These coping mechanisms may seem to work in your favor, but what you are actually doing is training your mind to see and hear less and less. Is it any wonder so many people need glasses and hearing aids? And, guess what? Blocking out your surroundings on a daily basis requires a tremendous amount of physical, mental, and emotional energy. Here are some of the ways that clutter and disorganization can affect your quality of life:

Having Clutter Can Make You Feel Tired and Lethargic: If you are living with clutter, chances are you do not have the energy needed to tackle it. That is because stagnant energy accumulates around clutter, causing fatigue and lethargy. Just looking at the clutter probably makes you feel tired and overwhelmed. Here is the good news…getting rid of the clutter will release pent up energy and revitalize your mind and body.

Having Clutter Can Keep You in the Past: When all of your available space is filled with memorabilia or “I might need it someday” clutter, there is no room for anything new to come into your life. Your thoughts tend to dwell in the past, and you feel bogged down with old issues and problems. Clearing your clutter allows you to breathe new life into your environment, clear away the cobwebs in your mind and begin to move forward. In order to create a better tomorrow, you must first release yesterday.

Having Clutter Can Affect Your Body Weight: Peter Walsh’s recently published book called, Does this clutter make my butt look fat? addresses the link between clutter and obesity. Body fat and clutter are both forms of self-protection. Layers of fat or clutter can become your safeguard against the shocks of life and serve to cushion you from the emotional issues you feel incapable of handling. Both provide a false sense of control. Clutter may also prevent you from preparing nutritional meals at home, making take-out, delivery, or restaurant dining habitual.

Having Clutter Can Confuse You: It is impossible to maintain clarity in your life when you are surrounded by clutter. Decision-making is more difficult because you cannot think clearly. When clutter is removed, so are the mental obstacles. Important life decisions become easier. Creating space in your environment automatically gives you the space in your mind to discover and manifest the life you really want.

Having Clutter Can Isolate You and Make You Feel Ashamed: Perhaps your home is so cluttered and messy that you are ashamed to invite people over and panic if someone shows up unannounced. Living like this is stressful and lonely. Why not decide to clear out the junk, feel good about yourself and your home, and regenerate your social life with confidence?

Have someone read the following questions to you. Ask him or her to read each sentence slowly and allow you plenty of time to think about it before going on to the next sentence. Sit or lie down and get comfortable. Close your eyes and take a moment to notice where you feel tension or anxiety in your body. Do not answer the questions aloud – just think about them.

• Do you feel tension in your head?
• Do you feel tightness in your forehead, jaw, or chin?
• Do you feel tightness in your neck, shoulders, or anywhere else?
• Is your heart rate speeding up?
• Is your face flushed?
• Does your body temperature feel unusually hot or cold?
• Do you notice yourself holding your breath, sighing, scratching yourself a lot, grinding your teeth, or clenching your fists?
• Do you feel a knot in your stomach? Or, do you notice more subtle reactions?
• Is your mind racing or going blank?
• Are you having trouble concentrating or being still?

Make a note of these physical messages. When you feel the tension, breathe deeply into that area of your body, hold the breath for a few seconds, then breath out and relax. As you practice this exercise, you will increase your ability to identify and relieve the tension in your muscles and achieve an enhanced feeling of relaxation.

In Part Three of this series, I will talk about how your physical environment can add to or relieve the stress in your life.

One of the biggest, perhaps most widely misunderstood stressors, is clutter. Human beings need a certain amount of physical space in order to expand their thinking – “outside the box.” If their physical space is limited by piles of “to-dos,” their vision and mind contract and go inward. Keeping the blinders on while trying to work or relax is very stressful and ultimately exhausting, whether consciously recognized or not.

The key to effective stress-management is understanding the dynamics of stress and increasing our awareness of our own, individual stress-response patterns.

I would like to begin this series with a brief explanation of the 4 main stress categories: Eustress, Distress, Hyperstress, and Hypostress. Here is an easy way to differentiate between them:

Eustress: This is a positive form of stress. Eustress is a natural physical reaction that prepares your mind and body for the immediate challenges it perceives. Blood flow to the muscles increases, resulting in a higher heart rate. Eustress works well for athletes before a competition or a manager before a major presentation because it gives them the inspiration and strength they need to excel.

Distress: We all recognize this as a negative form of stress. It occurs when there are deviations from the norm and your mind and body are unable to cope with the changes. Distress can be categorized into acute stress and chronic stress. Acute stress is intense, but does not last for long. On the other hand, chronic stress persists over a long period of time. Trigger events for distress can be moves (particularly those that require downsizing), chronic disorganization, and any change in the scope of a job or routine.

Hyperstress: This is another form of negative stress that occurs when you overwhelmed by your work-load. Examples include highly stressful jobs, which require longer working hours than you feel you can handle. If you suffer from hyperstress, you may have sudden emotional breakdowns over insignificant issues. It is important to recognize that your body needs a break, or you may end up with severe and chronic physical and psychological conditions.

Hypostress: Hypostress occurs when you have nothing to do with your time and feel constantly bored and unmotivated. This is due to an insufficient amount of stress. Hypostress decreases productivity and mindfulness. Hypostress is indemic in people who have boring, repetitive jobs.

Stay tuned for updates to this blog. In Part Two, I will show you how to become more aware of your own body’s response to stress.

I decided to Google “happiness graphics” and came up with the one you see here. It struck me that we really do choose to be happy, sad, worried, or glad.

Once I got my head in the right place, I began thinking about all the reasons to get organized during a recession. In fact, it’s a great time, because being organized provides the following opportunities to:

…make payments on time, eliminating late fees on bills and taxes…reduce the need to re-buy things you own, but cannot find

…save time spent looking for things (time is money)

…unearth lost tickets, gift certificates, checks and other valuables

…prevent missed opportunities

…eliminate the need to pay for extra storage space

…prevent expensive illness or accidents in a healthier, happier home

…create room in your garage for your second most valuable possession – your car

I feel better already.

E-Cycle Washington is a collaborative effort between the following public and private sector partners working for a better Washington.

• Electronics manufacturers
• The Washington State Department of Ecology
• Local governments
• Retailers of electronics
• Non-profit organizations

The E-Cycle Washington website is hosted by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
Go to the E-Cycle Washington website (URL: http://www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/eproductrecycle/ )