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The ongoing recession is making us all rethink how much stuff we really need in our lives. Not sure if youre living in a junk jungle? Ill give you a hint. If youve got miles of piles everywhere and youre tripping over it, youve got too much. So, lets use this recession as a perfect time to regroup and learn to live our lives more effectively. Its time to de-clutter and get healthier. You heard me right. Your health will improve. And so also will your waistline.
Ill bet lots of you live cluttered lives. And you wonder if theres a link between clutter and health. Well, there is, and it extends to your waistline as well. The more disorganized and cluttered your life is, the more difficult it is to shed that weight. What do I mean? When you want to steam your veggies and you cant find the steamer, you could get frustrated and angry and just throw in the towel and opt for some grab and go high calorie food. Or, when youre trying to find your workout clothes and theyre buried in the pile from hell at the base of your closet, I guess youre not hitting the gym that day. See the clutter-weight connection?
Everybody needs an environment to live in that is conducive to practicing healthy living habits. You cant take a walk if you cant find your sneakers, and you cant eat well if your fridge and cabinets are filled with trash, or is outdated or nonexistent because you havent been to the store. You cant pay that gym membership or for that health magazine subscription if you cant find your checkbook.
How can you feel calm and peaceful when youre walking around with angst, shame, guilt, and surrounded by chaos? Its enough to make anyone head for the fridge and bury their head in a carton of Jamocha Almond Fudge. Cluttered environment, cluttered belly. Make that connection, and youll start shedding excess body and house weight, for that matter.
Just like weve ballooned physically, so have our home environments. Were not only mindlessly eating too much food, were bingeing on too much stuff. And as Louis Parrish said, If you can organize your kitchen, you can organize your life. In my book Fit to Live, I reveal several stories of patients and friends who get the Mouth-Mess connection: something finally clicks in their heads that shows them that if they get rid of the clutter, their lives turn around. When I was filming the National Body Challenge for Discovery TV, I visited peoples homes and tripped over clutter everywhere. Garages were scary places where that bike or weight set was buried under tons of Christmas tree lights, broken appliances and deflated basketballs.
So how do we clean our personal environment? Here are 5 principles to de-clutter your world:
1. Your external environment is a reflection of your internal world
Start by going out and looking at your car. What do you see? Dust and dirt; candy wrappers and crumpled soda cans on the floor? What do your friends say when they get in and take a drive with you? Its the same with your home.
2. Your home should support what is most precious to you
Does your home reflect what you cherish? Organize so you can enjoy what is most important to you: family, friends, gardening, or even writing that novel... whatever gives you meaning and joy.
3. Think of Carrot Cake
When youre trimming closet fat, treat it like eating carrot cake: take small slices. If you try to do the whole house at once, youll end up with a bigger mess. Slice it off one spot at a time: your desk, that closet, the living room, the set of kitchen cabinets. Aim for small steps, and your motivation and momentum will grow.
4. Use the 12-Month Rule
If you havent used it, pitch it! If youre not using it now, or will definitely not use it in the next 12 months, get rid of it! Unless its your tax returns, or important personal documents, think about why you are keeping those stacks of papers. You can sell your stuff on e-Bay, toss them out, or best of all, give them away to people or groups in need such as the Salvation Army, or even your local library or church.
5. Be Consistent, Not Perfect
Alright, maybe youve de-cluttered your home, but your workspace looks like a bomb just hit it. Be consistent, and remove attic weight, basement, bookshelf and car weight.
Lets be clear on one thing: I am not giving you permission to become obsessed with perfection. Youre not going for spotless, just workable. Perfection isnt possible, and this is a living, dynamic process of self-improvement. Dont waste your precious life trying to meet some impossible standard. All youre trying to do is create space that helps you be Fit to Live, not win the Homemaker of the Century award. Save the time and energy you would put into rolling the hand towels for taking that walk or biking with your kids.
Now go get those sneakers you just found at the bottom of your closet, and get outside for that life giving walk you so deserve.
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