What’s The Big Deal With Clutter?

Today’s Topic & What You’ll Learn

• What clutter is & how it affects our emotional health
• How to reduce the clutter around you & how that can positively change your behaviours

Mama Robbins

There are some people out there, I wish I could feel the same way, where clutter does nothing to their mind. They don’t feel stressed over the amount of stuff they have accumulated in their home, rooms, offices, papers all over, stacks of books all out of place, things just everywhere. This does absolutely nothing to them emotionally. A good example is people who are true Hoarders. Though, this usually is a result of a deeper issue of a mental illness, which is beyond my capacity to speak on. However, there are those of us, myself included, who are affected by clutter and it stresses us out beyond what you can physically see. Something as simple as a pile of mail or my kids’ school papers that have to be sorted can literally turn around my day if I’m not careful.

What Is Clutter? Clutter is anything or a collection of things lying around in an untidy mess. Not too many people have a perfectly clean home and nothing that needs to be done. I know I feel like I always have something that needs to be completed. Have you ever come home and felt stressed over the cleaning needing to get done because the dishes are still laying out? Overwhelmed on the projects that you have started and never finished? These can include laundry, those scrapbooks you started years ago and plan to “one-day” finish, paperwork that has started to pile up, closets that needs to be gone through, etc. Some people even use the word “suffocated” when describing how they feel in their home and at the office. So what is clutter really doing to our minds and bodies?

• Clutter Impairs Your Ability To Think Creatively
• Clutter Impacts Your Ability To Focus
• Clutter Increases The Stress Hormone Cortisol
• Clutter Can Lead To Other Mental Health Issues
• Clutter Affects Your Mood
• Clutter Can Result In Snapping At Others Around You

I’m sure on occasion if not multiple times you have felt the stresses of being in your own home or office and just wishing you could pack up and do things somewhere else. This is because your brain can’t stop thinking of all the other things that need to be completed. It’s like being distracted ALL the time. Have you ever laid in bed at night and you can’t sleep, to realize you are pondering all the “To Do’s” that need to be completed? Ever realize when you go over to a friends/family members home, though you may feel like cleaning their house, you don’t have to do a thing! (usually) I find when I spend time with friends and family at their homes I feel more at ease as I know I don’t have to do their dishes, laundry, clean any mess they already have. Though, my personality I would clean just about anyone’s home I go into, it’s not mandatory. In our own homes, we can almost feel like prisioners!

You may think all of this isn’t really all that bad, but it doesn’t just affect us. Kids are also highly affected by clutter. Clutter around kids causes behavioral issues, attention problems, just to name a few. Kids are able to focus better in a clean and organized environment. Why? Clutter competes with our kid’s attention and all clutter is chaos and toxic. Now you may be thinking – But my kid is the one that makes the mess that I then have to clean! True, but just leaving everything out can cause them to be restless, less focused, have no desire to clean up their own mess and so many other things. In my previous blog, I was talking about excessive laundry problems I had before where everything was clean, but it was left on the floor. Each morning my kids would have to dig through this heaping pile of clothes and try to find what they wanted to wear. Trust me, when I say my oldest NEEDS her pink tou–tou with flowers, the black pants to match and her one shirt that is black with flowers on it, she means business. The stress I could have avoided by not having that “clutter”! Think about it. When you have a home that has a place for everything, your whole family can take part in making sure things go back in their home. You can start great habits now while they are younger and have a better sense of keeping things organized later in life. Not to mention, you and your kids will know where things are.

How Do We Fix It? My previous blog on Holiday Toys I discussed options for going through every room in your home and organizing things in a manner that helps you get rid of clutter. There is also a great show on Netflix called “Tidying Up” where a lady teaches you how to go through each room in your home, find a place for everything and different techniques on how to put things away. (Even just the first episode you will get the idea) You will definitely want a WEEKLY assessment where you and the family sit down and discuss what needs to be taken care of.

Tech At Work & Home: Maybe you need to declutter your home screen. Clear out files that are no longer needed. Take a day to go through your inbox and hit DELETE on everything that doesn’t need to be there. Create folders in your Inbox: Insurance, Hydro Bills, Cell Phone, Car Information, Taxes, Reading Articles (Read * Unread), Subscriptions, etc. These can all clear out what remains on your main inbox screen. Anything that needs you to follow up on, mark it with the star. You can even set reminders so you don’t have to think about it. Tech Clutter is sometimes even worse than the physical because it can build up faster. It’s amazing how much easier things are when you go online and your inbox says only “2 Messages Unread”.

What Benefits Will This Provide? Can you imagine coming home to a clean home every day! Not to mention, you will feel so accomplished in your own work. You may even have the rest of your family help out and this can be a great time for bonding and family time! Your rooms will look neat and tidy, your computers, cell phones, etc. will all be cleaned up and in order. You will mentally have more time to focus on your family and other relationships when you Declutter Your Life!

I hope some of these ideas help you start on a path to clutter-free living. If you have any topics or suggestions you would like me to talk about, please leave me a comment below with your suggestion.

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Sincerely,

Mama Robbins