Stress Management

Get Rid of the Mess,
Get Rid of the Stress

By Paige Greenfield

It pays to get organized

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Take a look around. What do you see? Whether you’re at home or at your desk, chances are you’ve got stuff. Stuff to be sorted through, thrown out, stored, and above all, organized. What you don’t have? Time and motivation.

“Organization is about being able to find things,” says Donna Smallin, author of Cleaning Plain & Simple. “The goal isn’t so you have a nice, neat space. It’s to find things because when you can’t, it’s frustrating and it’s stressful.” (Just ask anyone who has wasted an hour hunting for car keys.)

For a clean sweep, you don’t need to spend every weekend between now and New Year’s shuffling through stuff in your basement or your office. Instead, break your tasks into manageable chunks of time–just 10 to 30 minutes a day–and get it done bit-by-bit. Here are easy tips to help you get organized and stay that way at work and at home.



Comments

Irene Faulkner
25 Apr 2008, 02:59
How right! Mess can have a detrimental effect on your stress levels. The worse it is, the worse you can feel. Try to do it in bitesize pieces. Let everyone in the house know it stresses you and ask for a little help. Just basic things (like taking out the garbage or dont leave shoes or socks on the floor) can help so much. Have a 'clear out' day, once a month. Reward the kids for helping. You know that feeling (all be it not too often) when everywhere is tidy and exactly the way you want it? Try to visualise that feeling when it all becomes too much. Above all, try not to get too stressed about it, in the end, its so not worth it!

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