My office/workout room AFTER we took out the king size bed. Yep, I’m battling clutter this week as I transform this space into something functional.

This week I’m starting to tackle all the crap that we’ve accumulated in my office/workout area. For months we’ve been storing junk in here and just recently we added a second litter box to the room – our cat doesn’t feel the need to walk all the way down to the basement when there is a perfectly good carpet on the second floor. Grrrrr!!!

I for one hate clutter. When I see it I stop focusing on my current task and start fixating on the mess. Since we had a few other important things to do around the house before taking on this room, I made the decision to stay out of the room unless I absolutely had to hunt for something.

Otherwise I’d go bonkers seething with rage that my beloved office turned into our junk room.

Plus I got tired hitting my hands, feet and head on my desk, sofa table and bed rails when trying to do yoga poses or using my resistance bands.

Connection Between Clutter & Weight?
I’ve read lots of stories that claim there is a connection between clutter and weight. But most are professional organizers claiming such a connection. Sort of self-serving if you ask me.

That said, I think there might be something to it. Certainly one of the first things I did whenever I started a diet was to “organize my kitchen and pantry.”

It seems like there is an emotional component to clutter and our waistline. Many people are emotional eaters – I eat when bored or stressed. Certainly living in clutter seems to come from an emotional place too. It can certainly add to your stress levels, which can potentially trigger hormones that make you want to eat. And like with weight, it serves as an obstacle to doing what you really want. Or as Steven Pressfield would say, clutter is just another form of Resistance — a dream blocking barrier and internal naysayer.

Also there is something in our psyche that allows things – like food and objects – to control us rather than the other way around. I know for me when I changed my perspective that food is only fuel, I was able to let go of things a lot easier. In fact, when I started my low carb lifestyle, I regularly visited Goodwill to donate clothes, purses, kitchen appliances, books, tools, knick knacks…anything that cluttered my home.

There’s something freeing in letting go of “stuff.”

Of course, staying clutter-free is another thing altogether.

Hiding junk in a closet doesn’t make the clutter go away — no matter how many nice containers it’s stored in. Time to let go of “things” just like I let go of food’s control over me.

Clean Up Starts In Earnest
This weekend we finally bid adieu to our king size bed (which we stored in my office). That freed up a ton of space and now I’m plotting how I want to organize the room – I’m downsizing my office workspace and adding a small craft area specifically for sewing and knitting.

But before I do that I’m spending the day clearing out the rest of the clutter – old bills & bank statements, filled notepads, old computers and cables.

Then there is the dreaded closet. It’s the new storage place for stuff we thought we didn’t know what to do with. But reality is we were too lazy to do the necessary work. It always comes down to doing the work!

Boxes of photos in need of albums. Framed pictures in want of a wall or shelf. Many games, backpacks, exercise equipment to be donated or sold at the community yard sale. And frankly crap we just need to toss.

So this room is my summer project. To help me, I’m picking up a copy of Francine Jay’s The Joy of Less: A Minimalist Guide to Declutter, Organize and Simplify. I hate clutter. But organization isn’t necessarily a specialty and it’s something I want to master.

Oh, and I am picking up the Kindle version…no need for another physical book in a small house with too many books and very few shelves.