Decluttering Benefits Our Home, Health + Quality Of Life
Have you ever opened the closet door + immediately felt Overwhelmed? Annoyed? Embarrassed? Unhappy? Welp...that’s because clutter comes with a lot of baggage -- physically mentally AND emotionally. But truth be told, when it comes to clutter a lot of people harbor feelings of guilt.
But those feelings of guilt often arise because we haven’t taken steps to prioritize, assess our values + consume according to them and most often because we don’t know where to begin in getting started.
If you’ve been riding shotgun with us for any length of time, you already know:
that we’re your biggest clutter support team.
that there’s no room in this crazy world for judgment.
that we believe in holding our clients accountable, + coaching them, to live in a more organized home.
You also know that we’re not afraid to call it like it is. That we talk a lot about the dark side of clutter + even deep dive into how clutter affects our home, our life and our mind.
Thankfully though, it’s not all gloom + doom.
Beyond the negative impacts of clutter, there lies another, more sultry + seductive side of clutter -- you know… like how decluttering can actually benefit our health, home and our lives.
So, let’s dive in!
What are the health benefits of decluttering?
Reduced Anxiety
Yup, it’s true. When our kitchen, bathrooms, living room + bedrooms are a mess we pay the price...mentally.
Instead of being happy go lucky, carefree + relaxed, our minds become cluttered with chaos because clutter signals to our brains that our work is not done. Crazy! But yes, it’s also very true!
Instead of focusing on what matters most to you — things like spending time with your family or pursuing a new goal that you can be proud of — you feel overwhelmed, overburdened by decisions + embarrassed because somehow without any warning... things have gotten out of control.
Ever been caught off guard + gone into oh s*** mode when someone dropped by unexpectedly?
Yeeeah.. If you know that feeling — it’s not a good one. And trust me, your home might not even look like it’s a mess to them BUT to you, it feels that way. Whether it’s your family or your bff -- as much as you love your tribe of people you can’t shake that embarrassing feeling. You know, when you’re losing your mind frantically trying to find a place to stash everything out of sight before answering the door because who wants to feel judged for having an untidy house...right?
While cluttered homes leave us feeling anxious, helpless + overwhelmed, or like a tornado just ripped through our mind -- the last thing we want is to be irritable with the people we love + care about most.
By decluttering your home, you’re telling the universe enough is enough. You’re prioritizing what matters — your home. It magically quiets that emotional storm brewing inside of you and you’re able to focus on working on one small pile of clutter at a time.
A fascinating study conducted by Princeton University looks at how people performed tasks in an organized or disorganized environment. And without getting into too much neuro-science, what they discovered is that clutter in your surrounding environment is constantly competing for your attention making it hard for you to focus or to process information while actually increasing stress levels at the same time.
When you consider the fact that -- the average American home has 300,000 items — the amount of stress from stuff is actually quite insane. (LA Times)
Decluttering Boosts Productivity
Motivation is directly correlated to how productive we are. With nearly two decades of experience as a professional organizing firm, a lot of the hiccups we see with clients is that they simply “don’t know”
How or where to get started...
How-to Identify Clutter (what clutter looks like)...
How to get rid of + properly dispose of their belongings...
How to create systems + organize everything that’s left…
How to maintain things overtime…
How to deal with incoming clutter...
While “clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done,” having a professional organizer coach + work alongside you guiding you through the decluttering process, helping you prioritize a game plan + setting up organizing systems ensures you’re making the right decisions without any hesitation. This my love is a surefire way to boost your productivity not to mention the little tips + tricks we’ll share along the way to find + keep you motivated long after we’re gone. SPOILER ALERT: our full-service organizing membership is 100% addicting!
Truthfully, seeing progress actually boosts our performance. Even just the illusion of progress spurs motivation -- eh hem -- does the Starbucks Star Rewards program or even those buy 10 get 1 free loyalty cards ring a bell for anyone?
When it comes to getting organized, it’s hard to avoid the contagious declutter bug. You know, the one that makes us want to organize everything in sight because accomplishment feels so darn good. Or as Dr. Jennifer Baumgartner says, “feelings of success positively reinforce habits + increase the likelihood that you will continue.”
Once you start purging + you find a rhythm, you'll fall head over heels when seeing results! And if you're anything like us, you might just accidentally add decluttering to your monthly to-do list.
Decluttering Helps You Discover Confidence
There’s a decluttering movement that’s sweeping across the nation + as a result people are starting to open their eyes to how much clutter is actually in their homes. But more importantly, what we’ve started to realize is the affects clutter it has on our lives + our mental clarity.
When’s the last time you jumped at the opportunity to invite the entire neighborhood over for a BBQ at your house? Did you question whether your home was “presentable?” Or felt reluctantly eager to host a holiday get together at your home?
Now, what if I told you that a decluttered way of living inadvertently gives you a confidence boost.
So instead of opening your doors + seeing an untidy or unkept space you’re inviting family + friends into a beautifully organized home that looks great, works well but more importantly feels like they’re stepping foot into a paradise with everything they need + nothing more®.
Decluttering doesn’t have to be something that you wait until it’s overbearing to do. It doesn’t have to be a thorn or nuisance to you.
Decluttering does take time. Decluttering is constant decision making. But on the other side of the time commitment that decluttering takes is clarity in what you value.
Using an Organizing Gameplan, as you start checking off + completing projects not only will you notice your confidence level increases but so will your feelings about what your home looks like too.
The best part about all of this -- not only have you made the commitment to start changing your confidence + the way you feel about your home but by decluttering you’re making decisions that not only identify clutter in your life + home but define your core values.
And you’re building some pretty impressive decluttering muscles so that you know exactly how to deal with new clutter as it appears.
Discovering What Was Lost
Whenever you declutter you’re bound to find a handful of things that you’ve totally forgotten about. But more often than not, you’ll discover 10 different versions of the same thing. Things you bought not one or two of but THREE! They’ll all be nearly the exact same thing simply because you couldn’t find what you needed, when you needed it.
In fact, the average American burns 55 minutes a day - roughly 12 days a year - looking for things they know they own but cannot find. And because we’re human we tend to default down the path of least resistance but who wants to be a statistic, right *wink*
Tracking Your Progress
We stumbled upon a fantastic quote that reminded us, “Clutter often reflects life unfinished business.” While for some people making quick decisions is intuitively easy, for most others we need to take things a bit slower in order to process.
No matter how fast, impulsive, slow or methodical your decision making process is -- decluttering at a pace that makes sense for you + the way you think is what’s most important. Otherwise, it gets really hard to recognize any accomplishments or to even see the dent all of your hard work is making in your home.
By tracking your progress (room-by-room) using your Organizing Gameplan — no matter how small a task might seem, you’re able to check things off your to-do list + we all know that slow progress is better than no progress.
The Downsides To Decluttering Your Space
Of course, things always get a little out of order before they get in order.
Physical Obstacles
Clutter comes in all shapes + sizes. From time-to-time, there will be a lot of things you’re getting rid of + simply the sheer amount of stuff is too much for you to do it on your own. In the end though, once it’s gone you’ll feel that sense of accomplishment.
Emotional Obstacles
There’s no question, as a professional organizing firm, we’ve seen our fair share of emotionally taxing decluttering projects. In these moments, it’s important to remember that — decluttering isn’t about getting rid of things — it’s about becoming a conscious keeper.
Overcoming Decluttering Obstacles
And if these are any of the reasons that have stopped you in the past. If any of these sound familiar or are standing in your way… we’re challenging you to make your project smaller. Narrow the scope of your focus to a singular room or even a singular space within a room.
You’ll reduce the number of physical roadblocks. Mentally, it’ll feel like you’re able to get some quick wins under your belt. And immediately you’ll feel a sense of emotional relief once you’ve completed something in the space.
And everytime you find yourself questioning whether or not you can or should declutter your home, repeat + follow the steps above.
Decluttering benefits our home, health + quality of life + it’s worth taking the time to get it right.
That’s our rift for today, thanks for tuning in :)
Don’t forget, if you’re in the preliminary planning stages of your next project, let’s chat.
P.S. If you loved this article then you’re going to really enjoy the 4 Days To A More Beautiful + Functional Home.