If this year has taught me anything, it's that we are not defined by the stuff we possess. I subscribe to and can highly recommend 'The Daily Buff' a blogger par excellence who publishes 2 minute reads of wit and wisdom - ironically not daily. One of his posts from June "You are not your car" probably sums it up...…."Nobody cares about the car you drive except for you and maybe those you live with. Ask yourself this, When we see a nice car drive past do we look at the person who is driving it, or just at the beauty of the car. Maybe the reason that we buy personal registration plates is because we realise that people don't care who is driving, so we do what we can to make sure they do know.
They still wont care."
It's been a year of thoughts, feelings, emotions and responsible actions. I want to be defined as kind, helpful and caring - none of which require 'stuff' to validate.
As we accumulate more & more stuff, we become slaves to stuff itself and drown in it's intoxication, which invariably becomes clutter (and in my opinion mess). At what point does the emotional attachment to our physical stuff become compulsive and complicated? I have no qualification to delve into that sphere - but what I do know:
Ditching the unnecessary stuff can be both cleansing and cathartic.
Don’t take my word for it……..psychologists far and wide are united in their opinion that: MESS = STRESS
This applies to any space we take ownership of:- home, car, office, wardrobe ….the garden shed!
Sorting and de-cluttering any of these will save you……Stress Time Money
Why does mess lead to so much stress? ….. Here's what clutter actually does:
Bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren't necessary or important.
Distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on.
Makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
Constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.
Makes us anxious because we're never sure what it's going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile.
Creates feelings of guilt ("I should be more organized").
Inhibits creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow most people to think and problem solve.
Frustrates us by preventing us from locating what we need quickly.
There are hundreds of books and other resources out there, all championing the art of de-cluttering for very good reason. One of my favourites is "High Octane Women: How Superachievers Can Avoid Burnout" by Dr. Sherrie Bourg Carter. She specializes in the area of women and stress.
Fortunately, unlike other more commonly recognized sources of stress (e.g., our health, our jobs, our relationships), clutter is one of the easiest life stressors to fix.
A sprinkling of discipline and organisation are all that is required to clear the physical clutter, optimise our space and free our minds......of that particular stress at least!
What's stopping you?
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