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Sometimes life doesn’t go the way you planned. A heath setback, career change or end of a relationship can cause mental stress. Stress that may feel unfamiliar and scary at times.
If we are open to it, we can usually find helpful tips that can ease the transition a little more gently while on the bumpy path of life. Anything that can lighten the heaviness and safeguard your well-being is a plus.
During fragile times, it’s not uncommon however to revert to unhealthy choices. Unfortunately when we choose this course, we eventually find that all we did was delay our healing and progress. We come to learn that trying to fill a void with “things” just doesn’t work – and all you’re left with is the burden of excess; too much of this and too much of that.
In my book, Organically Yours, I give you concrete action oriented steps and spiritual practices to help you come to terms with some of life’s little challenges. The idea is to grow and learn from your experience so you’re equipped with the right tools for life’s ups and downs.
It can be life altering when you walk toward the light and make bright healthy choices rather than running with fear and making impulsive, random decisions.
You see, I understand this familiar path. I’ve been there. And I can share with you that amidst the chaos it is possible to find the calm by reconnecting with yourself. Your light is there.
Organically Yourstakes a holistic approach to healing utilizing the body, mind and living environment. I found all three are equally important for a balanced life, especially in times of turmoil.
I’ve combined the book with training videos and a workbook that walks you through each component of the body, mind and living space. You also get additional bonus items when you take me up on my special offer that you don’t want to miss! (You’ll have access to my inside secrets I learned when I was going through a difficult time.)
You have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Go ahead, your brighter self will thank you for it!
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A few signs along the way after teaching my Mindfulness Course in Florida. We are all so unique and special and although our stories may be different we are all the same – and we all need kindness, love and support. Here’s to staying mindful!
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As you may know, I coach people that benefit from a mindful, holistic approach to clutter-free living. I care for my clients, which is why I’m writing this note to you today. I’d like to offer you or someone you care about something – a second opinion.
My second opinion service is a time-tested process I use to determine where you (or your loved ones) are now and where you would like to go by reviewing your lifestyle goals and identifying any conditions that may need improvement.
It never hurts to know more and I want to help you and the one you care about live a stress-free, organized life.
Why now? I’ve never seen so many people hungry for wellness solutions. This includes the body, mind and living space. There’s a a lot of uncertainty in today’s world and a noticeable shift where people long for alternative methods for their well-being.
I want to help make sure the people I work with have peace of mind from being clutter-free and living a lifestyle that is conducive to the wellness they deserve. Plus, I want to provide them with the right tools to ward off any potential risk factors that may negatively influence their quality of life.
THREE POTENTIAL OUTCOMES:
I find you are in good shape and advise you to continue doing what is already working.
I find you could improve your lifestyle conditions and if I’m not a fit for your particular needs, I am happy to point you in the right direction to someone who can work with you effectively.
I find gaps in your current lifestyle and feel I could provide a significant advantage in helping you reach your wellness goals. I would then explore the idea of working together and what that would look like.
If you think you or the people you care about would benefit from a second opinion – please take advantage of my no-obligation offer by scheduling your call with me HERE!
Remember, I’m here to help.
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If you have to move things around in order to accomplish a task in your home or at your office or you feel overwhelmed by all your “things,” it’s a strong signal that clutter has prevailed. And it might be stressing you out more than you realize.
“Clutter is an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces,” said Joseph Ferrari, a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago who studies the causes of clutter and its impact on emotional well-being. And a cluttered home, researchers are learning, can be a stressful home.
Dr. Ferrari was part of a research team that questioned three groups of adults about clutter and life satisfaction: college students; young adults in their 20s and 30s; and older adults, most in their 50s.
The authors assessed volunteers’ tendency to procrastinate, asking them to respond to statements like “I pay bills on time” using a five-point scale, ranging from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Procrastination is closely tied to clutter, because sorting through and tossing items is a task that many people find unpleasant and avoid. It takes time to file away important papers or sort through a dining room table buried under books.
The researchers also measured participants’ general well-being in relation to how clutter might be affecting their lives, asking them to answer questions such as “the clutter in my home upsets me” and “I have to move things in order to accomplish tasks in my home.”
The study, published in Current Psychology, found a substantial link between procrastination and clutter problems in all the age groups. Frustration with clutter tended to increase with age. Among older adults, clutter problems were also associated with life dissatisfaction.
The findings add to a growing body of evidence that clutter can negatively impact mental well-being, particularly among women. Clutter can also induce a physiological response, including increased levels of cortisol, a stress hormone.
A 2010 study in The Journal of Personality and Social Psychology looked at dual-income married couples living in the Los Angeles area who had at least one school-aged child at home. The wives in the study who perceived themselves as having a cluttered home or a home that needed work tended to have increased levels of cortisol throughout the day. Those who weren’t feeling cluttered, which included most of the men in the study, had cortisol levels that tended to drop during the day.
Darby Saxbe, an assistant psychology professor at University of Southern California and the study’s lead author, said that the women in the study who described their home as being cluttered or needing work began their day stressed and remained stressed. Some of the added stress, she suspects, was tied to women’s tendency to take on housework and extra chores after the workday. In terms of cortisol levels, men who did more housework in the evening were as likely to have raised cortisol levels at the end of the day as women. It’s just that not as many men spent as much time on housework as their wives, she said.
In a follow-up study, Dr. Saxbe studied the cortisol level in the afternoon and evening, a time when stress should be dropping in “an adaptive recovery.” Not everyone in the study was bothered by shoes left on the staircase or mail piled on the coffee table. But again, women were more likely than men to complain about clutter or having too many unfinished projects, and did not show a cortisol reduction.
“Clutter is in the eye of the beholder,” Dr. Saxbe said. “The people who talked about it were the ones who had the cortisol response.”
Experts are beginning to explore why clutter can elicit such a strong emotional response.
Dr. Saxbe said there has long been a standard representation on how a middle-class home should look and function. A disorderly home fails to live up to such an expectation.
“If you think of the 1950s ideals of the single family home,” Dr. Saxbe said. “The man comes home, kicks up his feet and has a cocktail. The home is a place to come home and unwind. But not if the home is filled with a to-do list and never-ending drudgery.”
Gaining control over the drudgery of decluttering is a task that many inhabitants of cluttered residences struggle to master.
Dr. Ferrari noted that clutter is also often the result of an “over-attachment” to our personal items, which makes it difficult to part with them. For overwhelmed individuals who want to declutter, he recommends a hands-off approach.
“If you’re going to declutter, don’t touch the item. Don’t pick it up,” he said. “Have somebody else hold the pair of black pants and say, ‘Do you need this?’ Once you touch the item, you are less likely to get rid of it.”
Another option is to make a conscious effort to acquire less. Dr. Ferrari argued that most of what we accumulate we do not need. “We have taken our wants and been told they are needs,” he said.
Dr. Saxbe agreed that a good way to declutter is to keep items out of the house in the first place. She urged shoppers to consider whether they truly need an item or if it will add to their home’s sense of dysfunction. “Once it’s in the house, it’s really hard to deal with. You get attached to the things you own,” she said.”
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Health and wellness touch each of us differently. This is one person’s story.
From early fall through the coldest months of the year, I’ve learned to expect (and manage) my seasonal affective disorder (SAD). As someone who also lives with an anxiety disorder and identifies as a highly sensitive person (HSP), I tend to look for the things I can control in my world.
Every August, without fail, I sit down to write my “winter prep list,” in which I check off areas of my home that need organizing and decluttering. Usually by November, my old coats have been donated, the floors have been scrubbed, and everything feels as if it’s in its proper place.
One of my first lines of defense in the battle against mental health challenges has always been to get organized. I’m preparing for those tough days when I won’t be able to lift a mop, let alone put a plate in the dishwasher.
It turns out my thinking is rooted in scientific studies that show organization is an effective tool to achieve a healthier life, both mentally and physically.
One study found that the physical act of tidying up one’s house can make a person more active and healthier overall.
Many professional organizers sing the praises of improving one’s mental health through organizing, including Patricia Diesel, an organizing expert, clutter coach, and the creator of a program called Mindful Tools for Organized Living.
As a certified chronic disorganization specialist and a hoarding specialist, Diesel has witnessed the power of organization in people’s lives.
“Addressing the emotional and mental components of clutter is critical to the underlying cause. I believe that clutter is an outward manifestation that mirrors the body and mind on overwhelm,” she explains.
5 small ways to organize for your mental health
If you’re in the throes of depression or healing from a panic attack, the thought of cleaning can certainly be overwhelming. But I also know clutter tends to make me descend even further into a negative mood. So, I’ve discovered my own ways to tackle organization without letting it tackle me.
Here are five ways to muddle through the clutter, even on your most challenging mental health days.
1. Throw perfection out the window
Even when I’ve been at my lowest, I’d often put pressure on myself to make things look “perfect.”
I’ve since learned perfection and mental health conditions tend to be in direct opposition of one another. The healthier route is to accept that my house may not look flawless during the winter months. If things are generally organized, I can accept the wayward dust bunny that may cross my path.
Diesel agrees with this approach as well.
“Organizing is not about perfection,” she says. “It’s about a quality of life standard. Everyone’s standards are different. As long as the organized environment is in alignment with those standards and it is not infringing upon a quality of life that is obstructing or detrimental to that person’s life, then usually a person will find acceptance and peace from that.”
Let go of your idea of “perfect,” and instead aim for a level of organization that doesn’t hurt your quality of life.
2. Break everything down into bite-sized pieces
Since overwhelm is a big deal to those who wrestle with mental health disorders, like anxiety, Diesel recommends breaking up an organization project into palatable pieces.
“I help people look at the overall project that needs to get done… then we break it down into different categories. Then we rate the priority of each category, and begin with the level that reduces the anxiety the most,” she explains.
“The goal is to have the person see the entire project, and then help them see how to accomplish it in a manageable way.”
Diesel recommends devoting 15 to 20 minutes per day to doing things that need to get done, like doing a load of laundry or sorting the mail.
Often, a little effort can reinvigorate the mind and build momentum toward increasing a feeling of motivation. But that’s not always the case if you’re living with a mental health issue. Be kind to yourself if you miss a day or are only able to commit to 10 minutes.
3. Let go of items that don’t serve you
Physical clutter often creates clutter in the mind, especially if that clutter has taken over your life and space. Diesel helps those with hoarding disorders, sharing tips that can benefit non-hoarders as well.
“It’s not so much about getting organized as it is about how to release and part with their things without shame or guilt. Once this is accomplished, the organizing is usually not an issue,” she says.
Diesel emphasizes the importance of considering what makes an item truly “valuable” as opposed to something you think might be valuable based on fear or other emotions.
4. Remove distractions
Being highly sensitive means I have a sensory disorder that can become overloaded very quickly. Loud noises, an abundance of clutter, and a to-do list in plain sight can instantly break my focus and pull me away from whatever project I’m working on.
When I’m getting organized, I make my surroundings as soothing as possible through peace and quiet. I set aside a block of time when I know I won’t be pulled away.
5. Visualize the end result
Out of all my mental health challenges, seasonal depression is the one that wrings me dry of any motivation to clean or get organized. Diesel says that’s because depression can create a mindset that feels defeated. In this case, it’s key to emphasize the final goal.
“I help people see the vision of the end result, and we use additional tools to help that vision come alive, whether it’s with a vision board or through journaling. The overall goal is to help them feel empowered,” she says.
And if all else fails, remember that you can always ask for help if you need it.
“People who suffer with disorganization is the body and mind on overwhelm, so having a support system and mindfulness tools to go to is extremely important for stability. Support is paramount,” Diesel says.
Shelby Deering is a lifestyle writer based in Madison, Wisconsin, with a master’s degree in journalism. She specializes in writing about wellness and for the past 13 years has contributed to national outlets including Prevention, Runner’s World, Well+Good, and more. When she’s not writing, you’ll find her meditating, searching for new organic beauty products, or exploring local trails with her husband and corgi, Ginger.
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The wellness industry grew 12.8% in the past two years.
Want to know why?
Because people are tired of being sick and are seeking answers!
The trendy phrase “workplace wellness” (where most employees only received lip service on initiatives) is now being replaced with real “health care strategies” to gain back the trust of their employees.
Want to know why?
Because employers are tired of losing money on sick people!
So what does this have to do with living an organized life?
EVERYTHING!
Statistics show that organized people feel better and stay healthy.
Want to know why?
Because when a person is productive and focused they are happier and less stressed.
What you may not know is that there are millions of people who have compounded health issues due to clutter.
Want to know why?
Because clutter and disorganization produce stress. Stress is inflammatory and affects your health.
In 2019, I want to help as many people as possible get organized so they feel less stress and live healthier lives.
Want to know why?
Because I see everyday the devastation clutter causes and how it affects a person’s quality of life.
Join me in my FREE webinar and let me show you how you can get healthy in 2019.
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Rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives, yet “Eighty-four percent of recently stressed Americans say they worry that their home isn’t clean or organized enough, and within that group, 55 percent called it out as a source of recent stress.” (Huff Post)
When dirty dishes are piled, laundry overflows and your belongings are scattered about, your stress level rises. Trust me when I tell you, clutter & stress is real. Stress is inflammatory. When we are stressed out, it not only creates physical clutter, but it causes mental and body clutter as well.
Unfortunately this is a lethal combination. When a person is under the influence of a significant amount of clutter, their well-being is compromised, leaving them feeling overwhelmed, anxious and helpless. Ultimately this trickle down effect exposes itself in the workplace and productivity in many facets suffer. This puts the employee and employer in a vulnerable position which can lead to financial consequences.
6 Mindful Tools to Organized Living is a program that helps remedy this situation before it gets out of hand. Implementing best practices for a healthy body and mind is an enormous factor in overcoming clutter and disorganization. Although part of the problem is underdeveloped skill sets with organization, it is not the only culprit to having clutter. To penetrate the problem and resolve it entirely, it is necessary to engage lifestyle tools that embody wellness for the body, mind and environment.
If you are receptive to learning more about how the 6 Mindful Tools can benefit you personally and/or your team, I would love the opportunity to discuss this further with you and tell you about my FREE offer. Simply email me at [email protected]
Thank you and I look forward to hearing from you.
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