Why it’s more important than ever to tackle our clutter
There are some recent studies showing that too much clutter in our spaces affects us negatively. Women in particular are susceptible to feeling stress due to disorganization. These studies uncovered that cortisol levels in our bodies increases when we are immersed in environments that are chaotic and disheveled. At work, mess and junk can make it difficult to concentrate, stay on task and enjoy our work life. Everyone has a different tolerance to clutter and untidiness, but I have yet to meet someone who didn’t feel it negatively in some way.
Here are some of the general ways that clutter impacts us:
lost time looking for everyday items such as keys, purses and paperwork etc.
difficulty cleaning properly
can contribute to feelings of anxiety or depression
associated with mental fog
can lead to procrastination and lack of motivation
feeling less content in our homes
In my experience as an organizer, I’ve seen some powerful benefits once we begin to address the clutter. Well worth the effort it may take to tackle it.
Here are some of my findings:
If you are looking to improve your health, such as maintaining an exercise program, cooking nutritious meals or finding ways to destress, then you will prosper in a settled and organized home. It’s much easier to look after ourselves when our homes are working for us, rather than against us.
I call this next one the Pivot Principle, the ability to make a quick course correction in life, because we aren’t bogged down in disorganization and chaos. There is something to be said about that kind of readiness in life. Oprah has a quote that I love and live by, “Success happens when opportunity is met with preparedness”. I like to think that our ability to recognize and welcome opportunities, flows when our living spaces are functioning optimally.
Do you sometimes feel you aren’t living up to your full potential? I firmly believe that in order to put our best selves forward, simplifying and crafting an orderly home will hands down be key to reaching that goal.
If we want to do our part for the environment, it is much easier to recycle properly once we’ve carved out a space to set up a robust system for sorting our returnables.
Managing too much stuff takes mental energy, more than we may have to spare. If we want to free up more space in our minds, we will need to safeguard our mental "bandwidth" by lessening our clutter load at home and work.
Are you looking for more connection in your life, yet might feel embarrassed to have people over? This can be a sign that your home isn’t functioning the way you need it to. Mastering our living spaces will free us up to host our friends and family more regularly.
Lastly, taking the time to let go of objects that we are done with helps to create space for the “new” to freely enter our lives. As we are all living longer than any other time in history, this means we can have very different chapters along the way, with potentially varying focuses and activities. Letting go of those items we are finished with is a good practice, and something we will likely do repeatedly throughout our long life.
At no other time in human existence have we had so much stuff. The effect this is having on our inner and outer lives is still being discovered and understood. What I see clearly working with clients, is their forgotten dreams resurface. A passion project that kept getting put off, finds its legs again. A trip that was too stressful to plan, finds forward motion. A career change, a new endeavour…all benefit from that clearing energy, and can ignite.
We spend a great deal of time at home, and any effort put into it, is an investment in ourselves. Taking the time to consider what we keep around us and what we let go of, is a powerful way to honour and transform our ever evolving lives.