If you’re reading this because your house is a mess and you are so sick of it, then you’ve come to the right place.
Here’s everything you need to know about clutter.
What Is Clutter and Why On Earth Do We Have It?
Clutter is the accumulation of stuff, to be accurate and as for the why, well, that’s a much more complicated subject.
It’s actually rather mindblowing that such a simple concept can be so overcomplicated by us as humans.
That concept is this: have the stuff that you need but nothing more.
You can call it minimalism but I simply call it logic, common sense even.
But, as I will freely admit, it isn’t always that simple.
Clutter and accumulation are deeply emotional habits, especially in extreme cases.
Emotional circumstances may not be the direct cause of your clutter, but it can distract you enough that you neglect cleaning or decluttering.
I suppose you could say there are general reasons but each person’s why is probably a little different.
Wrecks Havoc On Your Mind
If you have a really messy house then I’m sure you suspect that it has some messed up effects on your brain.
It’s no surprise that you are moody and scattered when your house is a mess, as it turns out having a cluttered house actually keeps your body in a constant state of stress.
A study has found that a messy and cluttered environment makes your brain constantly produce cortisol, which is a hormone that affects everything from your mood to your blood sugar.
Stress has been labeled the silent killer of the 21st century for a reason, and not to be dramatic but that means your messy house could actually be killing you.
It Affects Your Body
There are two different aspects of how clutter affects your physical health.
The first is logical because the more cluttered your home is the more dust and other environmental pollutants will be in the air you breathe.
There are studies that have linked messy houses to how factors such as asthma and allergies.
The second way in which clutter affects your body is because it affects your mind, stress wreaks havoc on your entire body, it can cause weight gain as well as heart disease and sleep disorders.
Unfortunately, that is still only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to what stress and in turn, clutter, does to your body.
Makes You Prone To Bad Relationships
Clutter not only messes with your head and makes you depressed it can keep you stuck in relationships that you may not even realize are toxic for you.
Your brain may be too preoccupied to be able to fully realize the impact that your relationships have on you.
Plus people with cluttered homes are actually more prone to get a divorce even in ‘healthy’ relationships, so there’s that.
Eating Away At Your Wallet
It’s a well-known fact that chronic stress can make you overspend but let’s put the stress scenario aside for just a second.
Finding anything in a cluttered house is a challenge, in the same way that surviving in the wild is a challenge and if you’ve found yourself in that unfortunate position then you know exactly what I’m talking about.
If you’ve got a cluttered home, you’re more likely to replace things that you can’t find because of all the other stuff you keep buying.
Makes sense right?
Wastes Your Time And Energy
There are hundreds of little ways that clutter waste your time and energy and you don’t even realize just how much it affects you and your life until it’s gone.
Just by walking into a messy room you can actually feel your energy draining away and that’s before you’ve even done anything.
now imagine that you need to find something specific, like a birth certificate, there’s no way to replace it, so you’d better find it.
How much time are you going to spend working through the clutter that is entirely useless to your end goal?
Do you realize how much easier your life will be with less in it?
Your Stuff Says A Lot About You
Clutter accumulates for a number of reasons, and regardless of whether the factors are psychological or organizational, the reason you cannot get rid of it will most likely surprise you.
Some of the most common reasons are low self-worth, fear of letting go, fear of change and fear of failure.
I think we can all relate to some of those, we’re only human after all.
But you need to deal with your issues before all that’s left of your life is clutter.
What To Do Next
If you’ve made it this far then I’m guessing you’re pretty set on making a change.
That’s awesome.
All aboard the de-cluttering train!
Here’s the thing though, it’s so easy to get overwhelmed by all of the information you can find online and with that in mind, here are the only things you need to be focused on:
Declutter
There are many ways to go about decluttering, the important thing is that you find what works for you and stick to it.
The golden rule is; don’t keep anything that isn’t useful or does not bring you joy.
In other words, don’t keep the 400-year-old jewelry from your ancestors, sell it and buy yourself a dream vacation to the Bahamas instead.
Make It A Lifestyle Change
You will find as you go through this process that you are free from more than just stuff, you will start to feel happier and more energetic because there isn’t this mental clutter that went along with the physical clutter anymore.
Being clutter-free is an incredible feeling, but it’s more than just that.
It’s a complete lifestyle change.
You’ll no longer buy things to fill some immense hole in your psyche, you will work through your emotions and heal that hole.
You will no longer find value in things, you will find value in people and experiences.
Clutter is never just a physical problem, it is a sign that somewhere along the way you started to value the wrong things.
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