DIVIDE AND CONQUER YOUR CLUTTER   Conquering clutter is literally a case of mind over matter. Clear your mind and your belief system about your possessions and ask yourself why you hang on to all the junk. Perhaps it’s sentimental, perhaps it’s that you don’t know what else to do with it, perhaps you haven't thought about it, perhaps it might be useful one day, or perhaps it’s because that’s how your parents lived. When possessions dominate our lives and our space they possess us! We could call them possessings! Make a start! Choose one space to clear, divide and conquer. A desk, a shelf a drawer or a room. But not the whole house in one day! Dividing means three boxes or bags. One for each of the following: JUNK – broken unusable stuff, bits and pieces not worth Recycling. Be ruthless - garbage is garbage. CHARITY - items that are no longer useful to you but may serve others. Be generous - the universe will reward you. STORAGE - homeless items that will still serve you.   NOW BE ORGANIZED After dividing, the next stage is conquering. TO CONQUER means to dispose of junk immediately. Donate items to charity, libraries, schools, friends with younger children, Salvation Army (think about who may benefit from the clutter). Store useful items, work out a home for them (even if it’s a box for now), get some categories going. Think about your house as a mini Supermarket. Store like-things accordingly and in a way where you can retrieve them for later use. Store items for auctioning or garage sales if you choose this method. Finally, thoroughly clean the area you have decluttered and observe how the energy has changed and how you have gained peace of mind. Put back only the necessary.   The Psychology of Clutter The Dictionary Definition of Clutter: A heap or assemblage of things lying in confusion; litter; to crowd together in disorder; to jumble. According to the principles of Feng Shui, ‘that which is on the outside, closely resembles that which resides on the inside’. We see our immediate surroundings as a macrocosm (or barometer) of our internal and often intensely private state of being. If you place a small child in a large, spacious, relatively open-plan bedroom, they will be more likely to add the comforting clutter of many stuffed toys and cuddly cushions to their immediate surroundings, ie their bed. Clutter can provide a sense of security and safety for those who feel an added need for nurturing and protection. If you notice your child (or teenager) is creating a clutter barrier across the doorway to their bedroom, it could indicate they are afraid of facing some kind of situation in their external environment, and they may need extra attention and reassurance. The presence of continual clutter in an adult’s personal environment (ie in the bedroom or office) can often reflect a deep, and subconscious need for self-protection and nourishment. At this level, clutter provides a physical barrier, which may reflect an emotional fear of change and strong desire for self-protection. However, just because your office is messy, doesn’t necessarily mean that you are automatically feeling insecure and unloved. It can also indicate the hectic pace at which you are currently living and working. Your cluttered external environment can reflect the difficulties you encounter while trying to keep up with the continual demands you face each day (both on a professional and personal level). Ironically, as your working environment grows smaller and more enclosed with clutter, the more pressured you will feel. If you continue to work in a very cluttered, cramped work environment, your health will inevitably suffer from mould and mildew build up, dust mite accumulation and stale air. Your mind will suffer from the added stress of not being able to find things amongst all the clutter, and your spirit will be subdued from continually having to face a cluttered work environment each day. Take a good look around your office, and if you can see piles of unfinished and unordered paperwork taking up the majority of your desk and creeping onto your floor space, then it would be a good idea to practice some basic time management and organize an office spring clean. You could plan to arrive at the office half an hour earlier each day for the next week, and systematically sort through a new pile of clutter each day. Open the door and windows to your office to let in some fresh air and make a concerted effort to sort through the clutter by prioritizing it into areas of most important to least important and simply rubbish. If you are in the habit of being disordered in the office, then you could invest in some filing trays, which are clearly marked in order of priority and importance, (as well as work pending and work completed). If you have a secretary or administration assistant, make sure they regularly take care of the filing and return paperwork to the correct location as soon as you’ve finished with it. Place completed paperwork in an appropriately labeled tray so it can be easily recognized and filed. Start a routine of beginning and ending each day with a clean workspace. Facing a pile of cluttered files and papers stacked all over your work desk each day will psychologically leave you feeling drained and unmotivated. If you are seeking new direction and change in your life, the best way to begin is with a thorough de-cluttering session. Let the fresh air and sunshine in, and sort through the accumulated mess around you. Clearing your external environment of unused and unwanted clutter will psychologically help you discard emotional baggage and subconscious blockages, thus allowing you to think more clearly about your future direction.