Discover the top reasons why decluttering is important to help inspire you to take action and declutter your home.
Clutter is the presence of too much. Too much stuff in our home or work environment can cause many issues that often spiral into more significant and more challenging issues the longer it is left unchecked.
When we consider why decluttering is so important, we should consider our physical, mental, and psychological well-being. Clutter impacts all of these, and decluttering can improve our lives in these areas and more.
Decluttering is important for health reasons. Piles of clutter often become home to pests, dust, and other dirt that is difficult to clean. Decluttering leads to a sense of control over our environment. Decluttered homes and workspaces lead to more productivity, safety, and peace.
If you are stuck in a moment of deliberation, wondering why you should declutter your home or workspace, or if you need reasons to convince someone to declutter their home or workspace, know there are many reasons.
All of them are vital for a happy, healthy life. Read on to learn some fundamental reasons why decluttering is important.
Why is Decluttering is Important? 5 Motivating Reasons
To understand why decluttering is important, it is helpful to get an understanding of why clutter is an opposing force in the first place. As we list our top reasons, a clear pattern emerges.
Decluttering is vitally essential for different reasons that squash specific negative impacts of clutter on our well-being.
#1. Decluttering Empowers You and Improves Productivity
When your home or workplace is cluttered and messy, it can lead to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, depression, and being overwhelmed.
Working in a messy office will inevitably lead to mistakes, wasted time, repeated tasks, and even reduced productivity.
Studies show that working in a cluttered environment can even reduce your cognitive resources. That means that because your mind is preoccupied with everything around you, it has less energy and focus to give to the tasks at hand.
Coming home to a cluttered environment can be the opposite of relaxing. Your home is supposed to be your peaceful sanctuary. It becomes a giant to-do list that never seems to get done when cluttered.
Decluttering your work space or home can empower you in a few ways. When we declutter, we are forced to make a series of decisions. The problem-solving activity of decluttering ignites that part of our brain; the more we use it, the better we get at it.
By decluttering, we release dopamine, the hormone associated with achieving things. This feel-good hormone empowers us and makes us feel we can get even more done. You might find that after a short decluttering session, you can easily tackle other items on your to-do list.
If you are decluttering your workspace, you will find that your productivity increases, and your self-esteem will skyrocket.
With an orderly office, your mind will be able to focus on the tasks of your work instead of your surroundings, and your creativity will likely flow more easily.
#2. Decluttering Helps You Look Inward
The thing about holding onto “things” is that it’s complicated. If you have ever been asked to part with a sentimental belonging, you get it. People who tend to hoard often have an overwhelming attachment to objects or even to the concept of abundance.
You may not want to part with items because they hold sentimental value. They may cost a lot of money or give you a sense of status when seen with them. You may think they will come in handy one day.
I am guilty of keeping things that “could come in handy one day.” I used to have an entire cabinet jam-packed with odds and ends. Empty toilet rolls, kewer sticks, old keys, old magazines, broken jewelry, old branches, the list goes on. In my mind, I could use all that stuff for art or craft projects… or something someday.
When the time finally came for me to declutter, I ended up making tiny Christmas trees for loved ones with the branches I already had and the mismatched jewels. They made great holiday gifts, and I felt vindicated. Everything that was left, however, I tossed.
Decluttering helps you look inward in ways that may seem unexpected at first. It allows you to analyze things like:
- Why can’t I let this go?
- Why is this important to me?
- Who else could benefit from this?
- Why haven’t I gotten around to using this yet?
- Does this suit who I really am or who I wish I was?
- What else can I use this space (or item) for?
- How else can I remember that particular person or event once I have let the thing go?
Knowing what motivates your actions can go a long way in helping you get started with decluttering. It can also keep you on track with a decluttered environment or enlighten you enough to ask for help if you need it.
#3. Decluttering Can Restore Your Confidence
When your home is cluttered, it can become a cycle of clutter begetting clutter. Piles of stuff on surfaces and the floor can become overwhelming and embarrassing. Because you might feel embarrassed, you may avoid having anyone over to your home.
The irony in this situation is that the more depressed and overwhelmed you become about your clutter situation, the more overwhelming it is likely to become. And left unchecked, it will grow, along with your feelings of shame.
When you take control of the clutter, you restore your confidence. You can, once again, be proud of your home and feel free to move from room to room in peace. Your loved ones can visit you, and you can confidently use the resources in your home to cook, craft, clean, and do anything else that makes you happy.
#4. Decluttering is Good for Your Health
Cluttered environments tend to be magnets for pests, dust, and dirt. It can be challenging to clean under piles and boxes of stuff, and pests love to make their homes in undisturbed areas.
When you declutter, you reduce the risk of getting asthma or allergies caused by dust and mold. A decluttered space is easy to clean and one that can reduce health hazards.
Decluttering can improve your physical health by eradicating the likelihood of pests living in your home. Pest droppings or even bites from animals like rats can cause serious illness, and once your environment is clear of clutter, there will be little chance of this happening.
A decluttered home will save you energy. A house that is clear of clutter is easier to clean. With minimal time spent putting things away or sorting through things, cleaning should be a breeze, and your energy can be used for something you really enjoy.
Sleeping in a clean, tidy, and clutter-free room can also positively impact your sleep. If getting quality shut-eye is a priority for you, be sure to spend some time decluttering your bedroom before your next bedtime for a dreamy night.
#5. It Can Improve Your Mental and Emotional Health and Your Relationships
Another reason why decluttering is good for you is that it can seriously improve your mental and emotional outlook.
Not only will you gain an empowering sense of control over your environment and release a healthy dose of dopamine when you declutter, but you will also give yourself the confidence to allow loved ones back into your space.
Some other ways that decluttering can improve your mental and emotional health include:
- Longer attention span
- Better concentration
- Better focus
- Higher self-esteem
- More dignity
- Greater productivity
- Less procrastination
- Greater problem-solving skills
- Less anxiety
- Less depression
- Less tension with family members or partners
- More peace
- Calmer
- Helps you create a home you love to live in
The primary way decluttering improves your mental and emotional health, and the way that impacts all the points mentioned above is by creating space. Your eyes and mind are not designed to focus on “things” everywhere you look.
When every surface is cluttered, your brain goes into overdrive, knowing that these things need to be taken care of. Even if you switch off and go into a sort of clutter blindness, your subconscious mind is aware that something is off, and you cannot truly relax.
Creating a clutter-free space, with clean open areas and things packed away in an orderly manner, will allow you to come home to a sanctuary where you can truly relax and be at peace.
Decluttering gives you the opportunity to exercise the part of your brain that loves solving puzzles to make your home somewhere you and your family love to live.
You will find that decluttering also eases the tension between you and your family or partner. (Here are simple tips for decluttering when your spouse doesn’t want to.)
Too much stuff can lead to arguments and fighting for so many people, even if they don’t know what they are fighting about. A clean, clear home that is calm and in order will positively affect the psyche of all who live in the space.
Final Thoughts on the Importance of Decluttering
Decluttering has so many benefits, but in these top picks, you can see some of the best reasons to get started with decluttering your home or workspace today. Take control of your environment and build back your self-esteem and dignity by reclaiming your space. Look inward to identify your reasons for holding on to your belongings and ask for help if needed.
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