Sometimes it’s the small things in life that can bring the biggest rewards. Just the other day I walked into my office and felt like there was so much clutter going on that it was strangling my productivity, creativity and motivation levels.
That’s when I decided that it was time to start decluttering my life and it would begin with my office. Rather than try and do it all at once, which would have been a huge job, I chose to do 1 area of my office per day for a week.
I started with my office desk and draws on day one. I had about 200 business cards shoved in a draw, bit’s of paper, receipts and all sorts of odds and ends that did nothing but take up space and make it impossible to find anything when I went looking for it. Not to mention the top of my desk looked like a tornado had hit it.
By the end of the day, my drawers were mostly empty, the business cards were filed away, the receipts were put into a tax folder and the only items left on or in my desk were ones I use on a daily basis. Just clearing out doing this part of my office already made me feel like I could breathe easier.
The next part of my office I decided to tackled was my filing cabinet. It took a few hours but by the time I had finished I cleared out what seemed like a truck load of old documents that were no longer needed. This was starting to get to be fun.
From there I went through my bookcase which was overflowing with all sorts of books and folders. When I was done with it there were about one hundred less books on the shelves and I threw out about half of the folders that i no longer used or needed.
I also have a cupboard in my office that was packed with odds and ends. This mainly comprised of electrical gadgets and things I’d thrown in there for storage. This took ages to clean out but by the time I had finished, it was neat, tidy and 50% emptier.
Lastly I got rid of anything that was sitting on or under any of my office coffee table, or sitting or standing on the carpet on the floor.
The Opposite Of Clutter Is Space
The reason I’m sharing this with you is because decluttering any area of your life is always a great idea. It literally gives you more room to breathe, not to mention the space to think, move and plan more freely.
The best example of this is when you are feeling pressured and you feel like you have no space in your head to even think, let alone deal with any feelings of overwhelm. By getting rid of physical clutter it helps you create more physical space around you and consequently you will feel more relaxed on the inside.
Think about the amount of time that can be wasted looking for things you can’t find because of your desk, cupboards, office, or home being a mess. Or the stress that happens when you can’t even think straight because your head is cluttered with unresolved issues or things you are worried about.
These things are all connected. When you declutter one part of your life it has a positive impact on the rest. Don’t just take my word for it, try it yourself. Pick one part of your life, or one area of your home to get rid of clutter and then get started on it immediately. I guarantee you’ll be able to breathe much easier and relax much deeper once you have made more space in your head or life.
