DrDeClutterBlog.com

Stress is a normal part of life and usually comes from everyday occurrences. As a culture, or species, we’re not doing very well “managing” it.

Here are some ways you can deal with everyday sources of stress to keep your balance and calm, no matter what.

1. Eliminate as many sources of stress as you can.

For example,

• if crowds bother you, go to the supermarket when you know the lines won’t be too long.
• Rent movies rather than going to crowded movie theaters.
• Clear up the clutter in your life by giving away or throwing away the things that get in your way.
• Limit your time with people who are stressful and push your buttons.

2. Time Management.

If you are always running late, sit down with a pencil and paper and see how you are actually allotting your time. Say it takes you 40 minutes to get to work. Are you leaving your house on time? You may be able to solve your problem (and de-stress your life a bit) just by being realistic.

If you can’t find the time for all the activities that are important to you, maybe you are trying to do too much. Make a list of what you do during the day and how much each activity takes. Then cut back.

3. If you can’t remove the stress, remove yourself.

When in a crowd, gathering, party or work day, slip away once in a while for some private time. Excuse yourself from conversations when they are going nowhere or escalating for more stress and possible negative outcomes. Quiet moments and a time out may give you a fresh perspective on your problems. Avoid stressful people.

4. Avoid predictably stressful situations.

Don’t go in the first place. If a certain sport or game (whether it’s tennis or bridge), or event makes you tense, decline the invitation. After all, the point of these activities is to have a good time. If you know you won’t, there’s no reason to go.

This means you need to get to know yourself better and better. Plus, start finding new groups, friends, activities that are fun so that you can go and be involved.

5. Don’t compete.

Competing with others, whether in accomplishments, appearance, or possessions, is an avoidable source of stress. It’s just the ego trying to survive. Have a chat with your ego – nothing is that important. Reality TV takes care of more of that than any of us ever need to be around! Let them deal with it. Heck, they’re even getting paid a ton of money to do it? Plus…stop watching them too.

6. Slow down.

Labor saving devices, such as cell phones or computer hookups, often encourage us to cram too many activities into each day.

Before you buy new equipment, be sure that it will really improve your life. Be aware that taking care of equipment – maintenance – and getting it repaired can be stressful.

7. Try doing only one thing at a time.

Multi-tasking really isn’t good for us. So, for example, when you’re riding your exercise bike, you don’t have to listen to the radio, watch television, read a book or learn from an audio program.  Sometimes it’s okay to do nothing.

8. Pay attention to your health – body, mind and spirit.

If you suffer from insomnia, headaches, recurring colds, or stomach upsets, consider whether stress is part of the problem. Being chronically angry, frustrated, or apprehensive can deplete your physical resources.

Don’t ignore your body and health. Pay attention to signs and symptoms and get serious about your life. There is no magic pill or surgery that can fix problems forever.

9. Eat nutritious foods.

Nix fast foods, sugar, fried and processed foods. Change your lifestyle around food and watch stress, weight and craziness dissolve! Eat raw and healthy foods to rebuild your body and brain. Find more information on this at my health blog. (Though my health blog is thyroid focused, it is clean food focused – so great for everyone.)

10. Seek professional help

Early signs of excess stress are loss of a sense of well-being and reluctance to get up in the morning to face another day.  If you feel stress (or anything else) is getting the better of you, seek professional help, a doctor or therapist.

Have teens? Have teens will clutter!

And you think Halloween was scary!

If you have a messy teen, learning to help them help themselves, and you, stay organized will lessen the stress in your life and theirs . . . for a lifetime.

Organizing “skills” are taught and are lifetime skills. Teach them young and enjoy the benefits!

Now, before you read more… go look at their bedroom. On the way back to read this article stop in the kitchen for chocolate and maybe alcohol.

Okay. Ready? ;-D

Got Whining? I meant your teen, not you. It will happen. But it is not a barrier to the process and progress.

Deep breath… here we go:

1. Schedule uninterrupted time with them – or, just trap them in their room when you can get them in there.

Choose a slow pace. You or I might tackle our declutter jobs for an entire day, but your teen will not. An hour at a time is a good guide. Those hours will add up and eventually make a difference.

2. Grab, Dump, Decide and Sort.
Find the bed. Clear off the top. Now, one at a time, dump each dresser drawer out onto the bed and make individual decisions about what to keep and what to donate. Have a trash bag or box ready to dump into. Assume that it all needs to be washed first before donating!

3. Kids need Concrete Questions to make decisions.
Saying “how about we organize your clothing” is worthless. But saying “choose seven T-shirts to keep as pajama shirts” gets actual results.

4. Move to the Closet.
Pull out lumps, piles and hanging clothes one big blob at a time and dump on the bed, then do the same process as in #2.

5. Stand back and High 5!
Wow! Look at all that room! Do a Happy Dance together! Good memories! Take photos and send to family and friends for more cheers!!

There’s room for clothing, shoes and favorite items that have been located and are no longer hidden by the stuff that is outdated, old, too small, torn, or otherwise unworthy of daylight.

6. Assess Systems
To create a functional bedroom, den, rec room, etc. look at categories and the systems/”homes” in which they need to “live”. Does your teen’s room need a better/bigger dresser, cubbies, wall hooks,etc? Sometimes the reason clothes and items end up on the floor is because there’s no system in which to store them appropriately.

7. Back to Whining
Just be ready for the occasional ”Are we done yet?!”

8. Teach your Teen Organizing Skills.
Involve the teen as much as possible. Give them ownership of all decisions. Do not take their belongings away without their permission. (This goes for spouses too, but that’s another article!)

Oh, and this means that you need to know how to organize too and be a good daily role model of how your bedroom and home looks for them. (Go ahead, eat another piece of chocolate.)

9. Tie the Activity to the Goal.
“When your room is decluttered, then you’ll have space for displaying your favorite doodads, spreading out your homework, having friends over or practicing your Got-A-Dance dance moves .”

10. Retrain Their Brain or, “Wha?”
Remember that the teen’s brain is not fully developed, so expecting logical behavior is highly discouraged.

Have fun! And, love your teen up like crazy in the process! They won’t be there forever. Except when they are . . .  or move back in a few years after graduation! I’m just sayin’.

I can’t say it enough – get these skills instilled now to head off future problems and bless your child for a lifetime of less stress, embarrassment and possible big problems by losing important papers, unpaid bills or lost time.

Did I say, “Have fun?!” : )

If you have one or more children at school, the holidays can get a little out of hand. Keep yourself (and your kids!) organized this year with these quick ideas:

School Activities:

* Use a calendar. This is the most important thing you can do to keep yourself organized. Keep a large, wipe-off calendar in the kitchen. Have your children write their parties or other holiday activities on the calendar. This way, everyone will be able to see who has an event scheduled. This will help to prevent over-scheduling or double-booking any day of the month.

* Keep a running list. Your kids will be asked to bring refreshments to contribute to their class party. Keep a running list on the refrigerator so that you can do your shopping all at once. Having this list will prevent you from making several trips to the grocery store.

Gift Giving:

* Create a budget for your kids. If you will be providing money for your kids to buy Christmas gifts with, then make a budget. If they will use their own money for shopping, you should still help them make a budget so they don’t overspend.

* Make a shopping list. Again, create a list with each child of who they need to shop for. If they know what kind of gift they will buy for their friends, then let them go ahead and make that list. Don’t take them shopping without a plan or it may end in disaster, with you spending a lot more than you’d intended to in the beginning or worst shopping for hours without finding the right gifts.

The holidays are busy for travelers. Families everywhere take trips to visit relatives that they haven’t seen in a while.

It is advisable to be prepared if you must travel. There’s nothing worse than getting on the road, or arriving at your final destination, and realizing that you forgot something important. If your family is going on a trip during this holiday season, use this checklist to help you keep track of what to take:

1. Medications. Even if your children are healthy, be sure to bring along any and all medication that they could possibly need. You never know when a situation will arise that will require those medications for your kids.

2. Toothbrushes and toothpaste. Mom and Dad find it easy to remember to pack their own dental hygiene items. Younger kids may need reminding, though. Be sure everyone packs a toothbrush and toothpaste.

3. Sewing kit. Mishaps always happen. A button pops off. A skirt hem falls out. Pack a mini sewing kit in your suitcase to have on hand, just in case you need it.

4. Proper clothing. Call ahead of time and find out what the weather will be like where you are headed. Get specific temperatures if possible so that you will know what type of clothing to bring.

5. Bring extra clothes. Don’t forget to pack extra clothes as well, for everyone. Kids will need more clothing than adults, but it won’t hurt to throw in an extra outfit or two for you as well.

6. Shoes. Be sure you have matching shoes to wear with your outfits and don’t forget to bring the right shoes for the right weather.

7. Hair accessories. If you have daughters and they wear hair accessories, be sure to pack plenty to go along with their outfits.

8. Games for the kids. Kids get bored on road trips, especially if the trips are more than an hour or two. To save your sanity, be sure to bring along several fun games that they can play in the car. Puzzle books, audio cassette tapes (with a walkman), and printable games online are just a few ideas you can use.

9. Don’t forget the camera, you’ll definitely want to record all your family Christmas memories so don’t forget the camera and make sure it has batteries and film too.

10. And lastly don’t forget the presents!  It’s a much too common scenario, you pack up the car, start your road trip to visit relatives for a relaxing family Christmas only to realize you’ve left the presents behind.

Make that list, check it five times!! Make a list of everything you’ve decided to take and check things off one by one.

Happy Holidays!

Merry Christmas!
Happy Holidays!

Whatever you celebrate this time of year, it is meant to be a time of gladness, great happiness, togetherness, love and joy… abundance, giving and peace.

America is prosperous. The most prosperous nation in the world. No matter where you live in the world, if you have a roof over your head, a job, money in the bank and your health… you are prosperous!

But, not everyone is prosperous of course. There are street people and poverty stricken, hungry and those who meet misfortune and tragedy this time of year and all year round. Children and people from other nations are starving, live in fear, needy and dying.

HOW TO DEAL WITH THE DICHOTOMY OF HOLIDAY CHEER AND GIVING TO THE LESS FORTUNATE

Because of the strong contrast between Christmas and light and joy and some people’s daily or immediate harsh realities, the hard times are especially poignant during the holidays.

Here are some tips to help you and “them”, whoever “they” are gain balance now and all year round.

1) Make a decision.
Take the time to decide what is true about your ability to contribute humanitarian causes.

2) Choose.
Choose one or more causes each holiday season and give from your ability to give — money and/or time.

3) Reality check.
You cannot save the world during the holidays or anytime in your life, that’s not your job. But, you can make a difference in a very personal and small way somewhere. Make it.

4) Give and let go.
Write your check. Give. Let go. Don’t judge yourself or others for the amount of time or money given. Give and let go.

5) Plan for next year.
Pre-plan for next year. Give monthly to one or two chosen causes and stop the guilt that many people feel during the holidays.

6) Or, jump in!
If you want to really get involved in a charity or cause of any kind, then do!

Bottomline: Don’t get caught in-between feeling guilty about the roof over your head, food on your table, etc. — namely, your abundance and prosperity — and angry because you feel guilty about others’ needs and the onslaught of advertisement for donations.

7) Get off mailing and call lists.
Choose your causes of contributions and get off all other lists. This saves them money and time too!

There are plenty of “good deals” (maybe) this time of year with Black Friday, the Day After Black Friday, then Cyber Monday and DOOR BUSTER SALES for weeks to come, but, you don’t have to buy so much or anything at all and still have a great holiday!

Before you go shopping:

1. Take a deep breathe.
2. Check your list of to-buys.
3. Then check with the reality of your checking account! (not your credit card)
4. You may want to choose again in order not to set yourself up for another January of regrets and credit card statements glaring at you.
5. Remind yourself of the deeper reasons for the holidays – which has nothing to do with spending yourself into debt.

MY GIFT TO YOU – “MY MONEY POCKET”

I’m giving My Money Pocket again this year as I know it helped plenty of people last year and I want you to enjoy it too.

If you sometimes overspend on credit cards, My Money Pocket will help you to ask yourself a list of questions to wake you up and re-decide before falling into old patterns, guilt and money problems.

I want to help you take care of your financial wealth and health.

I’ve created a FREE TOOL to help you stop the stress and insanity of it all.

It’s called “MY MONEY POCKET.”

That’s the best place for you money… in your pocket!

CLICK here and download the pdf with instructions on how to assemble (yes, a little assembly required!) and then use it for your greatest good!

Happy Holidays and Wise Shopping!

Do charities and causes reaching out to your mind and pocket during the holidays wear you down?

During the upcoming weeks you may be bombarded with “opportunities to donate” in the form of pamphlets, flyers and whatever else comes handed to you at the doors of your grocery store (feed the poor); at work (give); on your door (donate); at your place of worship or community (upcoming events), in your mail box (we need your support again this year) and more.

Flyers. Pieces of colored paper promoting something important. Are they really?

STOP PAPER OVERWHELM

Yes, well… some of these things ARE important and you may even want to be a part of them, donate or whatever. However, you don’t have to take the flyer to do it. The plan here is to stop more unwanted, unsolicited pieces of paper from cluttering up your car, purse, briefcase, pockets and house.

KEEP YOUR HANDS TO YOUR SELF!

I’ve learned that the easiest way for me to do this is to keep my hands in my pockets or behind my back. I “used to” be one of those people who just automatically accepted stuff that was put in front of me. The first couple of times I didn’t accept those pieces of paper I felt odd, kind of wrong, like something was missing. I got over it!

HOLIDAY DONATION CLUTTER PREVENTION PLAN

It’s okay not to accept pieces of paper, including business cards! It’s okay to listen to the pitch. It’s great to give and participate. But, be selective.

1. Plan your giving. You literally can not give to all charities or causes. It’s not possible.

2. Do all accepting and giving from an open and loving heart, not begrudgingly or from duty.

3. Feel free to contact the cause organization and get off their mailing list.

Happy Holidays. Give from your heart and have a wonderful (less cluttered) holiday season!

Kim

Do we really know for sure how much, if any, of our personal information is on a key card?

The summary of a recent article states:

All of my results, including the exact percentage of readable cards, match up with Robert L Mitchell’s findings at Computerworld. Robert interviewed a number of industry experts and they stated that it is extremely unlikely that any travelers in the US would find personal private information on their hotel key cards. That’s not to say it’s impossible, but they weren’t convinced the probability was high enough for anybody to worry about it.

While most experts agree that current systems are likely very secure, there is suspicion in the industry that very old card key access systems from years past may not have been as secure and these systems may have included personal information on the cards. Although there are a couple unproven claims to the contrary, I cannot find any demonstrable proof that hotel key cards have any personal info on them.

DESTROY THE CARDS UPON CHECKOUT

Take on the responsibility of taking your key cards with you when you check out and cut them up, depositing pieces of them in different garbage cans, like cutting up credit cards.

PUT YOUR CELL PHONE ON THEM!

It’s supposedly a myth that cell phones can delete information on hotel key cards, maybe even credit cards – or any with a magnetic strip – but, it’s not been completely validated. So, hey, lay your powered up cell phone on your key card for a while and then cut it up!

Did you know that your iPhone is a perfect organizing tool?

The iPhone can be used for everything from listening music to recommending a nearby restaurant. With the addition of thousands of downloadable apps, there’s little the phone can’t do. This makes the device the perfect organizing tool for the busy student or worker on the go.

THERE ARE 8 APPS FOR THAT!

Whether users need help remembering a date or sharing files, the follow eight apps are sure to help users organize their lives.

1. Due – to Remember Important Dates

2. Mint – for Personal Finances

3. eWallet – for Account Management

4. Dragon Dictation – for Texting And Typing

5. Air Sharing – for Wireless Transferring

6. Dropbox – for Automatic Sharing

7. Quickoffice – for Typing Notes.  Quickoffice is ideal for the iPhone user who is still in love with Microsoft Office.

8. Scanner Pro – for Scanning

Find out more specifics and the links for each here. 

– Guest post: Eric Thompson www.officespaceforrent.org 

If you had a crisis of any kind that demanded that you show one or more important documents, how quickly could you get your hands on it?

There are many different vital documents that you need to keep at hand, including car titles, living wills, birth certificates and many more. 

• Do you know where yours are right now?
• Could you grab them and go if you needed to?
• Do you know how to organize them?
• If something happened to you today, would your family know where your vital documents are? 

It’s not a fun job compiling all of your vital documents, but it must be done. (Knowing which ones really helps.) And, when it is done, you’ll feel so much more peaceful.

Order your copy of How To Organize Important (Vital) Documents now and get peace of mind for yourself  . . . and for your family who will need to know where your documents are as well “some day.”