Thanksgiving weekend I noticed people were selling and giving away many items through Facebook. My guess is because of the extended weekend and preparing for Christmas, it was an opportunity to declutter decorations they no longer wanted. It also appeared to be an opportune time to clean out closets, too. No one goes through life without accumulating stuff. And, too much stuff contributes to clutter and disorganization.
Clutter falls into four separate categories:
Physical clutter is the collection of things you don’t use and don’t care for. This type of clutter is often scattered about your home and office in an untidy mess. Lost and misplaced items stem from physical clutter.
Paper clutter is one of the most frustrating challenges people encounter. When you live amongst piles of paper, it becomes extremely difficult to locate important documents like bills, tax papers, or passports. Other types of paper include newspapers, magazines, catalogs, or other random paper.
Digital clutter is found on computers, cell phones, tablets, and other electronic devices. It often consists of voicemail, email, user names, passwords, bookmarks, or social media.
Emotional clutter is the clutter we hold within our mind and heart. It’s feelings and emotions people deal with each day like negativity, anxiety, worry, stress, frustration, and fear.
Clutter in any of these forms can wreak havoc on your life. It takes away your time, productivity, and happiness. Beating clutter requires building new habits, applying new organizational methods and creating new household routines. It takes time, focus on progress not perfection. Your clutter didn’t happen overnight.
To learn more about how to start decluttering and organizing your home or work space, visit https://bookstore.ksre.ksu.edu/pubs/MF2879.pdf for our Cut the Clutter and Get Organized Fact Sheet.
For more information, please contact Joy Miller, Family Resource Management, [email protected] or by calling 620-223-3720.
