Missy Catwell - The Tao of Declutter: 5-minute Home and Office Tasks to Cut Through the Chaos and Obtain Peace of Mind

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5-minute Home and Office Tasks to Cut Through the Chaos

and Obtain Peace of Mind

Missy Catwell

2015

The Tao of Declutter

About the Author

Chapter 1 Making an Organization Plan

Chapter 2 The Living Room

Chapter 3 The Kitchen

Chapter 4 The Bedroom

Chapter 5 The Bathroom

Chapter 6 The Office

Chapter 7 The Computer

D ecluttering living and working space gives peace of mind. Life can pile on stress. Failure to take note of your surroundings can lead you to accumulate things and neglect order. When stress and disorganization meet it can seem as if weve hit a wall. Overloaded with stress and clutter, it seems impossible to dive in and get a handle on the situation. However, by ridding your life of the things you dont need and organizing what you do need that you can find a way to relax in your environment even as life gets crazy. It only takes a little effort every day.

T here is balance to the art of declutter. Getting rid of the excess and organizing the necessities cannot be done in one day. Tackling the clutter involves setting aside time each day to avoid the pile up of the unnecessary. First you must assess the situation, look at what has accumulated and decide what must go. Once youve done this it is best to write down your tasks. Maybe you need to find a way to fit some extra clothes in the closet or the refrigerator is getting a little out of hand. Writing it down helps you prioritize and setting priorities helps you keep the balance between keeping a calm approach and organizational overload.

O nce you have your checklist, you can pick up some tips and tricks for how to best get it done. The following will give an overview of advice for decluttering and organizing your home and workspace. Beginning with the living space the following chapters dig into how you can organize your kitchen, living room, bathroom and closet. After the living space is clear of extras and home life is restored to an organized state, this book describes some tips and tricks for re-organizing and decluttering your workspace in order to improve efficiency and relief some work tensions.

T he Tao of Declutter is about balance; taking time and following some organizational tips that help you relax and de-stress your life just a little at a time.

About the Author

M issy Catwell is a writer, researcher and health nut who lives in Oregon with her two Golden Retrievers. She enjoys writing about her hobbies and passions which include yoga, healthy cooking and spiritual awareness. - follow

I f we all had time to clean, organize and get rid of all the things we dont use, we would. Time is often an issue when it comes to getting a space clear from excess and organizing what is left over. However, taking a Saturday and attempting to re-organize our entire lives never seems to work either. After a few hours focus is lost and frustration sets in. This is why spending only a few minutes a day on decluttering and/or organizing your space can be the most effective ay to get things in order.

F irst, you have to prioritize. A five-minute exercise in brainstorming can help you create a checklist that you can follow. Ask yourself, what are the necessities in each room? What do you need for practical use? What do you find too beautiful to let go of?

N ow, section of your house bothers you the most. This is an important aspect because people tend to focus on organizing one room at a time. There is a small issue with sectioning your house off by room. Many people find their closet a mess but the rest of their bedroom looks fine. The kids toys may be spread around your living room but the TV stand is always immaculate. It is essential to tackle the closet and the kids corner without distracting yourself with the space of your home that is actually functioning well. Taking just a few minutes to make this list will help you identify the play area and closet as the first areas to focus on.

O ne last tip before you set off on making your 5-minute list! You know the saying; Rome wasnt built in a day? It holds true here. This list of priorities should only include those areas that need to be taken care of right now. Maybe childrens toys have overrun your entire living room or your office space looks like it was just hit by a tornado after you filed for taxes. Maybe your teenager has raided your pantry and it is a total catastrophe or your daughter has taken over the hall bathroom with her make-up collection. The challenge here is deciding what needs to happen now. If you make a list that is overwhelming it can be daunting to make a start. But, if you decide your daughters cosmetics need to be picked through and what is left over needs to find a shelf, then you will feel relief. You may even find enough energy to move on to the pantry.

In just 5 minutes you have planned the organizational make over that will change your surroundings for good. This list is your guide and it will keep you on track as you take the dive into organizing your space. The following chapters will include tips and tricks for getting your life in order!

T here are simple ways to organize living area space to avoid clutter. The living area often the room that gets the most traction and it can also be the most exhausting to organize. If you use a few tricks to keep it tidy every day it will be much less tiring when the time comes to give it a deep cleaning.

K eeping trash cans handy is one way to do this. Simply keeping a trash can within reach is an easy way to make sure that a room is kept tidy. While a trash can may not seem the most decorative addition to your living space, there are many attractive trash cans or you may hide the trash can in a less visible location. Either way, the more available a waste bin is, the more likely the family is to dispose clutter.

A nother way to organize your family space is to create an inbox. Place a paper tray somewhere that is accessible to keep incoming mail in one location. Separate it by what is needed, what you may look through and what is totally unnecessary. Now you can distinguish what magazines or catalogs you can unsubscribe from. Just by keeping the tray in one place you avoid spreading the mail around the house and missing important things or creating a household paper trail.