When you look around your home what do you see? If you see surfaces covered with things you forgot you had or never needed you may be living a cluttered life. My husband tells me there is no horizontal surface free of my clutter. OUCH! There are television shows that literally deal with hoarding and they show some shocking situations. I am not quite there, yet. You may not have mountains of newspapers or collections of bottles but you may have too much stuff in your life.
The way we live greatly impacts who we are and living a cluttered life can be problematic. There are many reasons to downsize our possessions and a host of benefits in doing so. It may be time to consider a decluttering mission.
I recently took the challenge to declutter. Here are a few things that I learned, and am still learning, in the process.
1) Cleaner Living
The most obvious reason to declutter your life is creating a cleaner, more manageable living space. It allows you to only have the things you need in your home so that you can live a more efficient and ordered life. Living in a cluttered home can be frustrating especially when you can’t find something important. The less you have around you the easier it is to know where everything is.
Start removing unnecessary items, clear out closets, and get rid of things that hold no meaning or have no purpose. As my husband has often reminded me, ‘you haven’t used it in years, if the time should come up in the future, you can always get another one’. When you have a less cluttered home you can truly relax and find peace.
2) Improve Your Mood
According to WebMD when we declutter our lives, we can actually reduce our stress levels. Discarding unneeded possessions allows us to feel calm, happy, and more in control of our lives. Living amidst chaos creates anxiety. (https://www.webmd.com/mental-health/mental-health-benefits-of-decluttering).
A decluttered home makes it easier to be focused. With less clutter in our field of vision we are more able to focus on life’s important tasks. A clean and clear home also gives us a sense of pride and boosts self-confidence.
3) We Can Donate to Those in Need
Not everything we decide to let go of is useless, it is just potentially of no use to us. So rather than trashing everything we can actually do some good for others. If you have a wardrobe full of clothes that you do not wear or devices that could be sold and used by others consider donating. Check with your local charities or thrift stores to see what they may take or need.
By donating the things, we do not need, we are giving ourselves a two-fold boost: we declutter our homes and improve the lives of others in the process.
4) Improve Your Spending Habits
Purchasing things on a whim that you didn’t really need is a negative habit that can be costly and lead to a cluttered life. Once you commit to clearing out your space you are taking the first steps to changing a spending habit. How? Consider that you will not want to clear things out of your life only to refill your space with new things.
5) Safety
This is an important key reason to remove the clutter from your life. You may not consider your home as being on a par with those people on Hoarders but you may still be at risk. Excess possessions can cause obstructions in the home.
Minor injuries such as stubbed toes or a box falling on you from a shelf may not be an uncommon occurrence. A more sparse living environment takes away risks within the home and avoids accidents.
6) You Have Money For The Important Things
Whether you sell your old clutter to make a little profit or the act just makes you stop wasting money on things you do not need, it can help your bank account. With a little more spare money you can focus on the important things in life.
Where will you start your decluttering process?