Clear Your Space and Change Your Life

By Nanette Catarinella

Want a New Year’s resolution that is easily achievable, guaranteed to have a positive impact on your daily life and doesn’t involve counting calories? Resolve to clear your clutter!

Look around your home. Is it filled with papers, magazines, old clothing, toys, knick-knacks, dishes and junk? Are your closets jam-packed and over flowing? Is the garage too full of stuff to park the car and the basement a cavernous hole where things just disappear? Are you over-whelmed by the clutter that’s taking over your space?

You are not alone. Out of control clutter has become an epidemic in this country and may be cause for serious concern. Psychologists, professional organizers, Feng Shui practitioners, re-designers and home staging professionals know that too much clutter can cause emotional and physical distress.

No need to feel overwhelmed at the thought of organizing the entire home. Start small and achieve big results. Commit to beginning with one closet. How about the one you visit each morning when you get dressed - the one with the too-small jeans that you haven’t worn since college.

Begin by taking out each piece of clothing and asking yourself these four questions: Does it fit?
Is it in style? Do I look/feel good in it? Have I worn it in the past year? If you answered “no” to any of those questions, it’s time to toss it out. This goes for shoes and handbags, too. Remember the 80/20 rule. We wear twenty percent of our clothes eighty percent of the time. Donate your discarded items to charity and get the additional feel-good benefit of sharing your possessions with those who are less fortunate.

When the purging is complete, put everything back in the closet and sort by color and item. Put all jackets together, all pants, skirts, tops and blouses. Buy new hangers and make sure everything is hung in the same direction. Purchase shoe racks and shelf dividers to neatly stack shoes, sweaters and tee shirts. Now, step back and admire your hard work.

Wow, what a difference! Just think of the time you will save by knowing where everything is. Think of the ease of getting dressed knowing that everything fits. Think of how good you will feel whenever you open the closet door. By getting rid of the old clothes that no longer fit or the shoes that pinched your feet, you will dramatically improve your mood and your energy.

Clearing out a closet may sound like a trivial chore, but if you think of it as letting go of your past to open yourself up to the possibilities of the future, it can make a tremendous difference in how you start your day. And, I’ll bet you will feel at least 10 pounds lighter!
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Nanette Catarinella, owner of Room Styles Interiors, is a home staging professional, interior re-designer, decorator, author and trainer. For more information, call 412-351-2525 or visit the web site at: http://www.roomstylesinteriors.com/