Posted by The more years you spend in a home, the more things you bring into it. From purchasing new furniture to being gifted different items for home decor, your house can slowly accumulate objects to a point where it starts feeling suffocating and anxiety-inducing. Research has found that people whose home environments feel cluttered release more cortisol, the hormone related to stress. A cluttered space can make us anxious, hamper our productivity, and make the space around us tedious to navigate.
Incorporating certain habits into your lifestyle to prevent your house from cluttering up with things you barely use is crucial to making your home more welcoming. By following these seven tips, you can keep your house decluttered and make it a space that helps you escape the anxieties of the outside world instead of being another source of it.
Set Realistic Targets
A key reason people resist decluttering their homes is the apparent magnitude of the task. Sorting through all the things within a house sounds like a taxing, time-consuming commitment, and discourages homeowners from doing it. Indeed, sorting out the clutter of an entire house in one go is an arduous task incompatible with most lifestyles. So, set realistic targets. Instead of focusing on the whole house, your task should be to improve the condition of the room you most frequently use. If sorting out the entire room seems too daunting, start with just one cupboard. Instead of thinking of decluttering as one big project, you should see it as multiple small actions toward a clutter-free home.
Find External Storage Solutions
The most significant task in decluttering is managing the storage of things smartly. Not all things you have in the house have a day-to-day function. Some things, like a heater or winter clothes, are needed seasonally. Other things, such as tools and equipment, are required for specific cases. Finding an external storage solution, such as renting a mini storage unit, can help deal with much of the clutter within the home. Many of these facilities can be rented online, where you can find the nearest storage unit and figure out what size works for your belongings. By doing this, you can free your living space of clutter. Throughout this process, keep the necessary tools and belongings within easy reach.
Only Keep the Belongings You Need
A study found that the average person only wears 20% of the clothes they own and only uses 20% of the things they own. Most homeowners are guilty of holding on to possessions they do not need. The best way to avoid clutter is to let go of unused belongings. It can range from old clothes to cutlery, furniture, and towels. There is no point in keeping things you will not use. Be proactive about discarding such unnecessary items.
Sort Items Into Categories
When decluttering, making a set of categories of your belongings can significantly aid this process. For example, you can categorize your belongings into four groups – things you want to keep, sell, donate, and throw. Not only will it make it easier to keep track of your belongings, but it can also act as a source of motivation when discarding unused items. Anything usable can be sold or donated and will not go to waste once it leaves your home. You can find a new home for belongings that can serve some function elsewhere. It is also a great way to make some pocket change.
Organize Your Space
After sorting out what items you need and which you don’t, the next step is organizing your space. A well-planned living space allows you to incorporate many of your belongings into your home in an efficient and space-saving way. Organizing includes investing in storage solutions like shelves, drawers, and baskets where you can keep your belongings. Label your belongings or arrange them in a recognizable order, making them easy to find. A study found that an average American spends a total of 153 days throughout their life looking for lost stuff. You can save yourself a significant amount of time and anxiety by focusing on organizing your home.
Get Rid Of Paper Clutter By Turning It Digital
Like the workspace, your home can also take advantage of the many opportunities to digitize personal belongings. Turn family picture albums, your children’s study supplies, and personal information documents digital. Instead of a library, a studio with a high-end computer, digital reading devices, and a good internet connection can give you access to all your books while serving other functions like a space to record music or edit photos and videos. Taking advantage of digital advancements is the best way of reducing paper clutter.
Build Routines That Prevent Clutter
Once you have dealt with the clutter in your home, it is better to incorporate routines and habits into your lifestyle that prevent the accumulation of things rather than deal with this problem retrospectively. It includes having a designated space for all your stuff, cleaning up after using any part of the house, and getting rid of duplicate items instead of storing them purposelessly. By being proactive about the level of clutter in our home, we can prevent our house from becoming claustrophobic and unwelcoming. We don’t have to wait for the problem to arise and then deal with it.
Conclusion
A home gives us refuge from the responsibilities and anxieties of the outside world. Our mental health is strongly associated with the condition of our house. The presence of clutter within a home can make it feel unwelcoming and congested, make it difficult to find objects needed for day-to-day life, and can increase our stress. It hampers productivity, increases anxiety, and can significantly impact well-being. By following these seven tips, you can slowly eliminate the clutter in your home and actively incorporate lifestyle adjustments that prevent its future accumulation. You will find your home more peaceful and welcoming than ever before.