The Thanksgiving Sanity Game Plan is a detailed timeline to help you prepare for the grand feasting day.  Our tables should be filled with our favorite people and dishes and maybe some new ones.  It also can cause anxiety.  With this Thanksgiving Sanity Game Plan you will keep your sanity.  There are many decisions, tasks and cooking that can be made ahead of time. It is broken down into phases with tasks in a timeline.  So, allow yourself at least 1 week, more if possible. 

Thanksgiving Sanity Game Plan Phase One

The Planning Stage

1. Make a guest list.
2. Decide on you main dish. Fresh turkeys have to be ordered ahead of time.  A 12 to 16 pound turkey is ideal.  You will need 1 pound per guest.  If you want leftovers plan on 1 1/2 pounds per person.  A 12 pound turkey will feed 8 with leftovers.
3. Do you have everything you need to cook you main dish?
4. Plan your menu. Take into account the size of your oven, stove top, microwave, toaster oven, slow cookers, thermoses and any other heating appliances you have.
5. Start your next 2 lists.  The first list will be non-perishable items and equipment. The second will be perishable.  Lists are essential to the Thanksgiving Sanity Game Plan!

The Equipment

1. Check your table linens. Do they need washing or ironing? Do you have to purchase them?  Measure the size of the table and be sure to have enough napkins.  Add them to your list.
2. Are you using candles or floral arrangements to decorate your table.  Order any floral. heck your candle supply and candle sticks. Add what ever you need to the list.
3. Will you serve buffet style or family style?  Formal or casual?  Sit down dinner or sit anywhere?  It is a family holiday and my choice would be to sit down together at the table.
4. Plan meals that reduce the amount of food in your refrigerator and freezer.
5. Take out the serving platters, dishes and utensils you plan on using for your side dishes.  Put the corresponding utensil with the corresponding serving piece.  Label its contents on a sticky note and place on the piece.  Add any missing items to your list.
6. Check your kitchen equipment. For instance, pie and baking dishes, and anything else you might need.

Thanksgiving Sanity Game Plan Phase Two – Starting to Prep

1. If you wish to delegate dishes to your guests, do not delegate anything that has to be cooked or reheated.
2. Gather your recipes, both food and drink.  Make photo copies or print so they are all in one place so you don’t overlook an ingredient.  Look through your freezer, fridge, pantry and spices to see what you have on hand and check for freshness. Place a check next to the ingredients you have on hand and decide which can be made ahead or frozen.  For example, pie crusts, turkey stock and gravy and pureed squashes freeze beautifully.  Be sure to check your supply of freezer bags and left over containers. As a result of your fabulous feast, your guest may want to share your leftovers.
3. Make 2 lists so that you have one for ingredients that you are going to buy now. Another one for those you will buy the week of Thanksgiving.

The Prep

1. Shop your first list and be sure to include the liquor store.
2. Make your pie crusts and freeze in round disks.  Additionally, make extra for turkey pot pies.
3. Start your turkey stock from backs, wings, legs, whatever is available to you.  Pour into a resealable freezer bag and freeze.
4. Roast squash.  You can serve it either as a soup or a puree.  Pour into a freezer bag and freeze.
5. Prep any other dishes that freeze nicely.

The Week Before

1. Frozen turkeys defrost at about 4 pounds a day in your fridge. A 16 pound turkey will take 4 days.  You will want it defrosted by Tuesday so that you have time to brine, dry rub,etc.  Other large pieces of meat should follow the same time line
2. Check your glasses, dishes and cutlery you plan on using.  Do they need to go through the dishwasher?
3. Clean your house.  You will be busy the days leading up to Thanksgiving. Therefore, the more you have done, the less insane you will be.

Sign up to say YES to organizing

This is the final phase of the Thanksgiving Day Sanity Game Plan.  If you haven’t had the time to do anything, you can use the weekend to catch up.  If you are still pressed for time, you can still pull off a fabulous Thanksgiving dinner. Just click here. Staying Sane

The Weekend Before Thanksgiving

1. Shop for the list of perishable items.
2. Cranberry sauce can stay fresh in the refrigerator for a week or more. 
3. Cube any bread you are using for the stuffing. Put it on a baking tray on the counter to stale.
4. Prep and cook any vegetables you are using in your stuffing and refrigerate.
5. Prep and cook any vegetables that are components of one of your recipes and store separately in your fridge.
6. If you didn’t order your table flowers, pick them up.

Monday, Tuesday

1. Start defrosting your prepared dishes.
2. Prepare any casseroles that can be reheated.
3. Make your stuffing.
4. If you have the room, set up your drink station with everything your guests will need.  A drink station allows guests to serve them selves. 
5. To make room in your refrigerator, take a clean cooler, and add some ice. Store your drinks like soda, bottled water, mixers, wines and beer in it.  Check it daily for ice.  Since you stored some items in your freeze, you can also add them to the cooler. Check that there are no tears in the bags, especially the corners.

Wednesday

1. Thanksgiving is tomorrow. All the work you do today will allow you the time to enjoy the day with your family and friends.
2. Your turkey should be defrosted so it is time to prep the bird. If you are going to stuff it wait until tomorrow. 
3. It’s time to bake the pies and any other dessert item you plan on serving.
4. Clean up the kitchen.
5. Set a beautiful table.
6. Order take-out

Thanksgiving Day Sanity Game Plan

1. Clean up after breakfast.
2. Finish prepping your turkey if necessary, and bring to room temperature.  The bird will cook more evenly if it is not taken from fridge to oven. Take the turkey out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before roasting. You can now stuff the turkey if that is your tradition or put it in a baking dish.  Time when to put your turkey in the oven to be ready for dinner.  For a 12 pound unstuffed bird it will take 3 hours at 375°. A 15 pound one will take 3 1/2 hours.  Stuffed, a 12 pound turkey will take 4 hours at 325°. A 15 pound bird will take 4 3/4 hours.  Don’t forget to include at least a 30 minute rest period.  Dinner should begin about 30-45 minutes after your guests arrive.
3. Cook your potatoes and mash or rice them.  The finished mashed potatoes can be kept warm in a slow cooker.  Put a piece of foil over the top of the cooker and set the lid down on it.  It will prevent evaporation so your potatoes stay creamy.
4. Prepare any last minute dishes or appetizers.

3 Hours to Guests Arrival

1. At least 3 hours before dinner, run your dishwasher if it is not empty.
2. 2 hours before dinner take refrigerated preparations out of the fridge, in order for them to come to room temperature.
3. Get your prepared gravy or turkey stock in a pan on the stove so it is ready to be reheated.
4. Check the turkey’s temperature and see how it is doing. It needs to be around 155°.  The turkey’s temperature will rise as it rests the breast needs to be at 165° and the thighs at 170°.  Subsequently, allowing the bird to fully cook in the oven leads to a dry turkey.
5. One hour before your guests arrive, plate your appetizers, especially any cheeses.  Cheeses should be served at room temperature.
6. Open wines and fill your drink station.
7. Check the temperature of the turkey.
8. As soon as the turkey comes out of the oven, adjust the heat of your oven to the required temperature to heat/cook your sides.  Add any turkey pan juices to your stock. Finish making your gravy.  You can leave it on the back burner on the lowest setting

The Moment Your Guests Arrive

1. Everything is under control so take the time to greet your guests. Take their things and offer them a drink. Let them know they are free to refill their glasses.  Spend a moment with them chatting.
2. 20 minutes before serving check on the gravy.
3. 10 minutes before dinner, take your sides out of the oven and re-plate if that’s your plan.
4. Get the mashed potatoes out of the slow cooker and put into its designated container.
5. Carve the turkey.
6. Just before you sit down to dinner, place your cooked pies in the warm oven. They will be the perfect temperature for serving.
7. Dinner is served.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving Sanity!

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Are you short on time or experience?  Thanksgiving is a family and friends holiday centered around food and family.  The dinner is the epicenter of Thanksgiving and with the Thanksgiving Shortcuts Plan it will be great!  Outsourcing what ever you can is the key to Thanksgiving Shortcuts Plan.  There are some great products available so don’t think that you have to produce the entire meal by yourself.

The Saturday Before Thanksgiving Shortcuts Plan

1. Get a count of how many people will be at dinner.
2. Make a menu of what you would like to have to serve your guests. 
3. Out of the items on your menu, choose the ones you want to make from scratch. What do you want to buy prepared. 
4. Some markets will sell you a prepared turkey dinner or just a turkey if you order it early enough. Some require only 2 days advance order and others up to a week or more.  They also offer ready made sides.
5. Order pies, desserts and rolls from your favorite bakery or pick up something at the market.
6. Delegate dishes but avoid assigning anything that has to be cooked or reheated. 
7. Print or photocopy any recipes you wish to make. Go through your fridge, freezer, pantry and spices to see what you have. so you can check off the items on the recipes that you have.
8. Plan to prepare meals from items in your fridge and freezer in the next few days.
9. Make a list of any ingredients you need for both food, drink and of what you are going to buy prepared.
10. Check your table linens.  Do they need to be pressed?  Is paper acceptable?
11. If you are planning on decorating your table check your candles, etc.  Order floral arrangements or pick up something at the market.
12. Take out all of your serving platters, dishes and utensils that you need to serve your feast.  Put a sticky note with the dish that goes in and the corresponding utensil on the server.
13. Do you have all the tools you need in order to prepare your dinner for the table?
14. Go shopping.
15. If you purchased a frozen turkey start defrosting it now in the fridge.  Better still buy a fresh one if you can.  If you need room in your fridge, use a clean cooler with ice. Store bottled water, wine, beer, soda and other low risk items.  Check the cooler for ice daily.

The Sunday Before Thanksgiving Shortcuts Plan

1. Clean only the rooms in your house where your guests will be in order to save time.
2. Time to start prepping some food.  For example, if you decided to make your own stuffing, cube the bread, place it on a baking sheet on the counter, so that it will get stale.  Precook any vegetables that go in the stuffing and refrigerate.  If pie is your thing, make the crusts and an extra for turkey pot pie.  Squash dishes will hold in the refrigerate until Thanksgiving as long as they are properly contained.  Prepare as much as possible today.
3. If you have the room, set up your drink station with everything needed.  A drink station allows guests to serve them selves.

Monday & Tuesday

1. Review you list so that you can be sure you didn’t miss or forget anything.
2. Make stuffing.
3. Check your dinnerware and cutlery.  Do they need attention?
4. Set your beautiful table.

Wednesday

1. Make casseroles that can be reheated.
2. Prep your turkey if you are cooking one.  Do not put stuffing in it until just before you are ready to cook the bird.
3. Make any pies or desserts.

Thanksgiving Day Shortcuts Plan

1. Make your mashed potatoes and then store you finished mashed potatoes in a slow cooker.  If you don’t have a slow cooker use a disposable baking pan covered in foil. Then you can warm them in your oven or toaster oven.
2. Run the dishwasher at least 3 hours in advance of guests arriving if necessary. 
3. Finish making any last minute side dishes.
4. When done with prepping, clean up the kitchen and empty the kitchen sink.
5. Finish prepping your turkey if necessary, and bring to room temperature.  The bird will cook more evenly if it is not taken from fridge to oven. Take the turkey out of the refrigerator 1-2 hours before roasting. You can now stuff the turkey.  Time when to put your turkey in the oven to be ready for dinner.  For a 12 pound unstuffed bird it will take 3 hours at 375°. A 15 pound one will take 3 1/2 hours.  Stuffed a 12 pound turkey will take 4 hours at 325°. A 15 pound bird will take 4 3/4 hours .  Don’t forget to include at least a 30 minute rest period.  Dinner should begin about 30-45 minutes after your guests arrive.
6. 2 hours before dinner take refrigerated preparations out of the fridge, in order to come to room temperature.
7. Get your prepared gravy or turkey stock in a pan on the stove so it is ready to be reheated.
8. Check the turkey’s temperature and see how it is doing. It needs to be around 155°.  The turkey’s temperature will rise as it rests the breast needs to be at 165° and the thighs at 170°.  Subsequently, allowing the bird to fully cook in the oven leads to a dry turkey.
9. One hour before your guests arrive, plate your appetizers, especially any cheeses.
10. Open wines and fill your drink station.
11. Check the temperature of the turkey.
12. As soon as the turkey comes out of the oven, tent with foil. Adjust the heat of your oven to the required temperature to heat/cook your sides.  Add any turkey pan juices to your gravy.  You can leave it on the back burner on the lowest setting.

The Moment Your Guests Arrive

1. Everything is under control so take the time to greet your guests. Bring them to the drink station and offer them a drink. Let them know they are free to refill their glasses. 
2. 20 minutes before serving check on the gravy.
3. 10 minutes before dinner, take your sides out of the oven and re-plate if that’s your plan.
4. Get the mashed potatoes out of the slow cooker and put into its designated container.
5. Carve the turkey.
6. Just before you sit down to dinner, place your cooked pies in the warm oven. They will be the perfect temperature for serving.
7. Dinner is served.  Enjoy your Thanksgiving!

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Aging in Place is something we usually don’t think about until it becomes an issue. 90% of seniors want to stay in their homes, they know where everything is, they know the neighbors and everything is familiar to them.  They have a routine.  As we age, a house becomes more of a burden than the family home it once was.  If your decision is to age in place for as long as possible, then you need to plan ahead.  That plan needs to begin before it becomes necessary. 

Questions to Ask Yourself about Aging In Place

What are the financial costs to make essential modifications and maintenance to your home? 

Is your home in a more rural area?  Aging eyes often have problems driving in the dark and the location may reduce their ability to attend social outings and family gatherings.

Are there still friends and family close by?  If friends and family may have moved away, it will lead to isolation.

How far away is medical assistance?

What factors determine that it is no longer safe?  Some factors include safety from falls, chronic illnesses, loss of a spouse, malnutrition, isolation, break-ins, scams and more. How self-reliant are you?  How much can you rely on family, friends and other outside services?   Making a decision about that ahead of time takes the emotion out of the question and you will make the decision with a clearer head.

Or are you going to downsize?  Aging in Place may mean selling the family home but it doesn’t mean moving to an institution. Aging in Place has many different faces. A move to an apartment or condo does mean a smaller living space but it also means a lot less maintenance and upkeep.  There is no yard to tend, no snow to shovel or walls that need painting.  The plumber, HVAC technicians and electricians are only a phone call away to the manager.

Moving in with a family member or friend is another option. This option works best for all parties concerned when you have your own private space and you downsize before moving. If a private space isn’t available then perhaps remodeling a section or having an addition put on the house.  Inviting someone who is younger to come live with you is another choice.  As with any of the other options, a good deal has to be considered such as how well do you really know them, what are their lifestyles and personalities like.

If the best decision is to remain in your home, then there are ways to help you reduce your dependency.

Take Inventory of Possibly Aging in Place

Make a list of regular maintenance tasks.  For example, cleaning gutters.  It can be a hazardous job climbing a latter and reaching for the debris.  Solution: Install gutter guards.  Now you are no long going to have to rely on someone to do it.  Digging for things in kitchen cabinets…get pullout shelves.  Look for trip hazards, such as throw rugs, cords and uneven flooring.  Do hand rails need to be installed in the bathroom?  There is a comprehensive list on this website.

De-clutter to Safely Age in Place

Clear hallways and entrances reduce your chances of falling.  If you can’t freely move through you space with ease then you are inviting a fall.  Closets and cabinets that are overflowing pose the threat of having something fall on you and possibly leave you unconscious.  What served you in the past will not necessarily serve you in the future.  Your safety is paramount.

Your Golden Years

I don’t know where that phrase came from, perhaps the gold of a setting sun.  No matter.  What does matter is that you have lived a life that isn’t over, you have worked, endured, possibly raised a family.  Look at your hands and think about all they have done.  Now you should live your best life under the best circumstances for you.   

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The longer we live, the more we need  to de-clutter the representations but not the memories we collect.  Some collections are occupying too much living space and others are stored somewhere.  More times then not, they are forgotten.  I had an experience with the loss of one of my representations of memories with a dearly loved one.

My Grandmother’s Bowl

It’s a beautiful bowl from the Art Deco Era.  It’s beauty extends beyond its physical appearance through my memories.  Memories of going to grandma’s house for holiday dinners.  We always went to my mother’s parents house.  I was a young child and both of my grandparents were still alive.  I can still picture my family sitting around the table filled with food and chatter.  For me, that bowl symbolized the feelings I experienced having holidays at grandma’s house.  

During my last visit to my mom’s, she brought me over to her china hutch and said “Take whatever you want.  I am de-cluttering.”  So I took this bowl.  When I came home, I put it in my china hutch.

A short time later, on a beautiful, sunny summer day I came home with some big dark red cherries.  As I walked past the china hutch, I caught the sight of the bowl out of the corner of my eye.  I decided that these beautiful cherries deserved a beautiful bowl.  So, I took grandma’s bowl out of the hutch and filled it with cherries.  The bowl went in the fridge and for the most of cherry season, I refilled it with nature’s bounty.  One day, as I was putting the bowl back in the fridge, it tapped a shelf, cracked and then split into 2 pieces. 

Devastation!

Yes at first, I was devastated.  But when I really thought about it, I had used the bowl and not just let it sit on a shelf.  It became part of the fabric of our lives.  Every time I opened the refrigerator door I would see the bowl and smile to myself.  It had given me more.  Granted, it is gone, but I still have my memories.

You won’t Lose Your Memories if You De-Clutter if You De-Clutter Your Representations

Here are some ways for de-cluttering while still retaining the representations.  One of the easiest ways is to make them useful if possible.  Another is to display them where they can give you pleasure on a daily basis.  You could take a picture of the item(s), frame them and hang them on your walls.  This works particularly well with items, artwork and awards from your children’s life.  Also is good for large items.

A method to If you have too many representations of memories in your house, de-clutter by thinking about downsizing as if you are going to move into a smaller home.  This forces you to examine how much you care about that particular memory.

“Memory is the guardian and treasury of all things.”

~MARCUS CICERO

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Did you know?

Make up a Give Back Box (or 2) this Holiday Season and all year long. Contact me for more information

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The problem lies in the emotional attachment to too many things

The belief that objects are of greater value than just their function or appearance

The Empty Chair

is an emotional attachment and is symbolic of the missing person in our life.  The chair on its own has no emotion.  It is who sat in that chair is what attaches emotion to the chair.  Leaving the chair in the room is a constant reminder of what was.  The past and not the future.  Will you forget the person who sat in that chair if the chair is no longer there?  I think for some that is a real fear, if the chair goes away, the memory goes with it.  Do you think you could completely erase them from your brain because an object is gone.

It is better for your mental health if there isn’t a constant reminder that the person is no longer with you in the physical world.  Not having constant reminders will help you to live in the present moment.

Gifts

 Guilt is the emotion often attached to gifts.  ‘So & So’ gave this to me.  Even though I don’t like it and use it, I can’t get rid of it.’  What is the purpose of a gift?  It is to let someone know that you care about them.  Once it is given, its job is done.  The object now belongs to you and it is yours to do with what you please.  Read this blog post to better understand the job of gifts Gifts Can Add to Clutter

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From where you are today, do you think you could be happier then you are now living in your current space?  Do you think that you can improve your mental health by having less clutter?  Where is your clutter? Is it  hidden behind closed doors or are you living in the midst of it?  Even for those with their clutter hidden behind closed doors, you still know it is there and it is the elephant in your head.  Good mental health is essential to living a happy and fulfilling life.

You can Improve Your Mental Health by…

Create in your mind your ideal space, your happy ending.  State your ‘Why’.  Write it down somewhere you can see it often.  Visualize what ever that is for you.  How will the room/closet look?  Picture yourself or someone else enjoying the space.  The more details you can add the better but the more important thing is to just start.

Keep the Faith

Know, and I do mean Know, not just think that it is possible.  Don’t do wishful thinking.  Don’t doubt it.  Know in your heart that you will prevail!  When you feel your motivation dwindling, Remember your ‘Why’.  Also, here are some inspirational quotes to keep you going.

• “Out of clutter, find simplicity. From discord, find harmony. In the middle of difficulty lies opportunity.” – Albert Einstein, Physicist
• “You can’t reach for anything new if your hands are still full of yesterday’s junk.” – Louise Smith, Racing Driver, “The First Lady of Racing”
• “Clutter is not just physical stuff. It’s old ideas, toxic relationships and bad habits. Clutter is anything that does not support your better self.” – Eleanor Brown, Author
• “Discipline is doing what needs to be done, when it needs to be done, when we don’t want to do it.” – Bobbi DePorter, Author and Educator
• “Don’t own so much clutter that you will be relieved to see your house catch fire.” – Wendell Berry, Novelist
• “The secret to getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain, Writer and Humorist

Address the Reality of the Situation…What is the State of Your Mental Health?

Really take a look at the space.  Start by scanning the contents.  Where you eye pauses, ask yourself…

Why is it here?  Is it yours or is someone storing their things in your space?

Do I love it or need it?

Am I emotionally attached to it, if so what purpose does it serve in my life today?

Can I let go of it?

Emotional attachment is not the item itself but what it represents to you.

Then continue on scanning the room some more, asking yourself the same questions each time your eyes pause.

Then Make a Plan For a Happier You

Look for more on Emotional Attachment in the next in the series on the relationship between Mental Health and being Organized.

The post Mental Health…Getting to a Happier, More Organized You appeared first on The Neat Consultant.

was the overwhelming response to a poll I recently conducted in which I asked the question “What is your ‘why’ for being organized?”.  79% stated their mental well being as their reason for being organized.  The other responses they gave were;

just under 10% – Being an example to their kids

and just over 11% – Easier to find stuff

October is Mental Health Month.  The overwhelming response to my question, indicated how important mental health is in our society.  I was surprised at how many of the respondents stated that being organized is a contributing factor to their mental well being.  Yet it makes perfect sense.  When your space is organized, it, provides you with a feeling of having control over your space and not your environment controlling how you live.  During the pandemic, many experienced stress, anxiety, fear, sadness and loneliness.  For some, those who had pre-existing mental health disorders, including anxiety and depression, felt them worsen.

So let’s end the month with doing one thing to be more organized…clean out your junk drawer.  We all have at least one.  Pick one, empty it out, and put back only what you need, not what you think you might need at some distant date in the future, but what you need in the now.  If a future you does need it, junk drawer items are easily and inexpensively replaced.

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It’s Difficult to Live a Normal Life in Abnormal Surroundings.

Here’s how Clutter Affects Your Health, Relationships, Career, and Finances.

How clutter affects your health and more were analyzed by Storage company Make Space through various studies on clutter and hoarding.  They spoke to psychotherapists, physicians, and professional organizers to learn more about the psychological reasons for clutter and its negative effects.

Clutter Affects Your health

Your apartment isn’t the only thing affected by over-accumulation of stuff. Clutter affects your health with tangible effects on your mental and physical wellbeing.

1 – Increases your stress

Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin found people with cluttered homes full of unfinished projects had more depression, fatigue, and had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than those who described their homes as “restful” and “restorative.”

Cortisol declines normally during the day.  The study also mentions that as a result of cortisol’s failure to decline normally over the course of the day has “been associated with greater chronic stress, disease progression, and even mortality risk.”

2 – Wrecks your diet

A study in Psychological Science found that participants in an orderly environment chose healthier snacks than those in a cluttered environment.  Therefore, to loose weight, loose the clutter.

“Clutter is stressful for the brain, so you’re more likely to resort to coping mechanisms such as choosing comfort foods or overeating than if you spend time in neater surroundings,” explains Dr Eva Shaloub.

3 – Triggers respiratory issues

The harder it gets to access different areas of the home to clean, the more serious these respiratory issues become.  Studies have found clutter affects your health in homes due to a higher percentage of more dust.  Subsequently can cause or amplify breathing problems.

As more things pile up, more dust is generated. This creates the ideal living environment for pests like dust mites.

4 – Threatens your safety

Mental health experts have warned that excessive amounts of clutter – especially cardboard boxes, paper, and clothing – can block doorways and windows, creating a serious fire hazard.  It also creates more opportunities for tripping and falling.

Clutter hurts your relationships

If you share your home with others, excessive clutter is no longer just a “you” problem. Clutter in your home can also negatively impact the lives of your significant other and kid(s).

1 – Jeopardizes your love life

People with hoarding disorder persistently have difficulty getting rid of things because of a perceived need to save them. They also feel distressed at the thought of parting with their belongings. This can take a toll on one’s marriage.  Studies have shown that compulsive hoarders have higher rates of divorce.

Clutter’s negative impact on marriage is not limited to hoarders. “Spouses of a cluttered person who are bothered by the condition of the environment express their discomfort in judgment, negative comments, name calling, anger and irritability,” writes Debbie Bowie, a Certified Professional Organizer.

2 – Upsets your kids

If you have kids, they too can feel the negative effects of a cluttered home. Studies have shown that kids living in a severely cluttered environment often have elevated levels of distress, experiencing less happiness and more difficulty making friends.

3 – Isolates you

The cleanliness of your home can affect your desire to invite anyone into it. To clarify, Rubbermaid conducted a survey by Russell Research. Nearly half of surveyed homeowners said they won’t invite friends over if their home is cluttered.

Try not to go too far in the opposite direction.  Though, as living in an overly tidy and controlled environment can also cause stress. According to Kellie Rice Psy.D., CGP, that level of anxiety makes it hard for someone to leave the house because he/she is so preoccupied with whether or not it’s neat enough.

Clutter derails your career

“If a person doesn’t have control over their home environment, they use work as an escape,” says Connor McClenahan Psy.D.  People with messy tendencies rarely confine their disorganization to just their homes. Meaning that chaos can seep into your professional life, too.

1 – Less Promotions

A chaotic desk, an untidy briefcase or purse, and an undefined filing system (or no filing system at all) can all have a major impact on your job performance.  A CareerBuilder study found that 28 per cent of employers are less likely to promote someone with a messy workspace.

2 – Makes you miss work

Researchers have found compulsive hoarding was associated with an average of seven work impairment days per month.  That’s more than those reported by participants with other anxiety, mood, and substance abuse disorders.

3 – Decreases productivity

A cluttered environment lets the chaos inhibits your ability to focus. A study by the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute observed that “multiple stimuli present in the visual field at the same time compete for neural representation.”

A desk strewn with papers, snacks, photos, and pens will probably beat out any kind of productivity you had planned for the day. The research also shows that a clean work environment will help you be more productive, less moody, and better able to process information.

Clutter drains your wallet

A messy home can negatively affect how you manage your finances. Subsequently it can lead to poor money management and severe debt. There are solutions to these issues, therefore being able to find your electric bill is a good place to start.

1 – Encourages bad spending habits

A cluttered home makes it easy to misplace things. If you can’t find an item, like your yoga mat or your dog’s favorite toy, you might buy a duplicate.  This habit, combined with spending a lot of money to hoard items, can get you into debt.

2 – Keeps you in debt

As a result of clutter, it is difficult to locate credit card bills and bank statements. Consequently, another lost bill leads to another late payment. Suddenly, you’re dealing with additional fees, higher interest rates, or even collection agencies.

The post Clutter Affects Your Health and More appeared first on The Neat Consultant.

• a parent – sleep disruption and your clothes as napkins
• a chef – long hours on your feet
• a customer service rep – customers being disrespectful

Are those the things you thought of or was it holding that precious baby, the fabulous dishes you were going to create and how you were going to help people.  We all have certain expectations when we chose a career, relationship, lifestyle and hobbies.   The big and life changing choices definitely get more brain time than the small ones but we don’t always see all that comes with our choices.  The small ones get even less consideration but can have a compound effect on how we live our lives.

Visualize you are walking through Macy’s (or your favorite store) and you see the perfect outfit for you on a mannequin.  You exam it more closely, feel the fabric, maybe check the price.  You have decided that you must have it.  Now you stroll into the shoe department to find the perfect pair for your new fabulous outfit.  Next the jewelry department because it needs the perfect earrings.

Did it cross your mind where you were going to store these new purchases?  Therefore our expectations on a new outfit usually only focuses on the positive features of our gaining a new outfit, not on the flip side.  Your closet is already bulging, your shoe collection is sizable and your jewelry is all over the place.  It takes you a while to get ready in the morning because you can’t find what you want or you forgot what you have.  This is the compound effect of you shopping thought process and not making the decision to eliminate things that no longer fit or no longer serve your lifestyle.

Daily Choices

The choices you make daily determine your lifestyle.  What is the expectation if you decide not to fold and put the laundry away in a timely fashion, then your choice is to dig wrinkled clothes out of the laundry basket and have the laundry basket remind you of something you need to do.  What is the expectation if you decide not to do the dishes, at least on a daily basis, then you are inviting bugs, mold, order and a more unpleasant job of doing the dishes later.  These are not the expectations that are considered.  Think about the flip side you your daily choices and the compound effect they can have on the way you live and work.

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