Is your PNA indulgence getting out of hand? Everywhere you look is pieces of ribbon, scrapbooking supplies, wrapping paper and tools you use to make the prettiest momentums. But it’s EVERYWHERE! We’re not saying you should throw it away – oh dear, no, but did you know that clutter can have an impact on the brain? Best read on why you need to get your goods under control.

Look, we love crafting goods and stationery just as much as the next PNA-holic but sometimes you need to step in to make sure that the habit doesn’t take over the house. On top of this, top brands are constantly coming out with new stationery ranges and colours, or crafting supplies you just ‘have to have’! Don’t chuck the old, donate it! It does take some research, but we promise you’ll find a loving home for your pre-loved stuff. Call your local old age home, homeless shelter, orphanage or school to get in touch donating your old goods.

Did you know that PNA supports the CHOC Foundation? CHOC (Childhood Cancer Foundation) not only raises awareness about childhood cancer, but also provides psycho-social and practical support and a caring community for families affected by the disease. What is our role in this? Well we started the PNA Penny Fund initiative that aims to raise awareness and funds. We’ve placed collection tins at all till points in our stores and all proceeds go towards the foundation when buying an item from our exclusive PNA product range. On top of this, we’ve made CHOC our main beneficiary of goodwill and donation projects throughout the year, the most recent project being our Kunsvlyt contestants’ masterpiece auction.

But why should you declutter your home? Like we mentioned, it can help your brain make sense of information. We’re all creatures of comfort and like to be surrounded by things we hold dear or even have an emotional attachment to. But these ‘sentimental’ things might be doing you more harm than you realise. When you have so much stuff your senses get over stimulated, leaving you exhausted. A messy environment makes it harder to focus and process information, so you have to try harder and expend more energy to do everyday tasks. And we all know what happens then: stress.

Rather ditch the odds and ends and opt for a minimalistic lifestyle. Here’s how:

  1. Set a timer and give yourself 5 solid minutes to sort out one small area of the clutter. You’ll find it easier to push yourself to get as much done in that small timeframe.

  1. Make a list of all the rooms that need decluttering and start with the easiest space.
  1. Try the Oprah Winfrey Closet Hanger Experiment. Hang your clothes with the hangers in the reverse direction. After you wear an item, return it to the closet with the hanger facing the correct direction. After six months, you’ll have a clear picture of which clothes you can easily donate.
  1. Try the 12-12-12 Challenge. Identify 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to be returned to their proper home.
  1. The Four-Box Method. Pick up 4 boxes: trash, donate, keep, or relocate. Starting in one room, consider in which box EVERY ITEM fits. Look at each item individually, regardless of how long it takes.

The temptation of buying and collecting doesn’t pull quite as hard once you’ve experienced this feeling of being able to breathe, no longer fettered by the junk you’ve gathered over the years. There’s a beautiful world of freedom and fresh breath hiding behind that clutter. How you remove it is up to you.

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