How do You Get Rid of All the Waste in Your Life?

getting rid of waste in life

We all live with waste in our lives, and it comes in all shapes and sizes. Waste is, essentially, garbage; and more than you realize is actual garbage. It comes in all shapes, sizes, colors and features. It comes in the shape of people in your life, family, friends, work, your home and your overly jam-packed social calendar. It comes in the form of your inability to say no to people when they want something from you. It comes from your lack of desire to fix your life and make it better. It comes from your lack of understanding how to get started organizing your life.

Some things are clearly junk; a doll house that fell apart into 89 pieces and no longer works. Other things aren’t quite so clear cut, but they’re still junk; an overly packed calendar or friends who aren’t there for you but want you to be there for them no matter what. There are all kinds of ‘junk’ factors in your life, and it’s time to get rid of them so that you can rid your life of waste and move on to living a more productive and enjoyable life.

You see, waste is holding us all back and we don’t even know it. We don’t know it because we aren’t always aware of what junk looks like. We don’t know what waste looks like in our lives, and we keep it around and let it hold us back each and every day. We have to find a way to get rid of the waste in our lives or we risk illness, unhappiness and discontent. That’s not to say life is meant to be perfect and free of conflict or stress, but we do have the power to minimize those things and to change our attitudes and outlook; and that’s what we are learning today. We’ve come up with a list of ways you can remove the waste from your life so you can improve the way you live starting right now.

Get Rid of Toxic People

We all have them. It’s the friend who constantly tries to “one-up” us, or the one who always asks for help but never offers any in return. It’s the family member that gets mad when you don’t do things her way all the time, or the coworker that always wants to get you in trouble. Distance yourself from these people; stop responding to them. Block them on your social media accounts so you cannot see their profiles any longer on your newsfeed so that you aren’t finding yourself reading posts and becoming angry or annoyed. Just avoid them.

Get Rid of Negativity

Is the glass half empty for you? How about instead of focusing on how much is in it, you drink it and move on? It’s time to get rid of the negativity in your life by choosing to be positive. It’s not always as easy as it sounds, but it does work. You have to make a conscious decision every time you have a negative thought to replace that thought with a positive one. Do this for one month; no exceptions. It takes 21 days to form a habit, so please don’t give up.

Be Kind to One Another

To steal Ellen DeGeneres’ famous quote from the end of her famed talk show, do it. Be kind to others and see just how much it changes your life. You might be shocked to realize that merely choosing kindness over annoyance or irritation can change your life. It can change your outlook, your mood and your entire personality for the better.

Learn to Say No

We don’t love negativity, but we love the word no. You, my friend, are not required to say yes to anyone. You don’t have time? Say so. You don’t want to? Say so. You are not required to say yes all the time, so don’t do it. Learn to say no and the people who love you will accept it all the time. If they don’t love you, well, they won’t accept your answer and you’ll be that much closer to getting rid of yet another toxic person. It’s pretty win-win.

Limit your Social Media Usage

Did you know that the more time you spend on social media, the more waste you have in life? It’s true that it’s a waste of time, grossly. But it’s also a waste of energy. No one needs to go through social media and see the highlight reels from everyone else’s lives and compare their own lives to that. Limit the time you spend there, and you’ll be that much happier and have that much more waste in your life.

Or do what I do; delete ‘friends’ you find useless or taxing. I am known for deleting anyone that spends all their time complaining about life but doing nothing about it. I delete negative people, and I delete ‘perfect’ people. I love a positive person, but I know that everyone has their challenges and I prefer to have real friends on my profile that either only post their amazing photos, funny memes or their real lives. I have no interest for those who are ‘so blessed and so perfect and so amazing,’ all the time. It’s not realistic, and it makes me sad for those people who are unable to admit that life is not always perfect – if you can’t joke about it, what do you have?

Change your Notification Settings

I work from home, and I have twins home with me all day and only so many hours between dropping my older daughters off to school and picking them up. I need my email, so I set it up to notify me of new emails on the hour. I also set my social media accounts to leave me alone during the day so that I’m not tempted to check messages and comments from my friends unless I’m eating my lunch or taking a break. I don’t like to be interrupted, because it’s a waste. When I have this kind of waste in my life, I’m not being productive and that means I’m stressed later.

Add Exercise

The kind of waste we have in our life comes in many forms, and a lack of exercise is one of those. When you’re exercising, you’re making it possible to release healthy and beneficial endorphins into your mind that improve your mood, provide you with more energy and help you feel better as a whole. When you add exercise into your life, you are enabling yourself to live a healthier and more productive life, and that’s what life is all about.

Get Rid of Unhealthy Food

If your pantry and fridge are filled with unhealthy foods, get rid of them. They are nothing more than waste. Every time you put one of those unhealthy items in your body, you are wasting your life. You are turning yourself into a moody person by feeling gross when you’re done eating. You’re making yourself feel gross, lethargic and angry with your lack of self-control. You’re going to feel bloated and unhappy, and you’re wasting good health. Stop and make yourself a healthy meal that makes you feel energized and proud of yourself in return; it’s a good idea in every single manner.

Get More Sleep

I don’t mean for you to sleep until noon; I want you to go to bed earlier and shoot for 7-8 hours sleep. I want you to feel rested when you wake up, and I want you to get up earlier. I want you to get up earlier because nothing feels as wasteful as sleeping the day away and being unable to function properly in the morning. Get up early, get things accomplished and cross things off that to-do list so you are able to feel more energized and more focused, and so that you are able to take advantage of your day.

Clean Up

I want you to do something for me. I want you to sit back and take a second to think; what part of your life is not as clean as it could be? Do you have a stack of mail you haven’t sent off, a stack of bills that need paying, a drawer that is a mess and gives you anxiety every single time you open it? Do you have a room in your house that is simply not up to par? Is your car a mess? Does your inbox have umpteen messages that need to be answered?

I know that I am not nearly as productive during the day when there are things in my life that need cleaning. If there is laundry or dishes, I find that I have to do them before I can concentrate on work. I cannot function if my car is a mess or my house is not in order. I like clean, organized surroundings and that’s what makes me most productive. If there is something that needs doing in my home or life, I find that I focus on that and allow it to distract me from what I should be doing, and that’s a waste. Now, go take care of it and clear your mind for more focus.

Getting rid of waste in your life is not always simple, but it’s a must. What I consider waste in my own life is not what others might consider waste in their own lives, which is why you have to look between the lines here and figure out what has to go, what you have to welcome and what you have to change in your own life to make it more productive and happier. I can’t answer these questions for you; only you can figure out what waste is worth getting rid of in your own life.

Photo by Getty Images

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