When most people think of clutter, thoughts of messy, disorganized rooms tend to come to mind. However, there are actually 4 very different types of clutter.

Physical Clutter

Physical clutter includes physical things you have laying around that you don't like, use or have a place for. Typical physical clutter may include clothing, toys, appliances, books, video and/or audio tapes, collections, tools, sports gear, knick knacks, furniture, plants, computer software disks/CDs, catalogs, magazines, and so on.

Getting rid of clutter is all about decision making. First, ask yourself if you love it and/or if you use the object. If your answer is Yes to either question, the only decision you need to make is where to store it. Find an effective home for the object, and make sure if the object is removed from the assigned home, that it's returned when you're done with it.

If your answer is No to either question, make a decision to either give it away, sell it or dump it.

Paper Clutter

Everyone thought that when the computer age began to get strong, that paper would be a thing of the past. No such luck! Paper has grown tremendously, despite the dream of the paperless society. Paper clutter includes papers that don't contain information you're planning to use now or in the future, or papers that you do not have an effective place for. Typical paper clutter can include bills, warranties, letters, memos, cards, sticky notes, mail, advertising flyers, school papers, insurance policies, etc.

Always follow the 4 D's of effective paper management:

Do it: If an action is necessary with the paper you have, do the action right now and when you're done, decide if the paper needs to be filed, or can be recycled.

Delegate it: If the paper can be assigned to someone else or belongs to someone else, give or send it to that person immediately.

Delay it: If you need to take action on this paper, or if you need to reference it later on, delay it by putting it into an appropriate filing system, like my My Oh-So-Organized Filing System; a Tickler File System, a Bill Paying System, your filing cabinet, etc.

Dump it: Most of the papers we get on a daily basis can be dumped immediately. Open mail over the recycle bin. Go through your inbox every day.

Don't delay your decision or paper shuffle. Make a quick decision on the paper that comes into your life each day, and you'll be able to keep it under control.

Digital Clutter

Just when you thought paper was getting bad, digital clutter is catching up! The most common types of digital clutter-- information being stored that is not needed or isn't being stored effectively--are email messages, computer files, phone apps, digital photos, voicemail machine messages, and DVRd programming on your TV.

Get rid of your email clutter on a daily basis. Most email can be deleted simply by glancing at the subject line. Other emails can be deleted as soon as you take the action(s) that may be necessary. If you need to store an email, store it in an email folder. However, it will be necessary to weed out your email folders regularly just like you have to weed out paper folders.

Put some thought into how you name your computer files. This way, you can weed through them easily, without having to open each one. Consider keeping an index of your computer file names, the computer folders you're storing them in and a short description.

Most voicemail messages can be deleted by the end of each day. Take the necessary actions if any, and then delete your messages. Start each day off fresh!

Phone apps? Assess what you have each month and delete those you haven't used.

Delete digital photos that you really don't need to save (photos of your dinner, snapshots that turned out blurry, etc.). Upload the rest to a cloud-based service for safekeeping and remove them from your camera or device.

If you can't keep up with TV shows you've DVRd, stop recording them. Don't add any more until you've watched what you have. Or, if there's programming you're never going to watch, delete it.

Emotional Clutter

This type of clutter is rarely thought about or mentioned. But it definitely deserves more recognition because it's emotional clutter that holds us back from doing the things we need and/or want to do. Examples of emotional clutter are trying to remember everything we have to do, worrying or getting aggravated about things that we have no control over, fretting over everything that needs to be done, etc.

One of the best ways to reduce emotional clutter is to write out your thoughts, things to do, worries, etc. on paper. Very often, when you try to keep everything in your head, it can begin to seem overwhelming very quickly. Just writing out your tasks, thoughts, ideas, etc. will help you remember what you have to do and will help you see things more clearly. Many people can't believe how much better they feel when they simply write things down. Put 'the weight' on the paper; take the weight off of your mind!

For super quick details on how you can say goodbye to clutter, visit:

getorganizednow.com/rd-clutter.html

All people have clutter to some degree. You may have a little. You may have a ton. MOST people are somewhere right in the middle.

For anyone who has clutter, have no doubt in your mind that CLUTTER GROWS. Small clutter challenges soon turn into large clutter issues.

Plus, clutter is sneaky...it doesn't only show up in the pile of shoes you may have in your closet, the overload of toys in the toy room, the boxes of stuff in the basement, or the stuffed-to-the-max drawers and closets in your home. Clutter can actually invade your life in FOUR forms...

1. Physical Clutter
2. Paper Clutter
3. Digital Clutter
4. Emotional Clutter

Once clutter is here, it begins to wreak all sorts of havoc...

There is only one way to get rid of clutter...and that is by using a proven- effective clutter-removing system. Only then will you be able to face clutter head-on and have the clutter-free life you deserve.

Want to say goodbye to your clutter? I have just the thing you need for a glorious, clutter-free life. For more details, visit:

getorganizednow.com/rd-clutter.html

P.S. FALL SPECIAL! When you claim your very own copy of GOODBYE CLUTTER... before FRIDAY, October 29...you'll also get $144 in COMPLIMENTARY BONUSES (ALL written by me!)

___ 1. Do today's task on my October Monthly Organizing Checklist. The October 26 TO DO focuses on old hairdryers, straigteners, curling irons and such. Visit GetOrganizedNow.com to access my October Monthly Organizing Checklist.

___ 2. Get rid of some digital clutter. Whether it's old email, phone apps or computer software you're not using, DVRd programming...any digital clutter...invest 15 minutes getting rid of some of it today.

___ 3. Vote in my web poll. Our question of the month is, 'What are your favorite fall activities?' Vote in my poll. Results will be shared in an upcoming newsletter. Visit: GetOrganizedNow.com to access the poll and vote.

'If you have clutter in your real life, your tangible life, then it really adds to the emotional clutter in your mind.' (Giuliana Rancic)

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And remember...there's no better time to get organized, than to Get Organized Now!

Warmly,

Maria Gracia
Get Organized Now!
getorganizednow.com

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