Sanitize for Sanity

Clutter messes up our lives. We can't find anything when we need it. We stub our toes on stuff. Our thinking gets as muddled as the space around us. The tangled web we weave often traps us the most.



It's time to "clean up."





Clean up your space, literally

It's not just 'cause it looks nice; it's so that you can get to the stuff you need to get to. You will save time and a lot of frustration. Follow the rules of file-forward-or-forget-it. Start at one end of your space and move to the other. Everything you see, ask yourself, "do I need to keep this?" (file it in a place you can find next time) or "would this be better off if I gave it to someone else?" (donate it to charity or gift it to a friend) or "does anyone really need this? (trash it). Have a legitimate reason for each and stick to it. By the time you reach the other side, you're whole world will be changed.



Clean up your thoughts

This isn't a message to "get your head out of the gutter." It's about organizing them; make lists of to do's (don't forget to do the file-forward-forget to each task as well). Keep a journal. Having to organize your thoughts on paper (or computer) can help clarify an awful lot of stuff.



Dream

Don't forget to do that. They're your thoughts and hopes played out. Write them down to and get them organized. Organized dreams turn into goals.



Clean up your actions

You act as you think, whether you think you do or not. Actions can give you very powerful insight into your thoughts (cluttered actions come from cluttered minds); and actions can also have a profound way of affecting thoughts.



Although changing your thought will change you actions, you don't always have to change the thought first. You can actually go "against" your thoughts and do actions of the way you'd like to be. With enough practice, your thoughts may change to "fit" better.



Just remember to be true to yourself

Removing clutter is meant to uncover the real you; not strip away all the qualities that make you special.