10 Important Reasons to Declutter
So you want to have a clear out? There are many reasons you should declutter your life. While to most people, decluttering means clearing out physical items, it can mean so much more. It can refer to technology, social media, emails, waste, people, and more. Our lives are filled with tons of stuff that are not necessary for our lives.
You might be reading this because you are interested in minimalism or perhaps you are just thinking of getting rid of some stuff in your house. Either way, you are in the right place.
Simple Living
Decluttering and most importantly staying decluttered is the first step to a simpler life. Modern society is making it almost impossible to live simply but it’s possible if you try. Don’t buy into the ‘more will make me happy’ motto. Sadly, the majority of the population believes this to be true and it’s exactly the reasons why life has become so cluttered.
Life should not be about material possessions. There is so much more than that. When you realize this, your mindset towards life will completely change.
10 Reasons to Declutter
You will make many decisions during this process. Some will be tougher than others but trust me, you’ll be happy at the end of it. Don’t force yourself to do this in one day. It might take you a few days or weeks. It varies from person to person. As long as you start, don’t worry about how long it will take you. You are trying to improve your life. That’s what matters.
Decluttering is not just about throwing away unwanted items. It’s a change of mindset. You need to shop more intentionally. Some might even say that staying decluttered might be harder than decluttering in the first place.
Now let’s get into it.
Less stress
With less stuff also comes less stress. Having to look at a mess every day is likely to be increasing your anxiety. And locking away everything you don’t want in a closet will not help with this. It’s just easier to take the time and decide what you want and what you don’t want in your house.
Looking at piles of stuff taking up space triggers your brain into thinking you have unfinished tasks to do. This can make you very fatigued in the long term. Your house should be a place to relax, not stress.
Easier to organize
After decluttering each room, it will take you a fraction of the time to tidy them up. Everything will have a place in your home so no more stressing about where to put everything. If you are one of those people spending hours each week cleaning the house, decluttering might be a good idea for you.
Waste less time
First of all, you will waste less time tidying everything up every week. The process of tidying your home will become much quicker and easier. Cleaning the house is a task that seems to take forever. This is only because you have so many things everywhere.
Secondly, you won’t have to waste your time finding things. Since I decluttered my room, I don’t think I’ve lost anything whereas before, I used to spend hours trying to find something I misplaced.
Another bonus point is that you will spend less time deciding on an outfit. How long does it take you to decide what you are going to wear? Do you plan your outfit the day before? Well, that will be over when you transform it into a minimalist wardrobe.
Focus on what’s important
This is certainly one of the most important reasons to declutter. You can finally do what you find important as you won’t have excess stuff cluttering your life and taking up your precious time. By removing stuff, tasks, and distraction from your life, it allows you to do what you want to do. For example, if you have a hobby that you love but don’t find the time to spend on, here’s your chance.
More space
Your house will feel spacious and more comfortable. People don’t need to get bigger houses, they need to have less stuff. We don’t even use most of our homes. Generally, we stay in 2 or 3 areas of the house. So before looking to buy a new house because the one you have now is ‘too small’ maybe think how much of the house you use and how much is taken up by useless things.
It also gives you more space to think since you will have a clearer mind. It’s not good for our minds to be constantly stimulated like they currently are. We need to take a breath once in a while to relax and let our mind wander. After the invention of smartphones, very few people ever sit and do nothing.
Improves efficiency
Having a desk filled with old notebooks, paper and books is likely to distract you from the work that needs to be done. Additionally, working in a messy room day in day out will distract you. How many times have you had an important task to do but instead procrastinated by tidying up your room? It’s certainly something that I’ve done. If you declutter, you will take these distractions away.
Freedom
We often get attached to material objects and can’t seem to let them go. When you realize things are just things, you stop being controlled by them. There is a quote from The Minimalists that perfectly describes this:
Love people. Use things. The opposite never works.
The Minimalists
For instance, you could move to a new apartment or house easily without worrying about the hassle of moving all your stuff. It just makes life so much simpler.
It also makes traveling easier because you are able to take fewer clothes with you. Decluttering opens opportunities. You can travel for months without worrying about carrying large suitcases with you. You become free to do what you want.
Clear your mind
Another reason to declutter is to clear your mind from unnecessary stuff. Having useless stuff in every part of the house clutters your mind even if you don’t realize it. It stays at the back of your mind and it reduces your ability to concentrate.
Good For The Environment
This might not be one of the reasons that you thought of when you decided to declutter but we can’t forget about the environment. Inevitably at the beginning, you will probably have to throw away some useless or broken things. Although do try to donate and sell as much as you can. After that initial stage, your mindset will hopefully switch and you will start buying less stuff.
Less stuff is always good for the environment.
Save money
This comes from the change of mindset too. You become more grateful for the things you have and you don’t feel the need to keep buying more stuff to make you happy.
It could even make you money. Selling your clothes or pretty much anything is easily done with the help of thrift apps and eBay. So if you have things in good condition, you could always make some money from it.
Creating a creative space
A decluttered room or house doesn’t equal a tidy house. What I mean by this, is that you don’t always have to keep your home 100% tidy.
In fact, there have been where untidy rooms actually make you more creative. But we shouldn’t take this to the other extreme and let your bedroom floor always be covered with stuff. Declutter your room but you don’t necessarily need to keep it tidy every day. Perhaps, leave your room a bit messy when you are planning to be creative.
Conclusion
As you can see there are a lot of reasons why decluttering your home is a good idea. Have fewer things and value them more. It will teach you to be more grateful which is something that many lack in our modern world.
Decluttering your home will not fix all your problems but it will definitely improve your life in many ways. Take this as your first step into a simple and more intentional lifestyle.
Originally published at https://www.terramovement.com on October 16, 2020.
