5 hard truths about clutter

I put up a reel last week covering 5 hard truths about clutter and got so many messages directly about it that I knew it deserved its own blog post to just cover the 5 truths in a little more details.

Decluttering is difficult but I think knowing these 5 truths will help to make some of those decisions easier.

1. Things don't make us happy

A very common misconception and why people that work in marketing are paid a lot of money is because they are literally paid to design advertisements to entice us to buy the thing. To make us feel as though our lives will be better if we just buy the thing! This is obviously not the case. Material things and possessions won't make us happy and knowing this and reminding ourselves of this will stop the impulse and compulsive buying.

2. Cluttered spaces cause stress

It is scientifically proven that visual clutter increases our mental load. A study showed that women in particular feel more stressed and have increased levels of cortisol in their bodies when exposed to clutter. Clutter as a subconscious job in our brains as something to be dealt with actually stops us having the ability to complete other tasks and to focus on the job at hand. Think of working from home at the kitchen table for example, surrounded by clutter. You end up tidying or putting on the dishwasher instead of focusing on work and be innovative or creative as you are too distracted.

3. Keeping the item won't make us use it

Chances are that if you have not used it or don't regularly use an item, keeping it won't change that. How you store it, where you store and the visibility of the item may help, so keep that in mind. But if you have had a tool or appliance or an item of clothes close to hand and visible and yet you never reach for it, knowing that it is there, then the likelihood is you will never use it.

4. We are in charge of what comes into our homes

I have lots of clients that say I don't know how the house is so full, we declutter all of the time. It is about controlling and managing the stuff coming INTO your home as well. Following the one in one out rule will help you to stay on top of the clutter. Unsubscribing from those emails from brands enticing you with sales and offers. Its only good value if you intended on buying it in the first place. Deleting the apps on your phone where you regularly purchase impulsively will also help.

5. The money is already spent

A big reason for keeping items is the cost of them. So when you have spent big on an item and you haven't used it to its full potential you have guilt in letting it go. But I am hear to tell you that the money is already spent. There are lots of ways to sell items now to try recoup some of the money or donating to charity to help alleviate the guilt that you feel from not using the item.

Helping people to overcome clutter blocks and restoring calm to their homes with my resets is the whole reason I set up this business. If you need help decluttering or getting these systems in place just drop me a message or get in touch.

Hazel x