Eat Well, Live Well - Spring clean your life

Spring's traditionally the season to clear out the cobwebs, blitz the cupboards and polish the windows until they sparkle. But it's also a time for reappraising, refreshing and reinventing ourselves as well as our surroundings, here's five instant ways to spring clean your heart, head and home.

Sort out the post. Piles of unopened bills, old newspapers and junk mail aren't just unsightly, they make us feel stressed and disorganised. So banish your habit of opening a couple of letters, then dumping the rest in a drawer. Sit down, go through the day's post and throw away absolutely everything you don't need. Put away those things you do need to keep in clearly labelled files. It only takes a few moments every day and the difference it makes is amazing.

Balance your budget. A recent survey found that money worries are the biggest cause of stress in modern life. So if you're stuffing unopened credit card statements into a drawer or going overdrawn every month, take stock. Work out all your incomings and outgoings, then make a list of all your essential payments, such as mortgage, rent or bills. If you've got debts, write down exactly how much you owe and to whom. Now list all your non-essential payments and work out how to save on them; a great example is to make your own lunch, check out our RYVITA® Cool Bag kit with Tupperware to store your toppings in. Paying off your debts and managing your money wisely will make you feel much happier stronger and in control.

Say ‘no'. It's great to help people - but it's also possible to overload yourself. Saying something like: ‘I'm really sorry but I'm not going to have the time to give this project/cake sale the attention it needs,' is a good get-out, as it makes it very clear that you'd rather do one thing well than several things badly. Offer an alternative way of contributing that suits you better - ‘I'm not going to have the time to bake cakes but I'm happy to help out for an hour on the day.' And don't feel guilty about saying no - if you agree to do something out of guilt, you'll just replace that guilt with anger and resentment.

Have a clothes swap. Want to get rid of all those old clothes but haven't got the cash to buy yourself a whole new wardrobe? Then get together with your friends and organise a clothes swap. All you need are all those fancy dresses you only wore once, the trousers that are too baggy since you lost weight, the skirt you bought on impulse...and a bunch of like-minded pals. Just add some RYVITA® Thins (try our new flavour RYVITA® Cheddar and Cracked Black Pepper Thins) with some yummy dips and you've got the perfect recipe for an evening of decluttering, fashion and fun - all for free.

Make a ‘loved ones list'. Every relationship needs a spring clean once in a while. Perhaps it's a friend who seems to take more than she gives, or a work colleague who thinks your life revolves around her crises. But none of us have unlimited time, so think about revitalising and polishing up those relationships which are important to you. Make a loved ones list by writing down the people who are the most important to you and why, and, on average, how much time you spend with them per week. Look down the list and think - are you really spending as much time as you can with those who matter most? If not, why not? And how can you change things for the better?

Sources
Money worries survey
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/8495727.stm