Category: Decluttering

Can Decluttering be Good for Your Mental Health?

If you’ve ever found yourself getting frustrated at the possessions lying around your home, been unable to concentrate on a task when surrounded by stuff piled on surfaces, or if you’ve tried to read a book, mediate or have a quiet cup of tea but couldn’t relax until you’d zipped round and tidied up everything first, then you’ve been affected by clutter. I share why I believe that removing clutter from your home is good for your mental health.

I believe that removing clutter from your home is good for your mental health, even if you don’t have that much.

What is Clutter?

Google says clutter is ‘a collection of things lying about in an untidy state’. Interestingly we’ve used this term increasingly over the last fifty years.

If you’ve ever found yourself getting frustrated at the possessions lying around your home, been unable to concentrate on a task when surrounded by stuff piled on surfaces, or if you’ve tried to read a book, mediate or have a quiet cup of tea but couldn’t relax until you’d zipped round and tidied up everything first, then you’ve been affected by clutter.

Research published in 2011 in the Journal of Neuroscience found that clutter means we have too many stimuli in our environment, which can make it hard to focus.

Humans are innately organised but we all have different styles that determine how we feel about clutter. Clutter can cause stress and lower self-image. It can cause anxiety about how and when we will be able to regain control or how others will perceive us. It can also take us longer to finish simple tasks making us feel incompetent.

According to a Lovespace survey:

a whopping 80% of people in the UK admit their mood is influenced by the state of their house with a less cluttered living space making people much happier!

The good news is, we can maintain a less cluttered home by sorting our things regularly and being more conscious of what we bring into our home.

How can Decluttering Improve your Mental Health?

  1. It creates a sense of confidence as we use our decision-making and problem-solving skills
  2. It creates order and control – we only keep the things we need and have the space to organise them
  3. It gives you feelings of gratitude and abundance – you might find lost things, forgotten treasures, things you can sell or give away. All of which makes you feel that you’ve gained or can benefit others
  4. It can lift the weight of guilt, the feeling that things are left incomplete, makes us feel lighter, freer, calmer and leaves us with a renewed sense of ‘home’

Read about other benefits of decluttering and organising your home here.

Five Ideas for Creating a Clutter-Free Home

  1. Keep a bag in the boot of your car for charity donations. As you come across something that is no longer needed, pop it in the bag. When it’s full, drop it off at your nearest charity shop
  2. Practice the 1 in 1 out rule – anything new coming into the home has to be exchanged from something that you no longer need or love
  3. Treat pending school holidays, birthdays and Christmas as good opportunities to sort out possessions that can be passed on for others to enjoy
  4. Engage the rest of the household in the benefits of decluttering their own things. They will know where to find what they no longer use and may even make some money selling old things. Here’s what I learned from a quick declutter with my family
  5. Focus on tackling one room and rotate rooms over the year

So what are waiting for… rally your household, pick a room, put some music on and go for it!

Would You Like Help Creating a Clutter Free Home?

Laura Williams, Founder and Professional OrganiserIf you need guidance, ideas and practical support to make more of your home, organise your possessions in a way that supports your best life or to get started with your decluttering project, then give me a call.

I provide practical advice and sensitive support to clients looking to make changes, to create calm space and free up time to focus on the important things in life. I specialise in organising rooms, garages, wardrobes, paperwork and much more; see my services or get in touch.

Book an Enquiry Call

Not Making Time to Declutter?

As our lives flash by at the speed of light, it’s so hard to find time to tackle our homes, especially when the muddle has built up a bit. But can we afford not to when we spend 10 minutes everyday looking for things we know we have but can’t find?

As our lives flash by at the speed of light, it’s so hard to find time to tackle our homes, especially when the muddle has built up a bit.

We expect to fit so much in! We need to work, care for family, maybe care for pets, keep up with housework, the garden and DIY, ferry children to clubs and social commitments, want to spend quality time with loved ones, keep in contact with friends, have our own hobbies (if we are lucky!), maybe want to keep fit and more! There’s a lot of pressure.

People say to me that they don’t have time to tackle their clutter and I understand, it can feel like that. But actually we are making a choice, anything can be a priority if we make it so. What we have to decide is whether having a less cluttered home is a priority.

The Benefits of Decluttering

Decluttering Can Transform Your Home by:

  • making more space to play or work and creating a calmer environment
  • saving us money on replacing items we already have but can’t find (and possibly earning money selling some items)
  • removing the visual clutter and mental ‘noise’
  • enabling us to relax and not feel guilty about the state of a room
  • making it easier to see and find what we need, when we need it

A study by Esure home insurance found that we spend 10 minutes everyday looking for the things we know we have but can’t find. This is time we could be reading, having breakfast with family or getting a job done around the house!

a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days is spent searching for stuff, over our lifetimes.

These Top 5 Ideas Could Make Things Easier:

1. ‘Declutter as you go’

Have a ‘declutter as you go’ mindset and try to simplify at every opportunity; use the 1 in 1 out rule when you buy new items and clothes, if you come across something that you have not used for a long time. Ask yourself whether you expect to use it in the next 6 months and if not set it aside. You could set-up a small bag/box to add things for the charity shop or recycling centre and ensure you take it when it’s full. (I have a bag in the boot of the car and add to this when I come across things we no longer need)

2. Quick Declutters

Practice Saturday morning half-hour declutters. Engage the rest of the family, put some fun music on and have a competition – get everyone to rush around putting things back where they should be and removing anything that is no longer needed. You might ask children to rotate any pictures that you have up on the wall, adding new pictures created that week and deciding which pictures are to go into a keepsake box and which are to be recycled

3. Schedule Time

Diarise a day periodically to have a sort out in anticipation of new items entering the house (pre-birthday, Christmas and the start of school are good points in the year). Take the opportunity to remove any old/ill-fitting clothes, toys and books that are no longer played with. The promise of new items can make the removal of old items easier

4. Create Homes for Items

Allocate a space for everything (it may help to label drawers and containers) and as you leave a room, pick up items that don’t belong there and return them to their place as you move to the next room/upstairs. I have a friend who has a stairs basket that works really well, she adds any bits that need to go upstairs to the basket and takes it up when she goes, and vice versa when coming down

5. Make it a Routine

Treat decluttering like any other household activity (like ensuring you have clean clothes and groceries) and schedule it in to your weekly/monthly diary. I love the analogy of rocks in a jar. To ensure that we make time for the activities that need to be done, fit them amongst the important activities so they are not left out. If it’s important to you that you maintain a clutter-free home (get clear in your own mind why it’s important – what do you and your family gain – maybe less time wasting in the mornings, less stress, less expense) then you will ensure that you get to it.

Whether you blast your clutter every 3 months or declutter as-you-go, what’s important is that you find what works for you, enjoy your home and life is a little less stressful!

Would you like help getting organised?

If you need guidance, ideas and practical support to get better organised, see my services or give me a call.

Book a free enquiry call with laura

Buying Feels Good but Holding On is the Problem

It’s easy to buy more things (and get a real buzz from bagging a bargain) so it’s not surprising that we accumulate so much in our homes. As we accumulate more we also need to manage our storage and declutter more frequently to avoid being overwhelmed by stuff. 

In today’s world the Consumer rules; it’s so easy to buy anything and everything to meet our wants and needs. Often we don’t really even need the item but it makes us feel good to buy something new. It’s amazing how we can buy clothing, easy-build furniture, electronics and goods from all over the world and have them arrive at our home within a few days. We don’t even need to leave the comfort of our own home to make the order.

It’s easy to buy more things (and get a real buzz from bagging a bargain) so it’s not surprising that we accumulate so much in our homes. As we accumulate more we also need to manage our storage and declutter more frequently to avoid being overwhelmed by stuff.

I’m often asked how we can prevent this overwhelm so I’m sharing my top tips to help manage possessions.

Top Tips For Avoiding the Overwhelming Build up of Possessions

Be mindful about what you bring into your home

Consider your motivation for buying that new item. Do you already have a similar item at home? Do you really need it? Why do you need it? What will you gain from purchasing the item (and does the desire to purchase it outweigh the space that it will take up in your home)?

Think Before You Buy

If replacing items that are old or damaged, before you think about buying new, explore if it’s possible to repair the item before you purchase another. If you need to buy new, always ensure that you remove the old item – avoid the temptation to put it to one side and deal with it later. Recycle, donate, throw away asap – you already decided that it needs to go when you replaced it!

Can you Repair It?

Out with the old and in with the new! (1)Clothes purchases; consider if you can repair damage or have ill-fitting clothes adjusted. Review your wardrobe before shopping so that you know what you have and can avoid buying duplicates or similar items by mistake. If you still want to buy new clothes, ensure that you remove something that is now out of fashion or doesn’t fit as you’re adding the new item to your wardrobe. Sticking to a one-in-one-out rule will really help you to focus on maintaining rather than growing your wardrobe.

Cool Down Period

Test yourself. If you just have to have it, maybe a cool down period of a day or two will help you clarify whether you really need it or are just feeling that initial passion. It’s easy to be seduced by clever marketing and pricing strategies that create that feeling that you must have it there and then or you might miss out if you don’t! I find taking a photo and walking away a great strategy. I give myself a few days and if I still have to have it, then I go back for it.

We will always buy new things, but the key to successfully managing the flow of possessions is to consider purchases carefully and remove unwanted items to make space for the new.

If you would like support decluttering your home of those old purchases contact me. I’m based in Nottingham, work all over the Midlands, and can be part of your support network!

Book a Free Enquiry call with me at www.calendly.com/organisedwell/enquiry

 

UPDATE: I went clothes shopping and thought I’d share how I ensure that I don’t get wardrobe overload!

 

Would you like help getting organised?

Laura Williams, Founder and Professional OrganiserIf you need guidance, ideas and practical support to make more of your home, organise your possessions in a way that supports your best life or to get started with your decluttering project, then give me a call.

We provide tailored advice and practical support to clients looking to make changes, to create calm, ordered space and free up time and money to focus on the important things in life. We specialise in organising rooms, garages, wardrobes, paperwork and much more; see our services or get in touch.

Book a Free Enquiry Call with Laura