Research shows that clutter around your home can have a strong impact on your mental health. Your home should be a safe place for you to rest and reset. But if you come home to a mess every day, you’re likely to maintain higher stress levels than are healthy for you.
The thing is, “getting rid of clutter” isn’t always so easy. Sometimes we accumulate things as a coping mechanism, and have a hard time letting go of items we don’t really need. In this post, we’re going to talk about clutter in all its forms — everything from junk mail you haven’t tossed out yet, to unworn clothes in your closet, to sentimental items you have no use for anymore. The following are four tips for decluttering your house and your mind.
Design Your Home With Storage in Mind
You can create the appearance of less clutter in your home if you decorate with storage capabilities in mind. Deep bookcases and built-ins on the wall are both good options. We’re obsessed with this custom seating from Seattle’s Bolt Woodworks that includes easy storage. But just because you have storage, doesn’t mean you should keep meaningless clutter. To decide what stays and what goes, you need ground rules.
Establish Ground Rules
If you live alone, maybe establishing ground rules just means doing some introspection. Otherwise, you and your family should decide on these together. Good ground rules will help you determine what’s worth keeping and what is just taking up space. Here are some examples:
For clothes: Anything you have not worn in the last full calendar year has to go.
For papers: If the information is not confidential and is available online, get rid of it (take out menus, newsletters, etc.)
For gadgets and toys: If you don’t use it and don’t remember where you got it, toss it.
Remember, ground rules are highly subjective, so make a set that works for your household.
Set Up Strategies For Keeping Your House Clean
After you tidy up your house, it will get dirty again. This is inevitable. But there are certain habits you can set to help you avoid extreme clutter build-up. Here are some helpful tips and tricks:
Get bills, newsletters, etc. in your inbox instead of your mailbox.
Patron your neighborhood library instead of buying books.
Set up a dirty clothes hamper. Without a hamper, your clothes may end up on the floor, the bed, and everywhere else except the laundry machine.
Designate a place for shoes near the door. That way, you won’t track dirt into your home.
Change Your Mindset
We get it. Getting rid of clutter is hard, especially if it’s stuff you like. We’d encourage you not to get rid of important things, but we know that sometimes you need to free up some space. If you’re in that situation, here are some new ways of thinking that can help make the process a little easier.
I like this item, but someone else would use it more than me. Knowing that your stuff will bring someone else more joy can help you donate things that you don’t need.
A picture of this item will help me remember it, so I don’t have to keep it in the house. And pictures take up so much less space.
When I get rid of clutter from my past, I’m actually making space for the future. Well, that’s a nice note to end on!
Make Space For The Future
Decluttering our homes can be hard, but it’s good for us. It decreases our stress levels and helps us make space for what is to come. Do you have any decluttering tips that help you? Let us know what they are in the comments!
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