How to Reduce Chaos and Simplify Your Life

Here are a few tips to reduce the some of the things causing stress in your life. This is a work in progress so check back often for updates.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer

1. Here are a few strategies to alleviate some stressful situations in day to day life and reduce overall stress caused by clutter and disorganization.
   Day to day Crisis:
   How many times have you been late to work because you can't find your keys? Even if it's once a year then I recommend you get a key pegboard to place in the kitchen or mud room. As a backup, make spares of your keys, at least 3 and put one in your purse or wallet (house keys too). You can fall back on these if you need to.
   Join AAA or a similar road service plan or add road service to your wireless plan. AMEX gold cards have free roadside service to give you a jump start, change a tire, etc and cover the first $50 of the expense.
   Carry a can of "spare air" in your trunk in case you have a low tire.
   Invest in "run flat" tires that allow you to drive to a repair place.
   If you can afford it, buy the extended warranty your dealer offers when you buy a new car.
   Add the all inclusive insurance to your cell phone in case you drop it in the water, etc.
   Keep important phone numbers and information written on paper in your purse or wallet in case your phone goes dead and you haven't memorized them.
   Get to know your neighbors and get their phone numbers in case you need their assistance in some incident.
   Buy the extended warranty on high end electronic. It's worth it.
   Install AC surge suppressors on all your high end electronics.
2. Clutter:
   Get rid of over half your junk mail by ordering a kit from a nonprofit organization (see below). This helps the environment too.
   Join a credit monitoring service such as Lifelock. This protects your credit and reduces junk mail and credit offers too.
   Visit a Container Store or Wal Mart and buy stackable boxes to store items that you use infrequently such as grandkids toys, Christmas stuff too and free up space in your closet. Put seasonal clothes and shoes away too. Attack that mess in the garage as well. Install shelves and organize parts and pieces. Put garden tools on hanging hooks along the wall.
3. Annoyances.
   Get on the "do not call list" sponsored by the US Government and get rid of annoying phone calls. (See below).
4. Keep yourself organized. Get a good PDA or old fashioned
   Day Runner to track your appointments. Sign up for a service that notifies you of friends and family birthdays or use a software application that stores this on your computer and notifies you a few days ahead.
   Buy and hide presents ahead of time to reduce the stress of last minute gift shopping. Buy a few "generic" gifts such as bottles of fine wine for occasions when you do not have notice or time to go shopping for gifts.

Tips & Warnings

• Try and write down the things that annoy you or make your day more stressful then work on ways of fixing the problems. For example, if you have heard your car pool buddies war stories a hundred time and dread seeing him in the morning because of it, download some Discovery Channel podcasts on your Ipod and play them on your morning commute at a decent volume. He just might get into them too.