Time for a confession: Our basement used to be an absolute disaster area.

Over the years we had let boxes, odds and ends, and even unused furniture accumulate to the point where it was hard to get to our washer and dryer. Every time I went into the basement (which was several times a day), I felt a tinge of stress because of the clutter.

I knew that cleaning it would be a big project and I had been putting it off.

A couple of years ago, we needed to have a new furnace and air conditioner installed. When the representative from the company came to do an inspection and analysis, he had to go downstairs. I was embarrassed because the basement was such a mess.

So in a flurry of activity the evening before he came, I cleaned the whole basement. It didn’t take that much time once I got started.

The difference was staggering. Not only did the area look like an entirely different place, it now resulted in a real sense of peace every time went into the basement.

This principle applies to any area of your office or home, including your work area. Perhaps especially to your work area.  Most of the time we don’t give a lot of attention to how our workspace is organized. But if this is where your creativity comes to life, it makes to set it up for maximum efficiency.

A clean workspace is important because there’s an intimate link between your physical environment and your mind.

The state of your environment tends to reflect the state of your mind. But it also works the opposite direction. When you clear the clutter from your environment and have an orderly, clean place to work, it affects your mind. You have less stress and anxiety because the clutter is not there to distract you.

Here are five steps for clearing the clutter from your workspace:

1. Deal with one area at a time.

If you have a really messy workspace or office, just take it one area at a time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed with things and get stressed out. You might start with one box, or start with your desk.

Then once you have that organized, move on to the next area. Doing it this way will give you positive momentum.

The important thing here is to just get started. It can be incredibly intimidating to stand in the middle of a messy area and envision a clean, neat environment. It’s much easier just to walk away.

However, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. Just begin, and you will soon feel the momentum you need to carry you through.

2. Get rid of things you don’t really need.

Each of us has certain things we tend to hang onto longer than we should. For me, it’s technology. I’m the guy who still has cassettes from 1985 in his closet (and the Walkman to play them!). I tend to be a packrat.

A couple of years ago I moved to a new office at the college where I teach. I gave away several boxes of books. My rule was that if I hadn’t used a book in ten years, I probably didn’t need it.

I didn’t apply this rule consistently because I have a lot of reference books I didn’t want to get rid of. But I did get rid of lots of books.

I also used to keep old magazines. Every time I see a magazine that I haven’t read, but that I paid for, I feel a tremendous sense of guilt. But the truth is that if you haven’t read it soon after you got it, you’ll never read it. So just throw it away or cancel the subscription if you don’t read it.

3. Free up the real estate on your desk.

Your desk becomes a catch-all for all kinds of things like mail, to-do lists, trinkets, pens, and other things. It’s important to try and move everything off your desk except for the items you actually need.

A messy desk doesn’t mean you’re busy or important. It just means you’re messy. And it’s amazing how much it reduces your stress when you have a clean desk.

There used to be a professor at the college where I teach. He was bad about having piles of stuff on his desk. Whenever you walked into his office, there were books piled all over the floor. His desk looked like someone had literally taken a box of papers and dumped them all over the place.

I felt incredibly stressed just being in that environment. I have no idea how he concentrated or got any work done.

4. Get rid of as much paper as possible.

Over the last few years I have been pretty ruthless about getting rid of as much paper as possible. This includes receipts, tax information, notes from college and grad school, appliance manuals, and many other items.

This frees up space both in your filing cabinets, and your mind.

There are really only three things you should do with paper items:

1. File it physically (in a file cabinet or drawer, or box)
2. File it digitally (I’ll talk about this in a moment)
3. Discard it.

Whenever you handle paper, make a decision about it as soon as possible. Then take action on it. When we put off taking action on paper items, we end up with piles of paper and it causes us stress.  And when we feel stressed and overwhelmed, we can’t do our best creative work.

I used to have a desktop scanner, but these days I just use the Scannable app from Evernote. It’s very easy to use, and very fast. I also have a shredder by my desk when I need to discard anything with personal information on it.

5. Don’t confuse “clean” with “perfect.”

If you’re like me (which is, a perfectionist) sometimes you put off doing work until everything is perfect and tidy.

But if you’re not careful, you can easily procrastinate on getting work done. Things are rarely perfect, and when they are, it doesn’t last long.

Don’t let your desire for a perfectly clean environment be an excuse for putting off work.

Three Benefits of De-cluttering

Those are a few suggestions for clearing the clutter from your workspace. What are the results? Here are three benefits of keeping a neat workspace:

1. More peace. You are dealing with less physical “stuff” that is cluttering your life. This has a positive effect on your mind, emotions and spirit. It simply makes life more enjoyable.
2. More focus. You have fewer distractions in your environment and can focus on the people and the work that matters most to you.
3. More momentum. Success breeds more success. If you are overwhelmed by the clutter in your life, just start in one area. Once you have it cleaned, you will feel a sense of momentum that will lead to more success.

If you have a messy environment, don’t feel guilty about it. Just dive in and get started. The energy and momentum you feel will be worth it!