I sometimes work with people who want to declutter their home. The mess of all their stuff is overwhelming and now they don’t know where to start, don’t have the motivation. My first suggestion for decluttering is to sort every bit of the mess into one of three categories: Throw Away, Give Away, Put Away. Label three large boxes and just start tossing everything lying around into the right box. At the end of the day or week you take the trash out to the curb, bring the donations to the Goodwill, and put everything from the third box in its proper place. Repeat until your home is decluttered. Now sit back and enjoy the space.

I think we all feel cluttered, overwhelmed, and undermotivated sometimes, whether the mess is in our house or in our mind. Fortunately, the 3 Box Method can work for mind-clutter, too. Throw Away – We spend a lot of time worrying and ruminating about things that we can’t actually control. Just like trash in the house, there is no use keeping it around, tripping over it every day. Remove the stressors you can’t control by accepting them and moving on. Give Away – Don’t take on other people’s problems as your own. It doesn’t help either person and it increases stress for both. Learn to empathize, support, and help without owning their problems. Put Away – Deal with the things that you can change. Put them in their proper place by problem-solving healthy and effective solutions.

Repeat until your mind is decluttered. Now sit back and enjoy the peace.