There's nothing like cleaning the clutter out of your house in order to clear the stress from your head.

If you're like me, you did it New Year's Day: After chucking the Christmas tree, sweeping up the needles, and putting away the lights and ornaments, you keep going until you've cleared out all the extra crap in the nooks and crannies of your house. If your not like me, you've never thought about the novelty of shifting a historically springtime chore to the middle of Winter. And I'm writing to tell you it's time. Who wants to be in the house when warm temps hit and flowers bloom?

The January purge is one of the most satisfying chores I accomplish each year. It just seems a natural progression from the tree and all. I burrow through each bedroom, closet and file cabinet as well as the basement and take the piles of throwaways to the local Salvation Army. Sometimes I also donate to Purple Heart, which does pickups. Being able to do good with stuff you don't want provides an added feel-good element to freeing your house from the clutter that's stressing you out more than you realize.