Feng shui and stress management by decluttering your surroundings

Mess relief = stress relief
It seems strange but it is true that clutter or mess around our homes or work space makes our lives more stressful.
Feng shui says 'If your home is cluttered, that flow and balance is hampered and the feel of your home is less peaceful than you may desire. In fact, the more cluttered your home, the more stressed you may feel.'
                             

Decluttering our environment, home or office is a natural stress reliever. It is a surprisingly powerful way to regain simplicity and balance in our thoughts and our behaviors. It seems to clear away the extraneous so that the important and fundamental aspects of our lives can more easily shine forth. Even the simplest acts of cleaning and organizing can make a huge difference in how you feel about the space. Clutter eats away at the sense of peace and tranquility that can exist in the house, as it is a constant reminder of disorganization in life.

Clutter at your work space:

Clutter in your office is the number one blockage of positive energy as it disrupts your focus and concentration. Clutter is both a cause and a symptom of stuck energy. When using feng shui at work getting rid of clutter is the most essential step to creating a smooth, gentle, nurturing flow of chi (vital energy) through your office, and should be the first thing you do to improve the feng shui of your space .

How to start organizing?

Start Small:
Start with the cluttered, disorganized drawer in the side table next to the sofa instead of the entire room.  Start small and then move on to bigger projects. Another step to clearing out the clutter and making your house more feng shui oriented is to clean a little at a time.

Instead of tacking the entire room, start by spending five minutes each day picking up pieces, putting things away, and getting rid of trash.
By taking just a little bit of time each day, by the end of a month, your home will be significantly less cluttered and you will be excited to see what else you can clear out.

Closet Clutter
Another culprit of non-feng shui living is having cluttered closets. Clothing closets are usually the biggest culprits, because many people have trouble getting rid of old pieces of clothing. When you have less cluttered clothing closets, it takes a lot of the stress of trying to find what to wear out of the morning routine.

Start by going through every piece of clothing and determining if it is a piece that has been worn within the last year or will be worn in the very near future. If it has not been worn within the last year, donate it to charity. Your clothing that is no longer being worn, can be a treasure for someone else.

The Top Two Rules for Decluttering are:

1. Don’t add to what you already have.

2. Throw things out as MUCH as you can. (It feels great once you get the hang of it.)
If you can’t throw it away, BOX it and then, months from now, when you don’t even remember that box,you’ll see how much you don’t need that stuff – and you can then toss it out. (Label the contents of the box if it contains anything important.)


Useful links:

* A lot of decluttering tips at 'Declutter your space'


* Decluttering your home office