One of my big underlyibg stressors is clutter, lack of organization. And what I tell myself about it (I'm a failure, it's tooo overwhelming, I don't know where to start, i don't have time, If I can't do it right, whay even bother....) I homeschool 3 children and we have a lot of stuff in a small house, and my husband works from home. Everything I do to get more on routine helps, but it's not going to be overnight and I realize what i telll myself about it really affects how i feel. Can anyone relate??

Sometimes clutter drives me crazy. I try not to clean everyday become obessession with cleaning, little of clutter doesnt bother me but when there is a lot of clutters it start to bother me. It depends on how bad is the clutters... Also, sometimes cleaning helps my anxiety or depression by distract it away by cleaning it up... Also to get me moving around do things...

Are you familiar with Flylady.net? Check it out. Its been just as helpful to me as this program. When I am cluttered on the outside I feel very cluttered on the inside. Like Im scattered everywhere and I get paralyzed too.

Reena

yes, I have been getting the flylady posts and love the ideas, but have not put many into practice yet. I guess, like a lot of things, I want it all perfect now, I want the "magic pill" that makes my house clean, etc. Flylady's ides of babysteps is much more realistic and loving and i need to keep replacing my negative thoughts with true and encouraging ones. thanks!

so, Reena, you follow the flylady program, can you tell me more about how it has helped you? Do I remember right that you homeschool? I do too.

It's funny because when I went through the program I never realized how stressful all my junk was. In addition to the AA program I found the program at Driving Fear very helpful and ironically it speaks about getting organized and free of clutter as a general strategy for reducing anxiety and stress. It really helped me a lot, you don't even realize it till it's gone.

Clutter use to drive me nuts and I let it get to me. I would always expect my wife and kids to be just as neat and clean as me. I'm over that now. I do what's needed to keep up my things. Help with the house so it's clean, not neat freak clean, just clean. I'm not going to walk past a full garbage can and now it get's done when I have time.

lol,

It's not funny but I can realate.I start by throwing things out that I really don't need or give them away.Then work on one room at a time

I use to stare at the ceilings when I needed a break from clutter. Everyone could count on me to have and find what was needed/wanted. After awhile though I couldn't find a place in the right catagory for all the "what if" I needed accumulated items and chaos overcame me and I no longer could think straight. Watched all those "Get Organized" TV shows and began tackling each space with three boxes; one-to save, one-to give away, one-to the trash.

I'm just beginning to realize that clutter and disorganization contributes to anxiety. I work at home and am focused on getting a lot accomplished -- which means emails, writing, etc -- so taking time to file materials and create order seems to take away from my productivity. I never seem to take that extra half hour in the day to create order in my office. I'm working right now with 7 piles of stuff in my visual field. I'll make a promise to myself to deal with one pile today. Wish me well!

Missouri Gal

I hear the word clutter and I cringe lol See it and I freak out! lol About a year ago a friend from chat told me to make a list of things that I wanted to get done weekly and STICK to the list...and I am clutter free. Now that I have all the clutter out of the way I set up 2 days a week that I stick to Mon and FRI so that I can keep up with all my hard work. Another thing that helps is when I check the mail, if it's something that I don't need ie..advertisements or something like that I don't need..I don't even bring it into my house I throw it into the trash can on the way into the house. Now that my home is clutter free I have felt a great sense of relaxation in my home. Tc Karen

I spent 3 fast and furious days last week, going room by room,,, cleaning, going through drawers and closets, throwing stuff away, gathering up stuff for Goodwill. Cleaning baseboards, mini blinds, organizing papers,making folders ... It Felt soooo good, to really get all this done!!! Im NOT a disorganized person, but about twice a year i go through each and every room in my house and start tossing, organizing, and getting everything in order again. I realized several years ago, i hung on the "things" for no particular reason other than, i hated to throw anything away!! Well thats all changed, cause half what we have, we NEVER use!!!
Simplify!!!! Yuppers, dats what i did!!! Lots less stress without the mess!!!

I de-cluttered my room about two weeks ago. I had collected all sorts of paperwork, electronics etc. and I couldn't even move. My anxiety had me so distracted the clutter was not a bother. Finally, I forced myself to pick up one piece and started chunking things out. That was awesome as it relieved a lot of stress!! I think it's a mind over matter concept, with the program we're decluttering our way of thinking and physically we need to do the same to connect both areas of our lives and feel less stressed.

WAy to GO maggie, im proud of YOU!!!! Keep up the good work!!!