If you haven’t heard about it yet, clutter and stress go hand and hand and when you have a lot of stress in your life, it limits your joy and does not allow you to focus on what truly matters. Stress not only impacts your joy and happiness, but it also affects your body, your mood (including joy + happiness), and your behavior, as well. For example, some of the effects of stress on your body are shown through headaches, muscle tension, pain, chest pain, fatigue, upset stomach, and sleep problems. Some effects of stress on your mood could be anxiety, restlessness, lack of motivation, feelings of overwhelm, anger, and sadness, and depression. Last but not least, some common effects of stress on your behavior could be seen through over or under-eating, angry outbursts, drug or alcohol abuse, tobacco use, social withdraw, and even exercising less often, which is extremely common.

While stress can be caused by many different things in your life and ultimately, you need to figure out what that it, a huge stressor for a lot of people is through clutter. When I say clutter, I mean both life AND material clutter. Here are a few things that you should declutter, in order to reduce your stress in your life:

Negativity

There are many things that could be causing you to have a negative outlook on life, but there is only one thing that can help you declutter this negativity and that is YOU. You are the only person that can choose to stop your negative thoughts, or drift apart from your negative friends – you have the ultimate choice on how you look at each situation in life and you get to choose to act positively or negatively.  Over Fifty and Fit says, “Negativity is the process of getting into an unintended rut. You can find yourself in this rut by having habitually negative thoughts. Negativity can lead to stagnation – leaving you feeling stuck in your life and lessening your joy. It’s an internal pattern of behavior that – over time – can lead to the external appearance of unwanted circumstances. Though negativity can be difficult to change, it’s not impossible. Do you have the desire within you to improve yourself? The most efficient way to improve the circumstances of your own daily life is to upgrade the thoughts that play habitually inside of your mind. By identifying negative thoughts and replacing them with positive ones, you can infuse your daily life with more moments of contentment and improved health.”

Items That You Do Not Use

Time to get rid of everything you don’t use! Maybe it is old clothes, decor pieces that you got tired of, or even jewelry. No matter what it is, you can find a great way to get rid of the things to either benefit yourself or others. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, let me give you a few examples! If you have old blankets sitting around the house, consider throwing them in your car and handing them out to homeless people. If you have old clothes, consider donating them to someone in need, or a company that helps people in need. Those two things are two ways that you can help others with you old items. Now, let’s jump into how you can help yourself! If you have valuables sitting around your home, I highly recommend getting rid of them, but make sure you do not just throw them in your garbage can. Prestamos Por Oro is a great company in Atlanta that can help you sell your valuables, or get a collateral loan for them. All you have to do is put together your valuables, visit them at their convenient location right off of Lenox Rd. in Buckhead, and get the money you need, without any timely credit checks. Prestamos Por Oro has been in the Atlanta area for almost 20 years and therefore, they have the experience and knowledge to offer you the most money for your valuables. They buy coins, jewelry, scrap metal, and even gold bars, as well, and they accept your credentials from any country, which is very convenient! If you have extra valuables laying around your house, consider selling them to Prestamos Por Oro to get the cash you need quickly.

Things That Do Not Bring You Joy

In the words of Marie Kondo, get rid of the things that do not bring you joy. Marie Kondo teaches you to take every item out of your closet, drawers, etc. and touch each one. Think about how that item makes you feel. If it does not bring you joy, then get rid of it. If it does bring you joy, keep it. I might have teared up when I first watched her show because I think this simple statement and action is so beautiful and simple. Isn’t that how we should look at every single little thing in life!? Only keep what creates and brings you joy.

Paper

I don’t know about you, but I am known for bringing in the mail and just throwing it down on a table, or leaving it in my car if I grab it on the way out of the house. Paper is one of the biggest ways that a lot of you can declutter your life, in order to remove stress from it. Dave Ramsey says, “Again, this might be a hard one to latch onto, but it’s a great way to declutter your house. Take photos or save scan files of important documents, receipts, invoices, statements, records, etc. Shred any personal or sensitive documents. This is also a great way to help protect yourself from identity theft. Of course, don’t go on a shredding spree! There are some physical documents you do need after all. Your sentimental spouse probably won’t appreciate a shredded marriage license or birth certificate. When all the declutter dust settles, call it a night and sleep on the decisions you made. If there’s something you absolutely cannot let go of or live without, you’ll know in the morning.”

Bad Habits

Declutter the bad habits in your life and you will not only feel less stressed, but you with feel healthier and happier, as well. You are the only one to know what bad habits you have (or what you consider to be bad habits). Maybe it is drinking too much, eating chips each night, ignoring the phone calls of family members, or even something as small as leaving dirty clothes on the floor even though the hamper is a few feet away. No matter what your bad habits are, try to declutter them from your life so that it’s one less thing for you to think about on a daily basis.