Cut the Clutter, Jump for Joy

Clutter is nerve-wracking. It clogs your home, your computer, your time and your brain. You definitely don't need this stress in your life. Get rid of your clutter, and live a more joyful, peaceful life.

1. Decide that you've had enough.
   Once you've made the decision that you've really had it up to your eyeballs with clutter, you've taken the most important step to getting rid of it.
2. Make distinctions.
   If you don't use it, or you don't love it, it's clutter.
   Make two piles. a) I use it or I love it and b) I don't use it or I don't care about it.
3. Get it out of your sight.
   For 10 minutes each day, choose a room. Pick up two items and decide whether or not it's clutter. (See number 2 above.) The second you decide it's clutter, get it out of your sight. Either put it into a Donation or Rummage sale box if it's good enough to be used by someone else, or put it in your trash container. Out of sight -- out of mind.
4. Delete, delete ,delete.
   Just like physical clutter, virtual clutter is taking up valuable space on your computer. Again, decide whether or not it's clutter, and use your delete key steadfastly. For example, generally jokes and other email forwards can be deleted once you've read them, or even before you've read them if you're not interested. Another example would be computer files on your hard drive and disks that you no longer use.
5. Take the squeeze out of your schedule.
   If you're constantly running around from one place to the next, hardly taking a second to breathe, your schedule most likely has too much stuff squeezed into it.
   Prioritize and streamline. If you're involved in too many activities, choose the most important ones and eliminate the rest. Spending too much time running errands?
   Determine if you can run these same errands every two weeks, versus each week, or do all of your errands in one run, rather than running an errand or two each day. The more time you save each day, the more free time you can have on your schedule.

by Maria Gracia - Get Organized Now! http://www.getorganizednow.com FREE Get Organized Now! Idea-Pak and E-zine, filled with tips and ideas to help you organize your home, your office and your life, at the Get Organized Now! Web site.