Moving Stress

Moving is one of life’s big stressors, the pressure starts to mount from the moment you decide to make a move. There are so many things to plan for. Throw in a significant life change like a new job, divorce, death or economic crisis and you have got a substantial in-box to wade through, not to mention the emotional impact on your day to day life.

When looking for professionals to assist with any part of the process rely on credible friend recommendations or use your local Better Business Bureau listings. There are also great resources on line like moving checklist to guide you from what to do 8 weeks before you move right up to moving day.

Most of all, be mindful of taking care of yourself and being organized enough to ease the stress.

 

 

Calculating Clutter

My favourite clutter clearing book ‘Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui’ written by Karen Kingston, has inspired the following:

What is your clutter costing you?!

Try this. Go into each room and estimate the percentage of space that is taken up by your clutter; things you rarely of never use. Be truthful with yourself; include everything you don’t unquestionably love. Count the things you haven’t used for at least a year. Remember to include space on book shelves where unread or once read books are, the back of closets, under the bed, the shed, the garage, everything!

Make a list:

1 – bedroom 1    25%

2 – bedroom 2    40%

3 – bedroom 3    50%

4 – hallway          15%

5 – dining room  30%

6 – kitchen           25%

7 – bathroom       20%

8 – basement       55%

9 – office               25%

10- shed               85%

Total the list      370%

Calculate:

370% divided by 10 (the number of areas) = average 37% clutter per room!!

In this example storing your stuff is costing 37% of your rent or mortgage!

A small off-site storage unit can cost $125 a month or more; $1500 (plus taxes) a year is a great vacation fund or a nice chunk off of your mortgage.

Get back to basics, reclaim your space, and keep only what you need.

I understand the difficulty of letting go; however, storing your unused stuff is creating more emotional and financial stress than you may realize. Trust me, once the stuff is gone, you won’t even miss it and the freedom of space will lighten your whole life.

I love hearing about your success stories. Leave your comments below or click on the Contact Page and tell me about your triumphs over clutter.

Enjoy your clutter free life!

Mountains of Mail

Open your mail everyday to avoid mounds of paper. Opening a few pieces daily is much easier and less time consuming. Put the junk mail and envelopes straight into the recycle bin. Use a desk to (upright) file to sort the rest; bills to pay, needs attention, to read etc. In five to ten minutes a day you can control the incoming paper.