A New Year's Link Between Organization And Good Health

After the holidays, many shoppers load up their carts with storage bins, shelving systems and color-coded containers, all in a resolute quest to get their collections organized for the new year. The country's collective desire to clean up and manage collectibles is evident in the proliferation of organization-oriented businesses like the Container Store and California Closets. Reality shows like "Mission Organization" on HGTV and "How Clean is Your House?" on Lifetime feed a national obsession to de-clutter.
Getting organized is unquestionably good for both mind and body -- reducing risks for falls, helping eliminate germs and making it easier to find things like medicine and exercise gear.
"If you can't find your sneakers, you aren't taking a walk," said Dr. Pamela Peeke, assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland and the author of 'Fit To Live,' which devotes a section to the link between health and organization. "How are you going to shoot a couple of hoops with your son if you can't even find the basketball? "Dr. Peeke says she often instructs patients trying to lose weight to at least create one clean and uncluttered place in their home. She also suggests keeping sporting goods and a gym bag with workout clothes and sneakers in an uncluttered area to make it easier to exercise.
She recalls one patient whose garage was "a solid cube of clutter." The woman cleaned up her home and also lost about 50 pounds. "It wasn't, at the end of the day, about her weight," Dr. Peeke said. "It was about un-cluttering at multiple levels of her life."

For the extended New York Times article, click here.