Got Stress?  Your Environment Could Be POPT
(Part of the Problem)!

Marie Elena Rigo  Stress Relief Life Coach

     Life and its unexpected twists and turns can be stressful enough...do we really want our environment adding to the problem?

     Clutter can affect your peace at home or productivity and focus at work.  While we all know we need to reduce or remove it entirely, somehow the piles keep growing, the surface areas are full and the floor is barely visible.  It's overwhelming enough to make us abandon our efforts.  Instead, we often resign ourselves to living in a mess. 

     Perhaps you are one of the lucky ones...a naturally organized clutter-free individual.  There are some out there - a select few who strive to have little or nothing left lying around. 

     Then, there are the rest of us.  I include myself in that group because I'm not a natural-born clutter-buster.  While I speak about it all the time, I have to work really hard at keeping my environment organized.  Just ask my mom what my room looked like as a teenager!  But, as soon as I had my own place and began studying Feng Shui (a way to arrange your space to enhance your life), my inner- organizer - and disciplinarian - kicked in. 

     There are a million excuses for living with disarray in our environment - one of the most common being a lack of time.  Well, I ask you today, do you really have time to be disorganized? 

     Clutter and disorganization add additional stress to our lives and create unnecessary chaos in our home and office.  An abundance of "stuff" becomes a major distraction and can disturb our sleep, ruin a romantic moment, stifle creativity and reduce our ability to be productive. 

     Clutter has a major impact on us.  Because everything in our environment has a message for us, clutter forces our brain to process too much at once.  It also impacts our body - activating the nervous system and putting it into overdrive. 

     Where is the clutter in your life?  Can you identify it?  Review your space and ask yourself three questions:  1) What do I really need in this environment? 2) What do I actually use (regularly)?  and 3) What do I truly love? 

     Are there things you can give away, throw away or recycle?  Are there things you could file, store or put away neatly if you cleared out space in your drawers, cabinets and closets?  You may need to start by clearing out the clutter that's tucked away so you have room to store what you need.  Are you willing?

     Clutter in our home and office adds anxiety to our lives.  In a fast-paced world where there is an abundance of stress, do you really want your environment to be part of the problem?   I invite you to use this new awareness to be part of the solution.