3 Things That Help "Type A" People De-stress

Every weekend for the past year, I've either been traveling or doing a house project. 

For the most part, I've been able to stay organized, keep on top of the laundry, cleaning, and other household chores, but there has been an ever growing pile of paperwork 

in our home office that was really starting to irritate me. 

As a self-confessed "Type A" personality, things such as clutter, messiness, asymmetry... they really irk me.  As I prioritize my time, I rationalize that the things I don't have time for right now, I will get to later... but after a while I realize that I haven't really been being laid back about it.  Actually, I've been moving all this clutter into a pile somewhere in the house where I don't have to look at it every day.  

I had a Monica's closet situation on my hands. 

Having a cluttered, messy, house really stresses me out.  

I always will make time to clean, but if I run out of time to organize (i.e. file paperwork, mail, etc.) then my coping mechanism is Hoard and Hide.  Hahaha. 

Above all else, more than exercise, sleep, food, or wine... these 3 things always help me de-stress.

1. Make highly organized, color coordinated, "To-do" lists - Making lists makes me feel like I have some sort of handle on everything going on around me.  It makes planning and tackling all the tasks/errands/projects a bit easier.  It helps me to remember everything that I have going on and also to better prioritize my time.  Getting things down onto paper helps free up your mind and the constant churning of reminding thoughts.  The color coordinated part might speak more about my girly-ness than actually being Type A...
2. Clean - This is a big one for me.  We all have our little pet peeves and different levels of tolerance for mess.  My tolerance level is pretty low.  I can leave a dish here or there on the counter and come home to clean it later, but under no circumstances can I let stuff like that linger for more than a day without it really stressing me out.  When I can stay on top of cleaning, it really helps me feel more relaxed in my environment.
3. Organize - Organization can sometimes get looked over for other immediate
   "to-do" items, but if I leave it for too long and build up a "Monica" closet, it starts to weigh on me. However, the level of satisfaction I get from clearing out a room, getting rid of things, filing paperwork, shredding old bills, etc... is the BEST feeling EVER.  Hahaha.  It might sound ridiculous, but it's like finishing a marathon.  I've always felt this way about organizing.  I remember being in middle school/high school and offering to organize other people's rooms for them: FOR FREE!  I thought it was fun.  I have other friends that feel the same way, so I know I'm not crazy.  Hahaha. ;)

Anyway, the reason I mention this in a Mindful Monday post is because I think these 3 things transcend the physical space around us. 

When you take the time to get organized, clean, and get rid of the junk in your physical space it can go a long way to also making you feel less stressed, and more organized and uncluttered internally.