Live with Less, DE clutter, DE stress

by Nancy Rivera

The common denominator that professional organizers come across with clients is too much stuff and the clutter is because there stuff has no home.  This apply to physical things, such as paper, clothing, books but even in the digital world, emails, voicemail, text.  Yet studies have shown that 80% of the time we use 20% of our favorite things.  

So less is best? Yes! Too much of anything affects us.  When we have a lot and the things have no home, we waste time searching for things.  The average American spends 6 weeks a year looking for things.  This is stressful! And I don’t know about you but, I rather be using that time for fun things.

Some make the analogy of disorder to being overweight.   The weight puts stress on our organs the added weight begins to affect other parts of our body.  That is why doctors want us to be leaner in order to be healthier. 

 

Likewise in the home or office, we need to start cutting back slowly because living with less clutter does help us manage our daily stress.  Not only that, when we begin to give up objects or things that are clutter, we really end up gaining something better.  Better health, relationships, time for what we love to do.

 How so? Studies have shown that clutter is a distraction, they say for each piece of paper around us it’s a distraction 10 times. This begins to wear at the brain, constant stimulation produces stress and zaps us of energy.  

Find Out If You Need a Professional Organizer

Nancy Rivera

How do I know if I need a Professional Organizer (PO)?
When someone hires a PO usually it’s because something in their lives is not working the way they want it to.  They realize that their disorder/clutter is affecting one or more aspects of their lives.  They are not finding peace and tranquility in their space, whether it is the workspace or the home-space.
Look at the activities in your life such as:  career, finances, family, relationships, your health and well being.  Then ask yourself the following questions to help determine if you may need to hire a PO.

• Are you late for work on a regular basis because of poor time management?
• In your area of responsibility, are you efficient with your time, can you manage your task in a timely manner?
• Is your office/desk area stacked with papers?
• Are your file cabinets so full that your files are spilling over onto the floor?
• Are you able to retrieve files quickly within seconds of being asked to find a document?
• Do you duplicate efforts because you cannot find what you did with the assignment?