Stress Management - Taking Stress Out Of The Closet

By Author: beth0101a
Total Articles: 99
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No pun intended! After shifting and setting up house for the 5th time in 8 years, I have decided to share my thoughts on stress and storage and how the two can become inseparable, if you're not careful.

First of all you need to know that clutter can do things to your mind (not to mention hair!) that years of solitary confinement can't. And no, I don't mean the periodic clutter that your toddler causes with his Lego pieces and rattles that you keep picking up. I mean the constant invasion of your living space with sub-optimally placed items and furniture. The rack that you bang against every time you reach out in the bathroom or the 7 inch space you squeeze yourself into to dry out your clothes. The examples are endless and unique in their ability to compromise your life.

The second more obvious kind of clutter is the one that crowds you in your own home. Remember, the sofa that your mother-in-law gifted or the family heirloom that you can't bear to give away! Each jostles for space along with the functional must-haves - the spare futon, the carefully picked designer furniture and of course, the baby cot that your ...
... 10-year old still wants in his room with all the soft toys in it. Now imagine shifting this odd assortment from house to house and finding an optimal fit.

Even if you are not planning to shift in the near future, sub-optimal use of one's living spaces can be seriously detrimental to one's overall sense of calm and inner peace. While we may not have the luxury of living in a place of natural scenic beauty or even the comfort of a green garden, we can all get the ‘power of storage' - Self Storage. A simple, lifelong skill that can bring harmony and order to whatever place - big or small - that we choose to live in.

Tips For Better Storage Management

Read through some of the tips that I have given below that made a huge difference to the way I have learnt to approach matters relating to storage:

1. If you have space constraints like most of us poor mortals do, invest in dual purpose furniture. Cots that turn into sitting couches, beds with storage, side tables with magazine racks help to use space optimally. This does not mean that everything has to have some functional use - some aesthetic pieces relieve more stress than they cause but these should be the exceptions.

2. Consider outsourcing. From shifting a big house with little notice or finding a local storage unit for items that you can't giveaway but have no space for, everybody has a use for outsourcing. You could also take expert advice on how to use your living space better. The peace of mind you get at the end of it with be well worth it.

3. Prioritize high use areas around the house. If you launder at home once a month, it may not be worth while to reorder that section. But if you bake cakes every week, you need to ensure that your oven has pride of place on the kitchen top and does not need to be pulled out of the 10 ft. high loft in the kitchen wall.

4. Identify the paths you normally take. f you need to run from bedroom to the kitchen, make sure the route is clutter free. That extra side table can find place en route to the guest area!

I could go on and on but I suggest that you take some expert help to get you started and then start applying the principles on your own. And I guarantee it will relieve as much stress as a back massage, 6 times over.