WHAT IS CLUTTER? It is a bunch of stuff — be it physical or mental — that is surrounding us in our personal environment. Simply put we can say it is a mess..
In this article we will help you to keep it under control, give you some tips of what to get rid off and how. It might seem overwhelming at first, but do not worry, you are essentially making space for what you love, you will feel more free.
Being messy in your mind or in your space has a strong, adverse effect on your well-being. Countless scientific studies have shown, that people with clean houses are healthier than those with messy homes.
Also, people who describe their homes as cluttered or messy with a lot of stuff are more depressed. Clutter overwhelms our brains and makes it hard to focus on other things and complete tasks we want to.
What is Material Clutter?
It may simply be purchasing of things, that you do not necessarily need in your life/home and you bought it just because there was a discount or simply because it was nice.
Then we tend to hoard objects at home, that have no functional use. We keep things as sentimental pieces or something, that "might be useful" one day and so it is piling up.
What is Mental Clutter?
You may not be aware of this, but not all clutter is physical — it also comes in non-tangible forms. Your thoughts, habits and behaviors can also be chaotic or lead to situations that wreak your life.
Your mental clutter may be sabotaging you without you realizing it. You are for example replaying mental scenes from old situations in loops, which never helped anybody. You may have too many unfinished tasks on your to-do list ( i find myself in this category - so you are not alone).
You allow social media to distract you or make you insecure.
And all this unfortunately leads to poor performance at work or your business, forgetfulness and even, brain fog (slow mental processing).
Why should you declutter your life?
TIME - With less stuff, you will spend less time cleaning, less time trying to find things, leaving you with more time for your family, your self-care, routines and maybe even business and new opportunities.
SPACE - Clearing out furniture or decorations that you actually don’t like, cardboard boxes that have been standing in the corner since your moved in, magazines you keep saying you will go through, storing kitchen appliances or cosmetics and jars for once needed. Just imagine all the space you can get.
PRIORITESE -The process of decluttering throws us back at the somewhat bigger questions of how we want to live, what we want to do and who we want to be. Might help you to realize if the way you living your life is the right way and what you actually want.
CLARITY - You will end up having more clarity about the things and people that make you happy – and more time to be doing exactly these things! Your day-to-day will be less overwhelming because things are in the place where they belong, you know how to find everything you need and do not have to go through piles of mail first before you can locate your car keys (which makes getting to work more relaxed, to begin with).
RELEASE - Decluttering is a great exercise to teach us how to let go and not to keep clinging to everything. Learning to let go off things and thoughts of the past allows us to be 100% in the present, savor and be grateful for what is.
SAVES MONEY - Buying less things you do not need is great news because you are cutting the constant flow of things that will only end up cluttering your space, go in the landfill, hurt your finances or eat up your time.
COMFORT - A place that is organized and aligned with your priorities will feel more comfortable and inviting.
Where and How to Begin When Decluttering?
Start by choosing one area of your home or life to declutter first. Mark this as an important task to your calendar. As we write in our article "HOW TO CREATE HABITS TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOALS" start small.
A note "declutter kitchen" might be overwhelming, so choose something smaller like "declutter first draw in the kitchen with XY" Sounds more achievable right?
Pair decluttering with something you enjoy listening to music, dancing or friends chit chat who could help you with your decisions
It may help to empty out that particular room or category of things entirely, remove it from its original place and only have the best things to return.
Stay true to your self and your vision of a better home/life/environments. Has this object been used in the past month? Does this particular object bring you closer to your priorities?
No? Then put it aside and you can either donate it or sell it to make the extra cash - win win!
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