Looking to Have a Happier and Healthier Year? Get Organized!

The fresh start a new year brings motivates many people to make positive changes in their lives. For some, that may be eating better or losing weight, for others it could include getting more involved in activities that help others. Unfortunately, other aspects of our lives, like poor organization, can negatively affect our abilities to achieve a healthier and happier year.

The Negative Impact of Disorganization

Psychological studies have proven that the organization and cleanliness of a home directly impacts both mental and physical health. According to Psychology Today, Individuals that lived in homes considered messy had an increased risk for heart disease and were found to be less physically active than those who kept them clean. Women in particular were more likely to experience depression and fatigue when they described their homes as “cluttered” or had many “unfinished projects,” and even had higher levels of cortisol, otherwise known as the stress hormone. Having clutter everywhere can also impact your ability to focus on important tasks as it overwhelms the visual cortex, making you feel as though you aren’t sure what to work on first. Even healthy eating can take a hit – the stress of an unorganized space can lead to coping mechanisms like snacking on comfort foods or overeating.

Getting Organized: Where to Start

If you’ve put off organizing for some time, getting started can feel overwhelming and stressful, but staying positive and working a little at a time will help you get through. Start by going through the items you have and decide what can be donated, thrown out, or even sold. Removing items from your home will help the task of reorganizing go much smoother.

Keep in mind that getting organized is going to take some time and effort, so don’t try to do too much at once. Start with just 15 minutes each day – or more if you’re up for it – simply cleaning and organizing your space. Once you get areas clean, resist the urge to fall back into bad habits. Put items back in their rightful places to maintain the hard work you’ve done.

Organize Your Home with Smart Storage Solutions

Decluttering can only help us organize so much if the storage spaces in our homes are less than adequate. Those big, useful kitchen appliances won’t see much use if they’re stuffed into cabinets with pans piled on top because you don’t have shelves. The laundry room will still accumulate mountains of dirty clothes on the floor if there’s nowhere for them to be sorted and kept for laundry day.

Evaluate the areas you could use better space utilization. Instead of installing a static shelf in the kitchen cabinets, purchase sliding pull-out shelves that make finding items a breeze. Ensure your laundry room or bathroom stays free of clutter with conveniently hidden laundry hamper solutions. You can even find a use for that weird “what-do-I-do-with-this” corner cabinet in the kitchen with blind corner storage. When it comes to organization and storage, being smart and strategic about space utilization will ensure no area is wasted.

Ready to get started with more creative organization ideas? Find great shelving products, storage solutions, and do-it-yourself tips at ShelvesThatSlide.com.