Embrace the Future with Lucia Lacchin

DECLUTTERING

Excessive clutter is often a symptom and a cause of stress and can affect every part of your life. Clutter can distract you, weigh you down and in general it invites chaos into your life.

Tackling the clutter seem an insurmountable task if you don’t know where or how to start but by devoting a little of your time to getting rid of the clutter in your life and maintaining things relatively clutter-free, you’ll enjoy a more organized and productive existence.

The best way to declutter your home, your work space and your life is to take things one small step at a time. Let’s start with your life.

There are different types of decluttering, let’s start with your life. 😊

DECLUTTER YOUR LIFE

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• Reduce your commitments

Often our lives are too cluttered with all of the things that we need to do at home, work, school, in our religious or civic lives, with friends and family, with hobbies, and so on…So take a look at each area of your life and write down all of your commitments.

• Identify a few that you truly love and get rid of the rest.

Learn how to say no and decline offers. If you eliminate the things that don’t bring you joy or value, you’ll have more time for the things that you love.

•  Reconsider your routines

Many of us do not have any set routines in our daily lives and simply tackle our obligations, chores and daily tasks haphazardly. Without structure, it can lead to chaotic days and a drop in productivity.

• Batch tasks together as for example instead of doing your laundry several times throughout the week, do it all on one day.

It’s helpful to write down all of your weekly and daily obligations, chores, and tasks, and then plan out daily and weekly routines.

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DECLUTTER YOUR FRIENDSHIPS

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It may sound cruel but as you grow up, you’d realize some people are meant to stay in your life longer while others are not. While you should spend more time with positive people, people who help you grow and make you feel happy; you should also get rid of toxic people who only drain your energy.

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DECLUTTER YOUR WORK AREA

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If you want to be more productive and focused in your work, getting the clutter out of your work area is essential. Start with your desk, clear everything off the top of it and take everything out of the drawers.

Assemble the items in piles on the floor. Clean and wipe down your desk and marvel at how pretty and clean it looks.

Set up a basic alphabetical filing system with a folder for each project or client. Keep your office supplies and other items in designated drawers.

If you need to, label things, but the main thing you should do is designate a spot for every item you decided to keep and make sure that it stays there, or goes back there when you’re done using it.

Keep flat surfaces clear, and have an inbox for all incoming papers. When the papers come in, sort them each day – toss, delegate, do immediately, or file simply file all documents, but whatever you do, DO NOT KEEP THEM ON TOP OF YOUR DESK.

All you want on the surface of your desk is your phone, computer, inbox, and maybe a special photo in addition to the documents you are working with at the moment.

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DECLUTTER YOUR COMPUTER

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• Get rid of files and programs on your computer that you don’t need.

• Get rid of most or all of the icons on your desktop. They not only slow down your computer, but also create visual clutter. There are better ways of accessing your information.

Regularly purge old, unused files. If organization is not your thing, utilize a program such as Google Desktop to search for your files when you need them.

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DECLUTTER YOUR HOME

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If your rooms are too cluttered, you’ll want to simplify them.

Start by clearing off anything that is on the floors. Throw out or donate unused things.

After clearing the floor, move to flat surfaces such as countertops, shelves, tops of dressers, etc.  Clear them as much as possible, and then move onto furniture.

Consider if you need everything. Sort things in piles – toss, donate, or keep.

Organize everything that you’ve decided to keep into drawers, cabinets, and closets, keeping them out of sight, but still neatly organized and uncluttered. Do this one room at a time.

-Tackle the closets:

Closets are a great place to store things that you don’t want out in the open, and can easily become a place where you shove things just to keep them out of view. Go through your closets – take everything out, clean it, and toss, donate as much as you can. Decide a specific place to store anything you decide to keep. Keep only the things that you love and use frequently. As for your clothes, get rid of anything that you haven’t worn in six months.

-Clean out your drawers:

Drawers are prime place for things to get shoved into.

Empty out your drawers, and sorting them by whether you’re keeping, tossing, or donating them.