Strategies to maintain a clutter free living space
We all sometimes fall victim to living with, or around clutter. We eventually get around to it and feel a sense of pride upon completion. We may even say “I am so glad I cleaned up, I will never allow this to happen again!”. The truth of the matter is sometimes life, family, responsibilities, and priorities prevent us from keeping an organized living space. Studies have proven that living clutter free is beneficial to our mental health.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, the spring and fall seasons are the best times for releasing and letting go on all levels. In the spring, we can gently detoxify our bodies, minds, and spirits, as well as our environments, preparing for the abundance of new growth that comes with this energetic and vibrant season. This release of excess baggage—whether it’s accumulated weight from a sedentary winter or piles of clutter in our living space—allows us to create spaciousness, energy, and inspiration on all levels. In turn, our innate healing potential can arise, unobstructed.
A few strategies that can be utilized as inspiration or guides to live a clutter free life are as follows:
Get Motivated From The Inside Out
Distinguish a reason why being organized will benefit your life. A simple reason may be the feeling of accomplishment. Figure out what works for you and use that as a tool to motivate yourself with other faucets of your life. When goals are tied to our most important values, we don’t need willpower to achieve them because we are inspired from within.
Resist the Paper Clutter
A representative from The Toronto Star calls and says “we will give you a free newspaper everyday for 3 months”. No strings attached. You oblige and say “sure!” You begin to receive these newspapers and find yourself reading only the funny pages as you throw it aside. Day by day these newspapers add up and you find yourself swimming in them. The same can be said for junk mail or any magazines you may have lying around. If you have a magazine with wedding pictures of Kim Kardashian and Kris Humphries on the front cover then you most definitely are collecting clutter. Distinguish if you need these newspapers or magazines. If you have read it already, throw it out. If there is an interesting article or recipe inside, tear it out, throw out the magazine/newspaper. The important thing to do here is minimizing and disposing of things you do not need or things that do not benefit you.
Get A Dayplanner / Agenda Book
Calendars, planners and agendas help you keep track of your commitments – an important part of being organized. Used properly, it will allow you to manage your time far more effectively than most people ever do. Why? Because you start each day knowing exactly what you have to do and how much time you have to do it. A simple way of using your daily planner would be “wash dishes after dinner, keep coffee table organized, do the laundry on Friday”. You can print out the responsibilities and place them on the fridge. By assigning even small tasks for family members will result in a sense of accomplishment upon completion. Find what works for you and implement a plan on succeeding your goals. Once a plan is devised, you will be surprised at the simplicity of how immediate you results will be, and more importantly how much more positive you will feel.
Mike Dafovski is the Owner of Seal of Approval Property Services with over 15 years of experience keeping driveways around the Greater Toronto Area looking their best. Unlike a majority of contractors and independent companies offering Driveway Sealing in the Greater Toronto Area, Seal Of Approval prides itself in customer service, efficiency, and getting the job done right the first time. Customer service and fair pricing is not only an expectation but a guarantee.