stop and re-evaluate what’s really important to you.

 

 

Unfinished Projects

 

So how do you know if your unfinished projects are becoming clutter or borderline hoarding? Well, it’s not as easy as it sounds. There is a fine line between a healthy amount of hobbies and materials, and when they begin to take over too much space.

 

To determine if your unfinished projects are causing clutter in your workspace and home, ask yourself the following questions and answer as truthfully as possible.

Honestly ask yourself:

  • ”How many unfinished projects do I have in my home and workspace?”
  • “Am I embarrassed to have people come over?”
  • “Do I have too many keepsake boxes and memorabilia taking up valuable space in your home that you rarely look at?
  • “How much money am I spending on storage facilities each month?
  • “What don’t I have space for in my home or workspace?”
  • “What current hobbies am I actively doing now or want to do this year?”

 

Unfinished projects may sound like just physical clutter, but that isn’t always the case.

 

Some examples of unfinished projects include; digital photos to print/organize, piles of reading material you want to read, magazines with great articles you want to refer to, business cards with leads to follow-up on, receipts stashed in random locations, a broken file drawer that needs fixing, delayed errands to be taken care of, needing to get your car serviced, and so on.

The First Step – Write it All Down

 

I invite you to take out a piece of paper (or use your phone/computer) and list every single unfinished project that comes to mind. It may take you an hour or two to complete this exercise.

 

As you write down your list of unfinished projects, you may feel like the mountain is just too big to tackle and you can already feel your stress levels rising.

 

I’ll let you in on a little secret… you’re not alone and there is help.

 

FREE DOWNLOAD
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Release your mind clutter today!
Download "Brain Dump" Exercise

Unfinished projects can slow a person down and their life can enter stuck mode.

 

When you’re in stuck mode, you tend to live in the past and often miss new opportunities that would have come your way if you had just created the space to allow it.

 

Purging the extra stuff is a necessary step here.

 

 

The Golden Organizing Rules

 

When we live without systems, resets of these systems, or even basic organizational rules for ourselves, life can quickly become chaotic.

 

What may come as a great spark of an idea can fade and be replaced with the next one, and the next, and before we know it there are piles around our home of knitting materials, bookshelves stuffed to the brim, dusty coin collections, an overflowing closet, etc.

 

To keep these piles at bay (and save our minds from stress and overwhelm), check in with your stuff using these two rules.

 

Two Key Rules:

  1. Keep only what you love and use
  2. Apply the 80/20 rule to your stuff – Something to keep in mind is that 80% of the time we use 20% of our favourite things. So which 20% of your projects are going to give you the best results?

 

 

After you’ve completed your list of unfinished projects, use a highlighter to go over only the projects that are in line with your vision for this year and enhance your life in a positive way.

 

Think of quadrant two activities as things that involve relationships, planning, and preparation – stuff that’s important but not urgent.

 

Next, schedule time to complete these projects. Take into consideration what your goals are for this year and make sure that these projects are going to be worth your time and effort.

As you finish these projects, the heavy weight you have been feeling will start lifting and you will feel feel lighter while noticing your is energy soaring, too! You’ll also feel a renewed peace of mind that everything has been handled and nothing is slipping through the cracks.

 

 

What unfinished projects are holding you back? Comment below!

(Part 2 to come next week)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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