An extended break from work is within reach— follow these tips

Get Organized for Better Health

RESOLVED TO BE ACTIVE, EAT SMART, OR TACKLE STRESS? THESE SMALL

CHANGES TO YOUR

PERSONAL SPACE WILL

GET THINGS ROLLING.

By Leslie Goldman

Doctors and professional organizers may seem like strange bedfellows, butwith research linking our environment and our health, howwe arrange our homes can be the difference betweenwhetherwe gain or lose weight, rock or skip aworkout, and leavework happy or stressed.

“You need to strategically organize in away that makes it easier to achieveyour goals,” says psychologist and former personal trainer Susan Rudnicki, PhD, of Dunwoody, Georgia. So if the chips are blocking thewhole grains inyour ultratidy pantry, you’re only halfway there.We got advice from health experts and organizing pros to helpyou hit all yourwellnessgoalsthis year.

Fitness Gear

HANG A WORKOUT-CLOTHES STATION IN YOUR CLOSET. Organizing blogger Katie Maris Pyle of Olympia,Washington, fills each slot in a fabric hanging shoe organizer withacomplete workout outfit—shirt, shorts, sports bra, and socks. Nearby: a bin filled with the hair ties, sunglasses, earbuds, pepper spray, and spare house key she takes on her runs. “I used towake up intending to exercise, butwhen I couldn’t find clean clothes, I never made it out,” she says. “Now I have no excuses.”

BE PREPARED. Keep sneakers and spareworkout clothes in the trunk ofyour car (oryour goeverywhere tote) to take advantage of spur-of-the-moment fitness opportunities. “Thisway, if an appointment cancels oryou’re driving by a beautiful park and have some time,you can squeeze in aworkout,” says Rudnicki.

SET UP A SYSTEM FOR DEALING WITH GYM CLOTHES. Keep your gym bag in the laundry room, suggests Leslie Josel, owner of Order Out of Chaos, an organizing company inWestchester, NewYork.As soon asyou return from the gym, tossyour sweaty clothes directly into thewashing machine—and once they’re clean and dry, put them back in the bag. “If something takes a lot of steps,you’re less likely to do it,” she says. “Withyour bag already packed, that’s one less step to getyourself out the door.” (Plus,you’ll thwart mold spores, which can begin multiplying in damp gear in just 24 hours.)

INVEST IN GEAR YOU LOVE. Whenit comes to fitness success, clothes truly do make thewoman. In one business school study, subjects whodonned whitedoctor’s coats performed better on attention-related tasks than subjectswho didn’twear the coats. When subjectswere told the same coatwas a painter’s uniform, performance did not improve.This powerful effect on performance, called “enclothed cognition,” is the reasonyou naturally assume the best-dressedwomanin your yoga class knowswhat she’s doing. “Ifyou feel confident and athletic, you’llwant towork harder,” says Rudnicki.The clothes needn’t be expensive or trendy; they just need to makeyou feel good.

STOCK YOUR OTTOMAN. You already love ottomans for their ability to pull double duty; what about stashingyour home workout gear inside?With dumbbells, resistance bands, and a jump rope hidden there, allyou need to do is grabyour gear, push the ottoman aside, and turn onyour favoriteat-homeworkout video.

ROLL THE RIGHT WAY. Illness can upend aworkout groove. Make it to every class by rollingyouryoga mat to minimize contactwith the foot fungus,wartvirus, and other germs that can live on studio floors. Rollingyour mat from one end to the other putswhateverwas on the floor underneath you in contactwith the top of the mat andyou, says Sophie Uliano, a certifiedyoga instructor in LosAngeles. Instead, stand near your unrolled mat, grab the edge closest toyou, and fold it in half, toward the top. Next, grab the fold and roll it forward so the top stays clean and protected. Stash it inside a sling untilyour next class.

In the Kitchen

PUT GOOD-FOR-YOU FOOD ON DISPLAY. Berries, cucumbers, and other produce get easily buried (or smooshed) inyour refrigerator’s deep drawer. “Whenyou open it,you only seewhat’s on top, in front, or at eye level,” says Maureen Guzman, owner of Katy Home Organizer in Katy,Texas. “And people don’t eatwhat they can’t see.” She recommends using clear plastic bins on fridge shelves to store smaller and more delicate produce; stash bulky produce or even loaves of bread in the deep drawer.And pull some of that fruit out of the fridge:A Cornell study found thatwomenwith a visible fruit bowl on the counter weighed about 13 pounds less thanthose without.

UPDATE YOUR SPICE CABINET. MostAmerican adults fall short of the approximate recommended 2 to 3½ cups ofvegetables a day. Spices and herbs–think curry, ginger, garlic, and rosemary–can makeveggies taste more appealingwhile reducing the need for sodium and fatwhen they’re cooked.To keep spices top of mind (and at peak flavor), Nonnahs Driskill, founding organizer of Get OrganizedAlready in Pasadena, California, recommends tossing old and expired seasonings, buying new, bagged spices and herbs (they’re cheaper than bottled ones), and decanting them into clean, labeled jars or containers.

CLEAR THE COUNTERTOPS. A cluttered kitchen can bring on the munchies:A study published in Environment and Behavior found thatwomen in a messy kitchen ate twice as many cookies aswomen in the same kitchen when itwas organized and quiet. Being in a chaotic space makes you think, “I can’t keep anything straight;why should I even try?” notes Rudnicki. Set a timer for 25 minutes–the ideal time for maximizing focus and efficiency–and start cleaning. Not only might it limit stress eating, but a study out of Indiana University found that peoplewith clean houses are more active than thosewith messy ones, probably because all that scrubbing and sweeping counts as physical exercise.