April is Tackle Your Clutter Month

About the time I was searching all over the house for a paper that I had put in a "safe place," I had an email from my friend, Lynn Gross Cerf, from Organization and More, reminding me that April is Tackle Your Clutter Month and also Stress Awareness Month. When you stop to think about it they really do go hand in hand!
The whole purpose behind Tackle Your Clutter Month is to encourage people to deal with their clutter and bring order back to their homes – in every room of their home including the garage and basement (and in the back yard now that the weather is starting to get nice). If you weren’t tripping over things and had things where you could find them when you needed them that would certainly reduce your stress – and be a whole lot more fun.
Some questions to ask in mastering your clutter would be:
-How long has it been since I have used this? If it has been a while – toss it.
-How will I be using this in the future? Put it in a logical location.
-Do I have duplicates of this? Sometimes it is useful to have duplicate (like a set of markers, scissors, tape, etc) in multiple locations but most of the time duplicates are just more “stuff”.
-Is this helping me be who I am today or who I am trying to become? If not, give it away or get rid of it.
-Does this still fit? Still work? Is it age appropriate?
And when you tackle your clutter, don’t attempt to do it all at once. Begin in one location and work your way through the house...and be aware so that you aren’t creating more clutter as you go.
Picking up your clutter is only one way to help reduce your stress.
Another way to reduce your stress would be to exercise “the magic word” more often. The magic word I am referring to is “NO”. If you were more realistic about what you could actually accomplish – and finish – that would definitely reduce your stress. Try it – say “no” once in a while – don’t take so much onto your plate... and keep it FUN!