I have a question for everyone reading my blog today. What is clutter?
- Clutter is anything in your home or office that does not serve a purpose or function in your life anymore.
- Clutter may include items in your home that are broken or nonfunctional.
- Clutter may be material items in your home that you do not need or love.
- Clutter could also include unnecessary duplicate items in your home.
- You may be surprised to realize that having too many storage containers that aren't actually being used in your home may add to your existing clutter problem. That is the main reason it may be suggested that you declutter your home "first." Then, it should be easy to figure out exactly how many storage boxes to buy and specific sizes you may need.
- Clutter could also consist of accumulated items of trash to be thrown away or removed in an appropriate manner.
Now that we know what clutter is, why do you think our homes accumulate clutter?
- Clutter may be caused be delayed decisions.
- You haven't taken the time to decide on appropriate areas to keep your specific items in your home.
- Procrastination: maybe you feel overwhelmed about organizing or decluttering your house.
- You may be experiencing that frustrating "all or nothing" feeling about home organization. For example: you may think to yourself, "I will never have enough time to get my organizing projects done. There is just too much to do. So, why should I even start?"
- Maybe, you have a very busy family schedule and you haven't been using a good weekly/monthly planner for routine chores/tasks in the home.
- Possibly, the family doesn't realize your home organization goals and you may get easily distracted with many interruptions throughout the day. It may be very helpful for you to communicate your short-term and long-term organizing goals with your family. You may decide to have family members participate in your plan. This may be especially important in helping to keep your home maintained after you have everything set up the way you like it.
- You may have felt the lack of energy or motivation to complete organizing projects in the past.
- Often times, a major lifestyle change may cause a change in the normal flow of organization in your home. Here are a few examples: a birth or a death in the family, new marriage or a divorce, job relocation, or health problems.
How can clutter affect your life in a negative way?
- Clutter can take up lots of extra space in a home. Think of how much more additional space you may have available after you get rid of any unnecessary clutter.
- You may be using a lot of your valuable time to take care of all the material things in your house.
- You could be spending extra money for duplicate items that you have been purchasing because you haven't been able to find the things that you were looking for in your house.
- Many people say they lack energy because they are tired of maintaining all the material things they have accumulated over the years.
- They don't have enough time to take good care of themselves or to enjoy their favorite hobbies and outlets.
What are the positive benefits of home organization and decluttering your house?
- You will be able to focus on things that you enjoy, such as: exercise, hobbies, good nutrition, etc.
- You may find that you have more time to spend with family and friends.
- Hopefully, you won't have the need to purchase unnecessary items because you will have easy access to your items and be able to find everything when you need it. You will learn how to find "the right place for everything in your home."
- You may really enjoy the big bonus of having more space in your home once you get rid of your clutter.
- An organized house, free of clutter, may help you save time when you need to do your routine daily/weekly household chores.
- I find that I focus and concentrate better and feel more productive and less stress with work when my house and office are organized.
- You may increase your confidence to invite your friends over to your home again.
