Disorganization And Depression-Break the Ties That Bind


by Tracy Alt - Date: 2007-01-11 - Word Count: 851 Share This!

Have you been feeling depressed lately? Do you look around your home and see nothing but clutter, dust and disorganization? Much like the age old question about the chicken and the egg, ask yourself: which came first, disorganization or depression? I don't know if you will be able to answer that question, but I would be willing to bet that if you can find it within yourself to spend just 15 minutes each day you can start to make your space look better. As your space starts to look better you will start to feel better. This might just be the way out of your slump.

If you are suffering from chronic depression you should, of course, seek the help of a professional, but if you are just feeling a little down in the dumps here are some quick and easy ways to change your environment and improve your mood.

Spend 15 minutes with a garbage bag. Get yourself the largest garbage bag you have on hand and walk around your house with it. Empty smaller trash containers into it, throw away any trash laying around the rooms in your home, get rid of any kids' toys that are broken or have missing pieces and no longer get used, etc. Spending 15 minutes to rid your space from trash is a great way to start the declutter ball rolling.

Spend 15 minutes on a problem area. Do your kitchen counters or dining room table seem to be the dumping ground for everything coming into your home? If so, set aside 15 minutes to work on clearing the clutter and finding new, permanent homes for all of things that tend to get dumped there. Keep at it each day until all of the problems for that area have been solved and then move on to the next problem area in your home.

Spend 15 minutes with your shredder. Keep your paperwork under control by shredding any old or unnecessary documents. Make a pile of what needs to be shredded and then work on it, 15 minutes at a time until the pile is gone.

Set a timer to avoid getting overwhelmed. If a project in your home is daunting enough it can make you feel depressed just by looking at it. However, tackling such a big project in one sitting can also wreak havoc on your mood. Solve this problem with a simple kitchen timer. Set the timer for 15 minutes and then dive into the project. When the timer sounds force yourself to walk away from the project. You won't get overwhelmed and you can feel proud that you are 15 minutes closer to solving the problem.

Clean during the commercials. This is one of my favorite ways to clean. I'll put the television on and every time there is a commercial I will get up and do something. It is amazing how much you can get done 2 minutes at a time! If you are watching a one hour program, you will have cleaned for at least 15 minutes by the time it is over.

For more help, learn how to declutter and organize your entire home using my Clutter Central system which can be found at http://www.tips-to-organize-life.com/organizeyourhouse.html. This system can easily be implemented 15 minutes at a time and when you are done you will no longer have any reason to feel depressed by disorganization.

Here are some other great tips that can help improve your mental well being:

1. Your bedroom is the first room you see when you wake up in the morning and the last place you see before you fall asleep at night. If your bedroom is clean and organized you will wake up feeling happier and fall asleep with fewer worries on your mind.

2. Let the sun shine in! Open your window blinds or curtains every day. It's amazing what a little sunshine can do to brighten your spirits.

3. Keep a list. Write down all of the things you need to remember in a day, week, month, whatever time frame you want to set for yourself. Keep the list handy so that you can add to it as things come up or cross things off as they are accomplished. Writing things down really helps to relieve stress because you no longer have to worry about forgetting the things you have written. Once you put an item on paper it is like a permission slip for your brain to stop worrying about it.

4. If you wake up in a bad mood for no particular reason dress in bright colors. There have been a lot of studies done to prove that color can altar your mood. Dressing in vibrant colors can actually make you feel happier and more energized.

5. Disassociate yourself as much as possible from negative people in your life. Negative people have a tendency to want to bring everyone down with them. Do not allow it to happen to you! If you find yourself involved in a conversation that is heading in a direction that you know will put you in a bad mood excuse yourself as politely and as quickly as possible.


Related Tags: depression, clutter, disorganization, declutter your house, organize your house

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Tips to Organize Life focuses on all aspects of life, including organzing your home, cooking, entertaining, money management, children, communication, gardening, planning for emergencies and more.

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