How can decluttering improve your life

How can decluttering improve your life? Many people believe that it doesn’t improve your life at all, but there is much more to clutter than you think!

I was chatting to my gorgeous friend the other day. She mentioned that she was tidying up her house, and as she was tidying up some clutter, it came to her that the clutter was allowing her to stay “hidden”. Now THAT is something very interesting to explore!

Before I started to write this post, I went looking for a photo to go with the post, and as I opened up the photo I have displayed here, I could feel myself tensing up. It was subtle, but it was definitely there!

What impact can clutter have on your life?

For many people, clutter can actually create a significant amount of stress and upheaval, however not everyone makes the connection between the two.

You see, according to Professional Organiser, Jessica Waters, “…clutter is never about your stuff. It’s about the accumulation of feelings, beliefs, strategies, and possessions that hold you back, suffocate and choke you and keep you from the vision of your truest self.”.

The way I see it, clutter is literally a distraction which can manifest in the form of a “cluttered” life, financial situation, health or relationships, to name a few.

Clutter is draining! And it often comes paired with some deep emotional issues, which need to be addressed, just like my friend who worked out it was allowing her to stay “hidden”.

How to clear clutter

Ok so if your life is a mess, I am guessing your clutter situation is also a mess. Am I right?

If so, let’s start to clear your clutter in a way that doesn’t feel too overwhelming. If you go in with the intention of decluttering your entire house, it’s not going to happen. You will get so far and it will just feel like too much. Let’s get started:

• Start with one room, preferably a room you see every single day. This could be your bedroom, your living room, or even your kitchen. Take a “before” photo, so you can track your progress.
• If the room has a lot of clutter, break the room into smaller segments, so the task doesn’t feel too big.
• Make a decision about how many segments or rooms you plan to clear this week or this month. Don’t set your goal too big – maybe even start small then work up from there.
• When looking through your clutter, determine whether the item is something you really must keep. Is it something you use every day? Or has it just been sitting there for months, waiting for you to step over it?
• Many people find it helps to donate or sell unwanted items rather than throw them out. So if they’re something you could donate or sell, grab yourself a tub or a box and place each item inside. Everything else either gets thrown out or put away where it’s supposed to go!
• Keep doing this, and make sure your sell/donation items have been sold or donated before starting your next section. The reason for this suggestion is because if you don’t do this, you’ll end up with a garage full of your clutter!
• Once your room has been decluttered, take a photo. If you broke your room into segments, wait until all segments of the room have been decluttered.
• Compare the “after” photo to the first photo you took, and give yourself a high five for doing an amazing job!

If you are time poor, I suggest making your segments small. It should only take a few minutes to tidy each one. If you’re feeling adventurous, you might declutter several segments at once – it’s totally up to you!

What you’re going to notice once the clutter is gone, is that you will feel energetically lighter! You may also notice certain aspects of your life working themselves out too. Having all of that clutter in your home was creating clutter in your life, so as each item is dealt with, you’re being taken a teeny tiny step closer to dealing with your life circumstances too. Yay!

If you’ve decided to take on a decluttering project at home, why not share your before and after photos in our Facebook Group? Maybe I’ll do the same!

If you have any questions about this topic or about my courses, please reach out.