A cluttered home can be depressing or even anxiety-inducing to live in.
This is because the environment around us has the potential to affect us in both positive or negative ways.
As we live our lives, we come upon wonderful, and sometimes unnecessary, items to fill our space with.
Over time, this can lead to clutter in every corner of a room or home- eventually it becomes an eye sore, and maybe even a hazard.
This is part of why becoming more organized and decluttering can have multiple benefits.
Clutter tends to increase stress and irritability so imagine having a home that is decluttered and peaceful to be in.
The benefits of decluttering can reduce stress, improve mood, boost productivity and creativity, improve self-esteem, improve life-style, and promote healthy well-being, and you can even improve sleep.
The decision to declutter can be a daunting undertaking but very possible if you keep a few things in mind...
Start small
We don’t need to complete it all in one day. Even spending a dedicated 15-20 minutes every day focusing on decluttering a section of your home can make the biggest difference in the world and improve motivation to keep going.
You don't have to do it alone
Involve family and friends if needed. It can be more fun when you have support that is willing to get into the nitty gritty with you and help you organize and clean something out. If you feel that a specific person may not be on board, try incentivizing them with a fun activity afterward.
Clean with a positive attitude
Don’t look for perfection, look just to declutter and then you will be able to identify what that space needs to look like for you to be more at peace.
Now, there are some difficulties that come with decluttering too.
The idea of letting go of something with sentimental value, or something you may need in the future can cause anxiety.
It is best to identify what is absolutely needed, and if you are going to keep something, how/where can it fit in your newly decluttered home.
That’s why it’s best to create an actionable plan!
If you have a history of procrastinating tasks, think about what you would need to do to make a committed action in completing a little bit of decluttering every day.
“Clutter, it’s not just the stuff. Its anything that gets between you and the life you want to be living” - Peter Walsh