Clutter is a stressor. It can trigger stress in your brain and body. Experts have a name for this type of stress: mess stress. Having a cluttered house or workplace causes you mess stress, which automatically affects your physical and mental health.
You don’t want to be dealing with all that emotional and physical tension in your every day life. That’s why it’s important to declutter your home.
Decluttering is not only a stress reliever, but it’s a great way to regain your sense of control and accomplishment.
Even if your day is hectic as hell, you can still fit a decluttering routine into your schedule.
Organization experts suggest working with the following decluttering tips to turn your home into an oasis:
1. Get clear on goals (what you want and why)
All your attempts at decluttering should be orderly. Haphazard efforts at decluttering would be counterproductive. Lack of decluttering goals increases your chances of not following through with the house clean-up.
First, establish whether it’s the entire house that needs decluttering or certain rooms and spaces that could use some de-junking.
This step will help paint a clear picture of where to start the tidying exercise. Or what room in the house requires the most urgent attention. Perhaps it’s the living room area that’s the most disorganized. Or maybe the kitchen and the garage need immediate organization.
Setting goals also draws a road map or declutter plan and a reasonable timeline for decluttering.
Most importantly, you’ll have a vision of the kind of home and life you want. That glance into the future shows what your decluttered home will look like. It even gives you an idea of what to keep and what to get rid of.
2. Decide on what needs to be done
If you want to make your decluttering decisions with relative ease, you’ll need to have clutter control. You have a clutter problem because deciding on what to keep and what to toss out was an issue in the first place.
When cleaning out your bedroom, for instance, the closet is the best place to start. One strategy you can use is to freecycle all the clothes that you’ve outgrown, those that you no longer fancy.
Do the same thing in your garage. Clear out all those old boxes with your grown-up kids’ toys and make room for your gardening tools instead. If there is any junk in there that’s taking up unnecessary space, dispose it in a yard sale or something.
Head over to the attic, basement, laundry room, or any other space around your house that needs re-organizing.
In each of these places, group like items together, sort stuff you don’t regularly use into bins or storage racks for ease of reach when necessary. And always throw out the trash while donating anything that’s in good condition and that you don’t need.
Deciding to declutter will, in many ways, require that you bring out the minimalist in you.
3. Set realistic expectations of yourself (don't add to the stress)
Decluttering is a process, not a one-day or weekend-long affair. Take as much time as you need. The point is to declutter successfully, not fast.
When it’s only a small space, like the kitchen, in the house that needs your attention, a week or less could be enough. However, if the entire house needs an overhaul, you could be looking at a couple of weeks or months of gradual decluttering.
A house full of clutter is usually the case; making a declutter action plan and schedule all the more important.
Keep in mind that you’re decluttering to take back control of your life and be stress-free. That means taking the most effective approach towards cleaning out your house. Don’t overwhelm yourself.
Assuming it’s a top-down declutter operation, consider delegating decluttering tasks to your kids and spouse. This way, you’ll get more done in a short time than you would when tackling the job alone.
Even better, you’ll be able to move to other parts of the house and declutter them just as fast.
4. Take little action steps every day.
You’ve got the goals and course of action to organize your house in place and know exactly how to proceed.
Make life simpler by breaking down those goals into daily or weekly milestones that you need to hit.
Set those daily or weekly targets in your calendar and cross them off as you achieve the main decluttering goal.
Imagine a scenario of a cluttered home office. Rather than get rid of the mess in one fell swoop. Give it a week.
Start with the bookshelves on day one. Turn your attention to the drawers on day two. Set your eyes on filing cases on the third day, and clear the piled up and strewn papers into their rightful place. You get the idea.
Replicate this very decluttering style in all the other areas of the house.
What to do after decluttering your house?
Decluttering is continuous, not a one-and-done thing. The clutter happened before, and it could happen again. That’s why you should immediately shift to maintenance mode.
Leave the action plan and schedule in place to ensure your decluttered house remains that way.
5. Turn your home into a spa destination!
Don’t forget to take care of yourself too. Accelerate the stress relief from decluttering by rejuvenating and restoring your energy levels. There is no way that you need to wait for the stars align to enjoy your next spa day. You can have it in just a few days right in the comfort of your beautifully decluttered home!
Did you know that The Spa Curator has everything that you need to recreate the best spa experience at home?
Check out the Spa Curator for tools, tips, and treatments that give you an at-home spa experience like you’ve never had before.
We’re taking all-natural soy scented candles to brighten the mood in your freshly decluttered house. Bath salts to drown your stress-related pain and aches way and many more uniquely curated and personalized spa-like experiences you will love.
