Watch Out for Clutters and Stressors

There are lots of things that cause clutter and stress. Triggers could be physical,  behaviours, associations, or beliefs. For example, maybe a really stressful day at work can send you on a shopping spree to relieve the negative feelings. However, what you end up with are things you don’t need and that add to your clutter. This retail therapy also rarely ends in you feeling better. An example of a physical trigger might be noticing the stack of boxes that are piling up in your garage because you haven’t been able to face the pressure of sorting through them.

What’s important is that you learn to recognize your triggers. Knowing the problem is essential to dealing with it. In order to truly know it, you sometimes have to do some deep emotional digging. This can be painful, but it’s worth it in order to help eliminate these triggers that upset you. I find writing things down or journaling helps a lot in spotting triggers. Write down any negative feelings you associate with a particular item or other influence. Ask yourself why you might feel this way and keep asking yourself questions until a pattern begins to emerge.

The first step to dealing with triggers that cause clutter and stress is to discover its source. This makes it far easier to deal with the issue. Identify the problem, make a list of possible solutions, and choose one to act upon. If it doesn’t lead to a satisfying solution, choose another option and give that one a try. Let’s look at our example above of the boxes in the garage. Sorting through them might require facing painful memories or it could force you to make difficult decisions about what to keep and what to give away. No matter what, you now know your trigger’s source. It is now easier to examine these feelings more logically. Decide which is worse, having piles of clutter face you each day when you go in the garage or dealing with your trigger. This is usually enough to spur you into action.