You may ask yourself why there are a lot of talks recently on the importance of decluttering and minimalist living. In fact, decluttering, though you may think is just about tidy and organized surroundings, is a way of self-care. Decluttering can significantly improve our mental health, bringing more calmness into our hectic lives. Just remember how it felt last time after you’ve cleaned a drawer or organized a closet, very satisfied and calmer, right?
But before we talk about the benefits of decluttering, we need to understand the reasons why we have clutter. Decluttering sometimes seems like an overwhelming process, especially when we don’t know how or where to start. Also, the reason we have a lot of clutter around is being unsure what we want to keep around and what to toss away, worrying that if we get rid of some items now we might need it later.
So, here is how to start:
1. Take it one room or one area at a time. Thinking you need to declutter your entire house in one go sounds like a big task and rather exhausting. What you need to do is start with only one dedicated hour a day for each room or area. Start by clearing flat surfaces, removing unwanted items, tossing away unwanted paper and notes, and organizing the necessary ones in a folder. The next step should be your closets and drawers.
2. Assess your belongings. Here is a rule of thumb if there is a piece of clothing that you’ve kept in your closet for more than a year and never wore, then it is time to donate it. The same applies to other items lying around your house or workplace that you never use such as boxes, old bags, expired products, and so on, these need to be tossed away, and even better, giving them for companies working on recycling.
3. Create storage space in your home. It can be a room, a closet, or whatever is convenient for you to keep things that you don’t usually use but need from time to time. Also, move everything into cabinets such as toiletry, makeup, skincare products, and detergents.
4. Keep the look neat, clean, and soothing to the eye. Rearrange scattered couch pillows, make your bed, and put empty dishes into the sink. The tidier your surroundings, the calmer and less stressed you feel.
The benefits of decluttering
• It promotes peaceful living. This applies to your home, workplace, car, garage, everything.
• Decluttering reduces stress and anxiety. The clutter around us affects our mental health making us feel lost, overwhelmed, and burdened. It makes our brains cluttered as well.
• Decluttering helps you save time and space. You don’t spend hours looking for something in the middle of piled-up stuff and you have more room for other things.
• It gives you a clearer vision of what you need and don’t need to buy. When our closets or drawers are packed with so many things, of which some that we don’t use, we end up buying what’s not necessary and things that we don’t need.
• Decluttering is a good way to donate more. Instead of keeping clothes that you are not planning to wear, other people out there might be more in need.
Comments
Leave a Comment