Clearing One’s Thoughts…and your drawers too! 🙂
Not those kind of drawers! 😉
True, this sounds a bit strange…. but recently, “Her Majesty” (another pet name for a dear friend) told me her doctor suggested she have a little less stress in her life….she was beginning to fret about things she had no control over and it was showing up in her health.
Many times things happen in our lives that can cause frustration and stress. It can be anything…sometimes very minor things such as what to wear to a function and realizing the closet is full of “I’ll never wear that agains” or “I haven’t been able to “get into” that in ages.”
Or it can just be fretting over a decision or situation that can have us feeling disorderly or dysfunctional….in other words, it is driving us crazy…so to speak. 😉
We all do this from time to time and do you know what I have found to help me “cope” in these times?
It is really pretty simple…it is a sense of order or organizing or sorting.
Example: My laundry room. I still smile each time I walk by the door. The little baskets on the top shelf hold items that are not needed on a daily basis.
While it is true, re-folding a messy stack of wash cloths doesn’t clear the messy thoughts in my head, but it sure gives me a little sense of order and accomplishment.
De-cluttering The Linen Closet!
Check out the link above where I came up with, (in my opinion), a great way to store wash cloths (rolling them) and a great, easy way to fold my towels, making my linen closet pleasing to the eye….at least to my eye.
There are other areas of my home that really help me to clean out the cobwebs of my mind….such as cleaning out the fridge by actually removing everything in the fridge, including shelves and food stuffs and giving it a really good cleaning. (It also allows one to remove a piece of cheese that somehow got stuck in the back and started to sprout a blue growth….not that it happened to me)
OK, it did happen to me! :), but I digress!
Her Majesty gave me the ole quizzical look when I made my suggestion that she clean out a drawer to clear her thoughts, but she reluctantly said she would “work on it”….and then she changed the subject.
Amazon……Books – Amazon.com…. what would we do without Amazon??? 🙂 lists a book “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up”: The Japanese art of de-cluttering and organizing. (I remember the “Toyota Way” and 5 “S” [SORT STRAIGHTEN SHINE STANDARDIZE SUSTAIN] from my days in the working world)!! It changed the way we did our jobs, and apparently this book has over 4500 reviews giving even more inspiration to toss out and organize.
Well! I am happy to announce that Her Majesty called me yesterday and seemed all chipper. She told me she decided to clean out her medicine cabinet and went on to check the dates on her beauty products. It appears she tossed out the old, replacing with a few newer products, but most importantly she related that it gave her a sense of accomplishment. So much so, that she went on to toss or donate clothes that she no longer wore from her closet, admiring the “added space” she now has. 🙂
However, you might ask ….did this “cure” her stress?
No!!!!, the things she was concerned about were still there, she told me. However, Her Majesty said she was looking at things a bit differently now. Especially, things she had no control over….and the things she did have control over…. such as a neat closet, which gave her a sense of accomplishment each time she opened her closet doors, and gave her busy thoughts a rest too.
Do you, my dear readers have a way of relieving your day to day stresses?
I am going to use this Monday to tidy up my desk….I am having issues with the last of the “5 S’s”…the sustaining part! 🙂
I need to do every single thing her majesty and you did. lol
Just guess whether it is going to get done or Not!
We do what we can Sandy…for some it is more, for some it is less. hang in there my friend.
Kari, you are such a clever writer. I wish I had the stamina to “tidy” all the deep reaches of my storage and mind.
But I do feel an accomplishment in clearing my desk & “to be filed” basket last week!!
Thanks for the inspiration and good example you set.
Wily Wildcat. (was that my alias?)
Winnie Wildcat! because you had so many “wins”…and of course the obvious, your mascot is the wildcat. teehehehe! Thank you for the kind words….and it is amazing isn’t it how getting something Organized makes one feel so much better. thanks for stopping by WW.