Why Decluttering is Good for Your Mental Health

In the fast-paced world we live in, the clutter in our physical spaces often mirrors the chaos in our minds. The idea of decluttering goes beyond simply tidying up; it is a transformative process that can significantly impact your mental well-being. In this blog post I’ll explore the connection between why decluttering is good for your mental health, shedding light on the profound benefits of maintaining an organized and clutter-free environment.

Welcome to my Year Long Thorough Declutter Series. We declutter 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. Each day we do a daily task based on the room we are working on. Today, our task is to start decluttering your clutter in your living room. If you prefer watching videos, check out my youtube channel here. Today, we’ll look at some tips for decluttering any computer junk in your living room.

The best way to develop a new habit is by slowly and daily application. We will begin a new daily declutter habit starting with the 2nd bathroom. In the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series, we will declutter 30 minutes a day, five days a week on weekdays. Sign up to receive daily encouragement and motivation.

Plus, you’ll learn your specific daily task to work toward completing the goal of a Year Long Thorough Declutter where you will declutter every space and learn how to start to purge your house. Are you ready to finally get organized? If so, will you join us? Leave a comment below to subscribe.

If you are new to the blog, welcome! I blog about cleaning, decluttering, and organizing. You can find my free printables to help you get organized in the drop down menu under the Printables category.

Currently we are working on how to unclutter the Living Room. The daily task for today, Dec. 18, 2023, is to begin to declutter any computer junk in your living room. Remember, we are focusing on just the living room area, so don’t declutter your whole house. We will cover each room separately.

Why Decluttering is Good for Your Mental Health

Reducing Stress and Anxiety

One of the most immediate and tangible benefits of decluttering is the reduction of stress and anxiety, which is obviously better for your mental health. A cluttered space can contribute to feelings of overwhelm and helplessness, creating a constant visual reminder of tasks left unfinished. By simplifying your surroundings, you create a more calming and serene environment that can alleviate stress and promote a sense of control over your life.

Enhancing Focus and Productivity

A cluttered space can be a major distraction, making it difficult to concentrate on the task at hand. When you declutter, you eliminate unnecessary stimuli and create a more focused environment. This newfound clarity can lead to increased productivity, as you can direct your energy towards the things that truly matter. This mental health benefit will be most beneficial for you if you declutter the area where you work or earn a living. Try to only place work related items in this area as much as possible to eliminate distractions.

Promoting Mindfulness and Reflection

Decluttering is not just about organizing physical objects; it also encourages a mindful approach to living. As you sift through your belongings, you may find yourself reflecting on the significance of each item. This process of evaluation and decision-making fosters a deeper connection with your surroundings, promoting a sense of mindfulness that extends beyond the act of decluttering itself. It feels good to let go of things that reflect negative feelings and emotions. Don’t be afraid to start there. If an item triggers bad memories, get rid of it.

Creating a Positive Atmosphere

Your living space has a profound impact on your mood and overall outlook on life. A clutter-free environment promotes a sense of order and cleanliness, creating a positive atmosphere that can uplift your spirits. Coming home to an organized space can serve as a sanctuary, providing solace and comfort after a hectic day. You deserve a clean and tidy home to relax in after a hard day at work.

Encouraging Healthy Habits

The act of decluttering often involves making choices about what to keep, donate, or discard. This process encourages a more intentional and mindful approach to consumption. As you become more aware of your belongings, you may find yourself adopting a minimalist mindset, which can lead to more mindful spending and a reduction in unnecessary possessions. This minimalist mindset is also good for your mental health because it allows you to only hold onto what truly matters in your space. If you can’t go all in with minimalism, try just decluttering and minimizing an area of your home where it feels cluttered and crowded, such as a countertop space.

Facilitating Emotional Release

Believe it or not, decluttering can be an emotional journey. Letting go of items tied to memories or sentimental value can be challenging, but it can also be cathartic. The act of decluttering allows you to confront and release attachments to the past, promoting emotional well-being and personal growth.

Why Decluttering is Good for Your Mental Health: You will find yourself healing from the inside out as you choose to declutter those items that invoke a negative emotion, such as a dramatic event you need to recover from. Stop punishing yourself by keeping painful memories alive. Allow yourself to let go of what you need to in order to heal. If your memory is especially painful, seek out the support of a dear friend or trusted counselor to help you walk through the healing process.

Why Decluttering is Good for Your Mental Health: In essence, decluttering is not just a chore but a powerful tool for enhancing your mental health. By simplifying your physical space, you create room for mental clarity, emotional release, and positive feelings. Embrace the transformative power of decluttering, and you may find that a tidy space leads to a more peaceful and fulfilling life. Do it for your mental health.

Guide to Decluttering

1.Only spend time on your specific daily task.

2.Do not get side-tracked or distracted.

3.Work within a time of day that you have the most energy and stamina. This is one of the most useful declutter motivation tips. Listen to your body and work at decluttering when you feel the most alert and energized.

4.Avoid thinking too long about whether to keep or discard an item. This is one specific way for How to Be Ruthless When Decluttering.

5.Avoid cleaning during your declutter. The goal is to purge the dead weight. Getting rid of the clutter is your priority. Cleaning can be accomplished later. Read on for more declutter motivation tips and my room specific deep clean checklist, though, as you will begin cleaning after your declutter.

Hacks for Decluttering

Supplies Needed:

1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)1. boxes -preferably ones you can donate (Avoid plastic storage bins because you may be tempted to just store the items and not part with them.)

2. sturdy trash bags

3. marker/pen to label boxes

Decluttering Tip: Avoid using storage bins to declutter. Storage bins tend to tell your brain to “store” the items for later. That is just delaying decisions. If you aren’t getting rid of items when you declutter, you are not truly decluttering. This is why I recommend a trash bag, also. A trash bag tells your brain to “trash” the item.

Obviously, recycle if you have that option. The boxes you use should be ones you are willing to part with, so I recommend sturdy cardboard boxes. As to donations, there are many charities that will come pick up your items for you at your home.

I use one in particular where you can book an appointment for pick-up online. This is so convenient, as it saves you the hassle of hauling stuff away yourself. Scheduling that pick-up also motivates you to declutter by a certain date.

Steps for Decluttering

1. Start by eliminating trash first- use a sturdy trash bag

2. Sort items by category if needed so you can see what you have

3.Get rid of items that don’t work or that work poorly, expired items, anything you don’t love, anything that you’ll never use again

4. Box up the donations and trash/recycle the rest

5.Select a charity to donate your items and schedule the pick-up if that is an option

How Do You Declutter Your Entire House (and get it deep clean?): Need to deep clean?

First, My How to Deep Clean Your Kitchen list can be found here.

Second, My How to Deep Clean Your Bathroom list can be found here.

Third, My How to Deep Clean Your Kids’ Rooms list can be found here.

Fourth, My How to Deep Clean Your Living Room list can be found here.

Fifth, My How to Deep Clean Your Bedroom list can be found here.

You can get your printable Daily Housekeeping Routine and Deep Cleaning Your House Schedule here. This 15 page printable kit is delivered digitally to your email for you to print and personalize. What Does a Deep Clean Include? It includes a daily schedule, calendar pages, and deep cleaning checklists for every room and area of your home. Check out the link above to see a sample page of what you’ll get in my printable set designed to help you create your personal Homemaking Checklist.

Also, you can get the complete digital printable copy of the Year Long Thorough Declutter Series Calendar and Checklists here. The printable digital download is delivered to your email. It includes 25 pages of printable calendar pages and checklists to help you declutter every room in your home. You can find that here.

New to deemiddleton.com and don’t know where to start? I recommend going in this order:

Step 1: Check out this post on the 1st step you should take to get organized. If you don’t have a calendar, you can grab my free weekly printable calendar page here. It is in my shopify store, but it is totally free, so you won’t be prompted to put in any payment information. It is a free download and will be delivered straight to your email.

Step 2: Create a daily Housekeeping Schedule. You can use this series to start to set up your own schedule. You can also use this simplified weekly schedule.If you often ask: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Or, if you struggle to get organized and have tried and failed time and again, you can likely find out which of these 11 reasons cause you to fail to get organized.

Step 3: How do you remove clutter? How Do You Declutter Your Home?.…Sign up for the Declutter Series and get your entire home decluttered in just 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week.”Declutter Your Home” checklists are provided in each email.

Step 4: What is the fastest way to clean a dirty house? Use a timer and use the Deep Cleaning Checklists above. They will help you get your home sparkling after you’ve decluttered.

Interested in becoming a full-time blogger like me? Check out my blogging series. At the top of every page on my blog, you’ll find a drop down menu. Just select the BLOGGING category.