How to Control Something When the Economy is Totally Out of Control by:Shannon Shimizu

I don't know about you but I am having a hard time these days watching or listening to the news

. I find it depressing and a little scary. Every time I turn on the television I hear more doom and gloom. Even commercials are getting into it. I heard a commercial today advertising mattresses. The announcer said something to the effect of "Recession Sale!! With the economy worsening and more people out of work now is a great time to take advantage of our recession sale and buy a new mattress!" I thought to myself, why so when that person gets laid off they have a comfy new bed to be depressed in.

As my grandmother used to say, "Heavens!!" I know I can't control the economy the news or what anyone else around me is doing but I can control how I feel and what I am doing. Positive actions lead to positive thinking and positive thinking leads to positive actions. With that in mind I decided to tackle what for me is a big issue, the clutter in my home. Yes I confess, I have clutter. Now in my defense, I don't know a lot of people who have two young kids, a dog and a husband and don't have clutter. However, that thin veil of an excuse probably only sounds good to me. So, instead of watching the news yesterday, I popped on my ipod put on some good tunes and bee bopped my way through a couple of rooms in my house. I have to tell you it felt really good. It was just the sort of mindless activity that I needed. It helped me to take my mind of the economy and focus on broken GI Joes and Barbie's with no hair.

Admittedly, I was overwhelmed at first; especially when I walked into my sons' room. I wanted to turn around, shut the door behind me and keep walking. However, I persevered and a couple of hours later my son had a sparkly new room. Here are some tips that worked for me.

1. Start one room at a time and then break that room down to one drawer or one closet at a time.

2. Bring in three boxes and mark them KEEP CHARITY THROW AWAY. When sorting through the clutter put it in the appropriate box.

3. Show no mercy!! If you haven't worn it, it doesn't work or it is broken throw it away!! Believe me, I understand all about emotional attachment. I found my sons little baby beanie, it was frayed, stained and it smelled, yet I found myself holding it fondly and remembering when he was a baby. Then I came to my senses and realized I could just as easily look at a picture of him wearing it and that would work just as well as the frayed, stained and smelly piece of material I was holding.

Once I started organizing I realized how much easier my life flowed. Small problems like my kids frantically trying to find their favorite sweatshirt as we are walking out the door to school; stayed small because I knew exactly where that sweatshirt was. One drawer, one room, one day at a time, I reduced the clutter in our home, reconnected with what we had and felt a lot better about myself.

About the author

Shannon Shimizu is a small business owner of a contracting referral service called Five Star Consumer Referrals, Inc. The Five Star vision grew out of frustration of not knowing any reliable contractors for home improvement and repair projects. The goal of the business was to supply homeowners with excellent contractors who were licensed, insured, bonded and whose references were checked. Homeowners were thrilled with the prospect of having an outside third party who had a vested interest in the outcome of their home improvement project, and contractors were very happy to have a generous source of qualified leads.

In addition to running her business, Shannon is a wife and mother to two young children. Juggling motherhood and a full time business can be stressful but the rewards of being able to work from home and raise her children is well worth the tradeoff.

For more information on Five Star Consumer Referrals, Inc. http://www.5starhelps.com

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