What are the benefits of de-cluttering, apart from a tidier home?
At Just Clear we specialise in hoarder clearance. Hoarding past a certain scale is recognised as a mental health issue, which won’t affect most people, but de-cluttering can bring unexpected advantages beyond the obvious neater house effect.
Less stuff cuts down on your cleaning. Rooms with a more minimal feel are easier to polish, tidy, vacuum and more.
More productive
De-cluttered rooms make you feel more productive. Take desks in an office, for instance. Which one would you rather sit at? The desk covered in papers, surrounded by mugs half-full of cold coffee and discarded chocolate wrappers, or the one with clear space around it and nothing to distract the eye?
Tidiness is calming. Walk into a clean, uncluttered room and you’ll feel much more relaxed than when you walk into a space where ornaments, piles of books, cushions, magazines and old newspapers, and bits and bobs litter every surface.
Clean space can highlight beautiful paintings or pieces of furniture. Yes, one of the aims of de-cluttering is to rid yourself of unnecessary possessions but if you do have a piece of art that means a lot to you, wouldn’t you rather it is the main thing someone sees when they walk into a room?
De-cluttering procrastination
You’ll feel a sense of achievement. Most of us put off de-cluttering so that when we finally do it, it feels as if you’ve completed an epic task.
Convinced of the benefits? Here are some tips to help you on your way:
- Do it ten minutes at a time. Pick one cupboard and clear it out, then stop. It’s a variation on the old ‘how do you eat an elephant—one bit at a time’ saying.
- One out, one in. For every new piece of clothing you buy, give away or throw a garment out.
- Take a black bin bag and fill it as fast as you can of stuff to chuck—this avoids the endless decision-making that stall decluttering efforts
- Ask yourself if you’d buy an item again, and if not, chuck it.
- Take your stuff to a car boot sale. (Just don’t buy anything while you’re there!)
- Try the Oprah Winfrey Closet Hanger Experiment. Turn all the hangers in your wardrobe to face one way. When you wear something, change the way the hanger faces when you put it back. After six months you’ll know what you wear regularly and can throw out everything you don’t.
De-cluttering can be a massive job, but the rewards are manifold. If it does seem like an impossible job, Just Clear can quote you a price for a professional service to help you out. Give us a call on 0345 319 8000 to speak to us.
