Stressed by Clutter?

If you feel surrounded and stressed out by clutter, you’re not alone. The average household accumulates 300 pages of paper a day and contains 25 percent more furniture and 75 percent more toys than it needs. The solution isn’t to organize this stuff – it’s to give it away or throw it out. Here’s how:

• Start small – go through one drawer or one shelf per session.
• Get tough – Dump the contents on the floor and consider each object.
• Go through your mail daily. Toss what you’ll never read.
• Set a limit on saving bags, food containers and boxes. Ten is reasonable, 50 is not.
• Save magazine articles, not whole magazines.
• Get rid of two old garments every time you buy a new one. This rule also works for kitchen gadgets, shoes, books, records and toys.
• Pare down mementos. Got a sentimental side? Keep the Girl Scout badges instead of the whole uniform, the yearbooks instead of everybody’s school photo.

Resource: De-junking your home. (1999, Spring). Health Diary, 4.

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	Web site coordinators: Jamie Thompson Sandra McKinnon Site evaluation: Cynthia Crawford Last updated: March 09, 2005	Web site established by: Kate Akers Mark Belwood Cynthia Crawford Sandra McKinnon Diana Hammond

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