By Janet L. Hall
(Excerpts from What is ALL this STUFF-Home Clutter Teleclass and Workshop).
Clutter and chaos in your bedroom could be the reason you wake up with a headache, a stuffy nose, or runny eyes.
Maybe you feel stressed out, depressed, fatigued, or distracted when you wake up to all your clutter and chaos.
We spend 1/3 of our lives in our bedrooms. A place we go to to find solitude, peace of mind, and slumber. But how can you expect to get a good night sleep or to awaken with vitality and energy with all that clutter facing you?
- What's the first thing you see when you wake up in the morning?
- Is it piles of clothes, books, newspapers, and mail all over the place?
- Are you stepping on and tripping over stuff on your floors?
- Do you just want to pull the covers over your head and stay in bed rather than face all that clutter and chaos?
Let your world stop for 15 minutes and announce to the world, "This is the day I'm going to make a change in my life." Jump out of bed, throw back the curtains, open the shades and windows (yes, even if it is 20 degrees outside!), turn off the news, crank up some music and do the Toss In Box!
Get a box (a garbage bag will also work) and pick up everything off the floor and do the Toss In box! (TIP: Don't stop and dawdle over any items, we'll do that later).
Feel the energy?
Hip Hop over to the dresser, bureau, makeup table, and nightstands and take everything off that you don't use daily or nightly and do the Toss In Box!
Feel the adrenaline?
Waltz on over to your sitting area, chaise, or clothes valet and take it ALL off and do the Toss In Box!
Now, doesn't your bedroom feel better already? DON'T YOU feel better?
Grab 10 more minutes, another box, a garbage bag, your car keys and sprint out to your car. Tune into your favorite radio station and do the Toss In Box. Get rid of everything that you don't use daily (please keep your emergency equipment). Get rid of everything that you don't need. Don't forget to check under the seats, in the glove compartment, and the trunk.
Forget about those boxes for now. Get ready for work and with a song in your heart, another box, and garbage bag zip off to work.
When you get to the office take another 10 minutes and proclaim to your co-workers that you are changing your ways. Go into your office, cubicle, or workspace and start doing the Toss In Box.
Okay, now reality starts to sit in. You still have a lot of work to do because you have to go through ALL that STUFF! Don't panic, I'm still with you.
Decide which of your boxes is the most important box to attack first. Set a date and time that you can start sorting through ALL that STUFF.
What's that I hear, "But I don't have time." You have to FIND the time. Make an appointment with yourself and keep it, just as you would go to the doctors or attend a meeting.
Decide on a reward you will give yourself when you finish sorting your box, such as a new outfit, tickets to the theatre or ballgame, or my favorite, a chocolate milkshake.
I've developed a technique called TEASER which will give you 11 actions you can take to help you sort through your boxes of clutter. What? Teaser only has six letters...you'll see. First yell, "What is ALL this STUFF!" Get a garbage can or bag, 10 boxes and label them with the following:
Toss it
- It's not yours, you don't know who it belongs to, it's outdated, it can't be repaired, you don't need it.
End it
- You don't want it, you want to cancel it, or you don't read it. Act on it.
- Needs an action, such as your signature, phone call, or immediate attention.
Store it
- This will have three boxes: Current Stuff, Things I need to Reference, and Historical Stuff.
Enter it
- Information you need to enter into your planner or computer.
Refer/Recycle/Read it/Repair
- It belongs to someone else or you think they need it.
- Use it again or put into a recycling bin.
- Something you want/need to read.
- Something that can be fixed.
Be ruthless, determined, and honest and start sorting ALL your STUFF by using the TEASER.
Your next step to take is to schedule a date and time (don't forget your reward) to act on the items that you sorted.
- Call, write, or email the items you want to END or stop from coming into your life.
- Decide how and where you will STORE your current, reference, and historical papers or 'stuff'.
- Sit and ENTER all your information.
- Pack up and take items that you are REFERRING to someone else, RECYCLING, or taking to get REPAIRED.
- Put READING material in area you like to sit and read and create a TO GO reading folder to take with you whenever you leave the home or office.
Congratulations! You have taken the first steps to "overhalling" your home, office, and car. Keep up the good work. If you want to know more or need additional help with your home clutter, please sign up for my March teleclass. See
http://www.overhall.com/teleclasses.htm
Remember, YOU control your STUFF! Don't let your STUFF control you or make you sick.
Smiles, not Piles,
Janet L. Hall
Janet L. Hall is a Professional Organizer, Speaker, and Author and owner of OverHall Consulting. Janet is based out of Southern Maryland and can be reached at 410-586-9440, 800-687-3040, or e-mail her at overhall@chesapeake.net. Janet can "OverHall" your office, home, and computer clutter. She has written two booklets, writes for several internet magazines, conducts teleclasses, and has a monthly newsletter, OverHall IT! To find out more about her services and products, please visit her web site at http://www.overhall.com
Copyright © 1999, 2000 by OverHall Consulting
P.O. Box 263, Port Republic, MD 20676
All Rights Reserved. Permission is granted to reproduce, copy, or distribute so long as this copyright notice and full information about contacting the author is attached. |
