Decluttering As A Tool To Help Your IBS

Have you ever felt that if you didn’t have to keep track of so many things that it would be easier to manage your IBS? Because let’s face it, managing IBS requires keeping track of a lot of things. First, you need to keep track of all your triggers to ensure that you avoid them. Then, you need to think about things you should try to do because those things may make your IBS better. Lastly, in case thing go haywire, you always need to be thinking about how you'll deal with such emergencies.

Unfortunately though, the things needed to manage IBS aren’t the only things you need to think about each day. There’s things for work, for family, plus any other things that interest you or need your attention.

Things pile up fast

For most of us, that’s an awful lot of things to keep track of! It’s no wonder we can get to the end of the day feeling like our brains are fried, with no space to take care of anything else. And if you’re anything like me, when you feel like that, cleaning the house is probably the last thing that you want to do.

Now if you put off cleaning for a day or two, it’s not a big deal. But if you keep putting it off over and over again, as I have a tendency to do, things can pile up fast. Sure, you’ll still make sure to do the essentials such as washing the dishes because, well, you’ve got to eat. And you’ll make sure there are clean clothes because you can’t turn up to work without out them. But putting things away and tidying up out aren’t always high on the agenda since delaying them hurts no one.

How to start your decluttering session

The catch though is that a cluttered house, desk, car, etc, isn’t just physical mess. It creates mess in your mind too. That is, it clutters up your thoughts. This is because every time you see the mess, it registers as another task that you need to take care of. One more thing to add to your never ending list, which you then feel guilty about every time you see it. So while this clutter may at first seem harmless, especially compared to the consequences of not washing the dishes, it can impact you mentally. Which makes it harder for you to track all the things you need to for managing your IBS.

When that happens, the best thing to do is to have a decluttering session. Here’s how I get started:

1. Start with an area where you spend a lot of your time, since this will have a bigger impact on you because you see it often. For instance, your dining room, lounge room, or office.
2. Focus on the areas that are in your direct line of sight when you’re in that space. For instance, in the lounge room this may be the coffee table. Or in your office, it might be the area on your desk beside the keyboard.
3. Then, clear as much of the surface as possible, making it as empty as you can. If possible, do this by by putting things away where they belong. But if you need an instant declutter, grab a box, put everything in it, and put the box away.

This clearing effect will immediately create a feeling of spaciousness that can ease the pressures on your attention. And you’ll have one less thing cluttering up your mind and distracting you from the more pressing tasks. Which means you’ll have more mental energy for managing your IBS.