Decluttering goes far beyond improving the aesthetics of your home or workspace. It’s essential to both your physical and mental wellbeing. It’s no surprise that the clutter in our physical spaces can have adverse effects on our mental health. As more things occupy our space, they find a way to seep into our minds and lead to increased stress and anxiety. Read on to know more about the amazing benefits of decluttering.
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Benefits of Decluttering
1. You’ll have more space
Sometimes clutter causes physical and mental obstructions and distractions. If you work from home, for example, it’s tough to stay organized and on task when piles of stuff surround your work area. When you are living around too many things, you may then feel pressured to clean it up. Or, you’ll feel guilty if you don’t handle the mess. Clean up and your home will feel more spacious. You’ll also gain more space in your brain because you won’t have so many visual cues that prompt memories, guilt, anxiety, and stress that can drag you down.
2. You’ll feel physically healthier
One of the benefits of decluttering is to make you healthier. Excessive amounts of clutter building up is an invitation for a whole lot of dust. This can aggravate or worsen symptoms of respiratory diseases like asthma. Even if you don’t suffer from asthma, you can still feel the harmful respiratory effects of dust piling up and dirtying your air quality. Once you clean out your environment, you’ll start breathing easier and feeling better physically.
3. You’ll decrease your stress and anxiety levels
It’s clear that clutter stresses us out. The more “stuff” we have piling up in front of us, the more reminders we have of all the things we need to do.
Seeing large piles of dishes, unfolded clothes or unreviewed documents in front of you will add to your anxiety and stress. Even worse, the clutter-anxiety cycle continuously contributes to one another and feels inescapable. Clear up your space and you’ll clear up your mind.
4. You’ll appreciate what you have
When you’re more selective about what you like to have around you, you’ll choose more wisely. As a result, you’ll appreciate what you have instead of wanting to go out and find more things. When you stop looking for more things, you’ll spend more quality time connecting with loved ones. You’ll also spend more time on self-care, whether that means journaling, getting a massage, taking a walk in nature, or listening to music.
5. It is easier to look after
A decluttered home is so much easier to look after and maintain. If there’s less stuff then it’s quicker to tidy up, clear things away, clean and generally keep on top of. Less time looking after your home means more time (and energy) to do other things. You can make it even quicker and easier to look after your home if you put in place some simple routines for your housework and regular chores.
6. You will be ready for visitors
If your home is easier to look after and has less clutter, then it’s easier to keep it looking neat and tidy and ready for visitors (pretty much) at all times. Yes, you might need to do a quick run-around picking up a few things, but nothing that will take longer than a few minutes or that your guests will really notice!
7. Your productivity will improve
Clutter increases the opportunities for distraction. Whether it’s an electronic device or just a piling mound of work adding stress to your plate, these things should be properly put in their place. Organize your working space and reduce it to the bare minimum. You’ll notice it’s much easier to work productively when your setting is clean and organized.
Along with calming the mind, minimizing excess clutter in your life has been found to stimulate creativity—so you can make something beautiful as a result of tidying up your environment.
8. You’ll spend less
When you get used to living with less clutter and learning to be intentional and careful about what you let into your home, then you’ll probably find that you’ll spend less on stuff that you don’t really need or want. You’ll learn to find other ways to make yourself happy instead of a trip to the shops. Your bank balance will thank you for it too!