Get Rid Of These Things To Ease Anxiety
The material things in our lives can weigh us down, particularly when they’re in excess or not properly organized within our living space. You might not have the time in your schedule to always keep a perfectly clean house, but there are some key items you can get rid of to help ease anxiety. These include some things that are out in the open and others that are piled up out-of-sight; however, they’re not out-of-mind. Cluttered spaces increase anxiety as do the emotions and worries attached to the items. Clear out some of these unnecessary things from your home to help lift the mental weight.
Piles of paper everywhere are not only unsightly, but they remind us of unfinished work and may cause us to lose track of them. Many people feel they need to hang onto every document they’ve ever had in case they need to reference it or because they’re afraid to throw them in the blue bin. Gather up all your papers in one place and take the time to separate out tax forms older than six years, out-dated receipts, things you’ve printed but now have digitally, and even old-school notes or work in binders that you’ve kept from decades ago. Calm your fears by arranging on-site shredding and recycling from a local company like Absolute Destruction & Recycling who can destroy your sensitive materials for you.
Double your efficiency by having the same company take care of your old electronics: phones, computers, tablets, disks, CDs, etc. They can destroy the data recorded on the drives by completely crushing them and recycling the remains. Even if you think you’ve formatted the drives or disks, the information on them and they can still be recovered. There may be some electronics like MP3 players which you can re-sell or give to someone else, but anything containing personal information needs to be destroyed and properly recycled to be safe from identity theft and be eco-friendly.
Open that fridge and those cupboards and take in how full they are. It’s nice to have a fresh selection but consider how many things are in there that are expired and possibly contaminating other foods. It might seem strange but having clutter in your pantry and fridge can increase anxiety, too. Go through and toss out spoiled or expired food. Be sure to check with family members that you’re not throwing away something that’s good and belongs to them.
If you’re the sentimental type, you might have several mementos from past relationships taking up space in your closet. Beyond the storage real estate, holding onto items that bring up painful memories is only hurting you. Even if things ended well, do you really need every ticket stub or wrapper from that time you had a picnic? If these items upset you, you should get rid of them. It doesn’t matter if they’re hiding in the basement. While you have the shredding truck around, why not take care of those, too?
The process of cleaning in and of itself is helpful. Clearing the clutter that you’ve been too afraid to toss will help keep you focused, ease security fears, lift cleaning guilt, and allow your daily operations to go more smoothly.