Negative Effects Of Clutter And How You Can Change It

Negative Effects Of Clutter And How You Can Change It– Without a doubt living in a cluttered environment can have negative impacts on your mental health and general well-being. However, there are many positive steps that you can take towards clearing the clutter from your home as well as your life.

When you get rid of the clutter you will reap the benefits and rewards of having more living space in your home, increased vitality, and enthusiasm for doing the things you truly enjoy!

Negative Effects Of Clutter

Clutter Affects Your Mental Health

If you have messy cupboards, piles of paper clutter, and overflowing counter spaces around the home this can have a very negative effect on your mental health. Without a doubt, clutter can leave you feeling anxious, stressed, and even depressed.

Clutter Negatively Stimulates Your Mind

It is really difficult to be productive in your life if you have clutter surrounding you. If you are constantly wasting time looking for things then this means that you aren’t being very efficient. Not to mention how frustrating this can be!

Clutter Is A Joy Killer

Clutter can stop you from engaging in activities that you enjoy. For example, If you want to do fun things like exercising, crafts, or even want to sit down to enjoy a book. It will be almost impossible if your living area has piles of mess everywhere taking up valuable space.

Clutter Stops You Feeling Relaxed

Your mind will not be able to fully relax if all you are seeing is mess and clutter. This is because clutter is telling your mind that there is unfinished work that needs to be taken care of.  It’s too hard to relax and enjoy a quiet evening if your living space is in desperate need of attention.

Clutter Give You The Guilts

If you have excessive clutter in your home it may also mean that you are always living in a state of guilt. The thing is, you really don’t want to be living in a mess and therefore you might be walking around with those annoying nagging thoughts about how you should be more organised.

So What Can You Do?

If you understand the negative effects of clutter and then begin to realise how it can rob you of enjoying your life and doing the things you love. This might just be the motivation you need to begin the journey towards decluttering and organising your home. It’s never too late and it’s never unachievable.

Tips For Decluttering 

1. Be realistic

Have a good look at all your “stuff” and be honest with yourself about whether or not you are ever really going to use whatever it is you are holding on to. Chances are that once it’s gone you won’t even miss it.

2. Donate

Give to charity any clothes, shoes, and bags that you haven’t used or worn in a long while. If it really has been such a long time since you have used that particular item. Then you probably never really loved it to begin with.

3. Sell

Have a garage sale and make some money from things that have been taking up valuable space. List them on eBay or Facebook Marketplace. This may take some time and effort but there is a real sense of achievement when you do manage to make some extra cash selling unused items.

4. Choose One Project

Pick one area in your home that really annoys you the most and tackle that first. It could be as small as one shelf, drawer, or cupboard. Or you could of course do a whole room. Choose whatever you feel you will be able to start AND finish.

5. Ask Yourself Why You Are Holding On To A Particular Item

Seriously consider why you are keeping something “for just in case”. Your lovely home is not a storage unit so don’t treat it like one.

6. Stay Motivated

Keep motivated by visualising all the wonderful things you will achieve by getting rid of the clutter. Remind yourself that you will be living a much more stress-free life doing things you enjoy without feeling guilty about the state of your home.

7. Toss Outdated Technology.

That broken remote control will probably never get fixed and that old mobile phone will never come back to life again. Trust me.

8. One Box Only

Designate one box for each child’s artwork. Be strong and get rid of the rest.

9. Throw Out Old Linen

Get rid of mismatched or yellowing linen you might be keeping for guests who may never come to stay. Once you’ve gotten rid of the unused/old linen you can use those amazing vacuum bags to create more space in your linen cupboard.

10. Yes, You Can Buy It Again!

Try not to be too harsh and remind yourself that it’s perfectly acceptable to buy again later down the track. We often keep things because we don’t want to waste money repurchasing. BUT  by permitting yourself the freedom to do this then it will be easier to get rid of something. Don’t forget that once it’s gone you may never have the desire to buy that similar item ever again.

Start Today

So why not go ahead, take control of your life today, and don’t let clutter control you. Here is a practical list of 20 things you can get rid of to declutter your home. This can help you to start your journey towards a clutter-free home.