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You know you should declutter your home, but why exactly? Is all that clutter really so bad after all? Is it really so terrible to have piles of STUFF around the house? How does decluttering improve your mental state? Here are 7 important reasons why you should get rid of the clutter in your home starting today.
Decluttering your home and space is always a trending topic at the beginning of the year. New year, new you – right? Maybe. But the fact is, there is a reason why decluttering has been and continues to be such a popular topic.
It’s because there are significant benefits – both mental, physical, and emotional – of getting rid of clutter in your home.
And here’s some good news! You do not have to be a professional organizer or even a minimalist to create a home that is clutter free.
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What is All This Stuff? How Clutter Accumulates in Our Homes
Do you ever find yourself taking a look around your house and wondering how in the world you ended up with all this stuff in the first place? Like, what even is in that kitchen drawer and how many legos does one child need, exactly?
Oh, and has anyone seen that piece of paper where I wrote down that note the other day?
I have been there. And to be honest, I still find myself there sometimes.
Clutter accumulates so easily in our homes if we are not proactive in creating systems and regular routines to get rid of it. Piles of mail stacked on the desk you need to go through, old clothes that you haven’t worn in years, but are still in great shape, and the list goes on.
ESPECIALLY if you have young children at home, it is very easy for all the stuff to pile up. The artwork, toys, books, all the things. It can get to be out of control.
And if you’re anything like me, it’s easy to not notice it happening. Until one day, you’re looking for that one thing and all the piles become overwhelming and incredibly frustrating.
That’s why one of my priorities as a stay-at-home mom and homemaker is to create systems and routines in our home to continually be purging and clearing the clutter.
RELATED: 5 PRACTICAL TIPS TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME
7 Benefits of Decluttering Your Home
1. Decluttering Saves You Time
How much time do you spend each week (or even each day) cleaning your home? How would it feel to cut that time down significantly? A lot even?
What about the time it takes you to find something that you’ve misplaced?
When you have less things to clean and put away on a daily basis, or even less things to look at and organize, it makes cleaning up a whole lot easier.
And when things have a designated home? You’ll find yourself spending a whole lot less time looking for those misplaced keys or phone or remote. Or heaven forbid that favorite toy.
I want to suggest that getting rid of the clutter in your home will prevent things from getting misplaced. You know, since everything has a home. But the reality of life (especially in a busy season with young kids) is that things will get misplaced. But, if we have fewer things to distract our eyes and our attention when we’re looking for them, it takes a whole lot less time to find them.
2. Decluttering Creates a More Calm Home Environment
I think about creating a calm home environment often. As a stay-at-home mom to very active boys, there is a lot in our life and home that is anything but calm. That said, we all function better when we can start and end each day with a clean slate.
When we have more things than we can manage, not only are the boys less engaged with their toys, rather they tend to just dump everything on the floor, play with it for a bit, and then move on, but our home starts to feel like a place of chaos.
I certainly want our boys to feel free to play and laugh and make messes in our home. That’s part of the fun of childhood (and motherhood, if I’m being honest). But, at the end of the day when it’s time to rest, I want our home to be a place that facilitates that too. So that we can have the space we need to recharge for tomorrow’s memory making.
3. Decluttering Makes Space for Hospitality
In thinking about the kind of home environment I want to create, hospitality plays a big role in that. How welcoming is our home to those around us? Please do not hear me to say that our homes need to be immaculate or deep cleaned at all times to host guests.
I don’t fear the surprise knock on the door from our neighbors even when the toys are strewn out or the day’s dishes are still in the sink. At the heart of hospitality, I believe, is simply inviting others into your real life. Even when it’s messy.
That said, when we fill our homes with clutter, we often rob ourselves of the joy that comes with hospitality. We find ourselves stressed about putting things away to simply make SPACE for others.
Why?
When we get rid of clutter, we can literally create more space for others. More space to sit in our living room. A space to put a drink down during conversation. Space to play games or share a meal.
4. Decluttering Reduces Stress
Since having kids and becoming a stay-at-home mom, I have become much more sensitive to clutter. Piles that used to not bother me at all now seem to stare in my face all day long.
I find myself distracted when I need to get tasks done and frustrated when I can’t find what I’m looking for. I can’t as easily put together activities for the boys or sit and play with them in the moment.
And far too often, this frustration and stress pours over into the way I treat others – namely those with whom I share a home.
5. Decluttering Your Home Saves You Money
Decluttering your home saves you money. Do I have your attention now? Maybe you’re reading this and you aren’t fully convinced about the other benefits of decluttering your home. But did you know that decluttering can actually save you money?
Here are a few of the ways that getting rid of clutter can boost your bank account;
- Knowing what you already have at home (and where it is) will allow you to buy less duplicate things.
- How many times have you needed a specific thing that you just KNOW you have, but you can’t find it? And of course, you always find it just after buying a new one. Now you have two.
- Decluttering your home encourages you to buy fewer things in general.
- Once you get rid of all the extra things, you can really see how much LESS you actually NEED in your home. Remembering this will make you less tempted to spend money on impulse buys for things you don’t really love.
- You can make extra cash by selling things you no longer use.
- Most of the things that are hard for us to get rid of are things that are in good condition and still have some purpose.
- That said, the question should not be whether or not a thing is useful, but rather, is it useful to me in this season or would it be more useful somewhere else?
- Those things that are in good condition, but not being used by you are prime candidates to list on buy/sell/trade sites to earn a little bit of extra cash.
6. Decluttering Encourages Gratitude
Next, decluttering encourages gratitude. It is incredible to me that amount of things that we have in our home. And when I take a step back and actually look at all of it, I become incredibly grateful. We absolutely have more than we need and we certainly have more than many others.
When we take time to declutter our homes, we find and keep those things that we really love. Then, when you see them and use them in your home, you can take a minute to be grateful for them.
7. Decluttering Helps Teach Children Responsibility
Finally, decluttering your home can help you teach your children responsibility. Who doesn’t want kids that are responsible and helpful?
The fact though, is that when our homes are full of clutter, it can be hard for children to learn how to take care of their things. When they have too many toys available, it can be hard to keep up with where they all go.
Getting rid of clutter allows you to simplify systems and organization around your home and therefore creates opportunities to involves children in the household work.
A simple toy organization system or bins allow children to identify WHERE their toys go. Simple and routine tidying up times help children learn WHEN to put their toys away.
This is something that we are always working on in our home, but my hope is that the boys will continue to learn about taking care of our home and our things in a way that allows them to contribute to our family’s household work, but also will empower them to be good stewards of their own homes and things one day.
RELATED: 7 EASY STEPS TO DECLUTTER YOUR DIGITAL LIFE
Not Sure Where to Start Decluttering Your Home?
So you’re ready to declutter your home? Congratulations! Deciding to actually START tackling the clutter is the first step. Be sure to check out this post for 5 practical tips for getting rid of clutter.
And, if you’re looking for a simple challenge that will take you step by step through the most common areas for clutter in your home in just 8 weeks, you’ll want to check out my friends, Jaclyn and Keri’s Clear the Clutter Challenge. You can even join their Facebook group, specifically for the challenge for more tips and support.
So what is holding you back from getting your home in order?
