Ten Minutes at a time...

Recently I was included in a panel of nine experts asked to coach ten people to a healthier, fitter life. Here is the article which ran in the Arizona Republic on March 7th.






So many individuals feel that they don’t have the time to properly care for themselves. The following statistics may be eye opening for some: A 2008 NAPO (National Association of Professional Organizers) survey of 400 consumers nationwide showed that 65 percent of respondents noted that their household was at least moderately disorganized, 71 percent said their quality of life would improve if they were better organized and 96 percent of respondents indicated that they could save time every day by becoming more organized. Of those, 15 percent of respondents felt they could save more than an hour each day for a total of more than 15 days per year if they were more organized at home and 30 percent of respondents felt they could save at least 30 minutes each day or more than an entire week per year if they were more organized at home. Imagine what you would be able to do for your health with that extra time.
One of the biggest stressors in the world today is feeling like we have lost control. Often our physical body mirrors our environment and vice versa. If we are feeling stressed at home or in the office because there isn’t any order, it can take a toll on us physically*
One of the best ways to reduce stress and gain control of your physical body is through achieving and maintaining an organized environment. In working with clients for the last nine years, it has been my experience that people are able to better focus on what they love when they have eliminated excess in their environments.
Where to start? The word I hear over and over is overwhelming and I just don’t know where to start. To those statements I say start with clearing clutter. Always have a donation receptacle handy. Each night set a timer and spend 10 minutes identifying 10 things you can either donate, recycle, consign or throw away. As your home becomes less cluttered you will notice that things can be done faster. You will no longer spend precious time looking for misplaced items. Visualize that each physical thing that has been weighing down your physical environment has also been weighing down your physical body. Imagine that as you lighten your home you will lighten your body and reduce your stress.
When you have pared down your home to what is essential. Create homes for each thing that lives with you. Clutter is simply something that doesn’t have a home. When items you live with have specific places in which they are stored. The stress of the question, “where does this go?” is eliminated.
Maintaining an organized environment is as easy as putting things back where they belong and keeping things current by donating what is no longer used, loved or needed.
Remember to take the phrase “I’ll do it later” out of your vocabulary. It is not the things we do that wear us out, it is the things left undone.