A Year of Wellness Series: April 2021-Decluttering to Improve Your Health ⋆ Celebrate Life in the Middle

Decluttering to Improve your Health - Celebrate Life in the Middle Blog

Our world is so complex, keeping us busy, running and multitasking. Our busy lives sometimes keep us from being able to stay as organized as we want and leads to a build-up of clutter in our lives. Physical, digital and mental clutter. This is especially true the older we get. I don’t know about you but being so busy with raising children and advancing my career kept me from keeping clutter at bay for years. And this extra “stuff” really started weighing me down and added more stress to my already stressful life. So, I started to look at how “decluttering can improve your health”.

This is the fourth monthly blog post in my A Year of Wellness Series. This year I’m continuing my journey to health and wellness. Please join me! You can find the first three posts at the following links:

Clutter in our lives is like a dark cloud looming over us and keeping us from the sunshine. Removing the clutter lifts that cloud and lets the sunshine back in! I’ve spent the last few years decluttering our home also doing a mental declutter. It feels so good to do both!

Our environment has a definite effect on our mood. Think about your favourite places where you feel most relaxed and happy– are they cluttered? Mine are not. I’m most relaxed and the least stressed in places with no clutter.

Studies have shown that decluttering and embracing minimalism can have a positive effect on our mental health, by decreasing our cortisol levels, helping us focus better, improving our sleep and increasing our productivity (1,2).

Closet decluttering to improve your health

While you don’t have to go to the minimalism extreme, some conscious decluttering and organization can improve your health and well-being. I know I feel so much better when I keep clutter to a minimum in my life. My life is much more peaceful and I have less anxiety when there is less “stuff” to worry about. I can’t focus if there is clutter in the background. It’s like the clutter is sitting there waiting for me to deal with it.

I can also find things more easily when everything is in its place. Don’t you hate having to spend huge amounts of time looking for something? I’d rather spend my time doing something I love rather than searching for something.

Having less things in our lives allows us to prioritize more easily. Being able to prioritize our most important tasks, needs, and even people will inevitably lead to increased happiness and peace of mind. It also helps us keep our environment much more tidy, as clean up is easier when you have less stuff sitting around. So, decluttering ends up saving us time!

Digital organization and decluttering to improve your health

Digital clutter can be just as overwhelming as clutter in our environment. I’m in the process of decluttering my digital and printed photos. This has been a stress that I’ve had at the back of my mind for several years now. Honestly, that black cloud is looming! And it’s time to get rid of this clutter! So, I’ve begun the process of organizing my photos and loading them to the “cloud” so they aren’t lost. Once I have this completed, I will be scanning and organizing all of the printed photos. And at the end of all this, I will be organizing them into albums that I can print. I don’t anticipate this to be completed anytime soon (lol), but it will be one day!

Decluttering our mind is important as well. When we multitask and focus on so many different things, our stress increases. If we can declutter our mind, we are able to stay focused, motivated, and be more productive (2).

Declutter your mind - Celebrate Life in the Middle Blog

My Tips for Decluttering to Improve Your Health

Take time to organize your spaces. Don’t do it all at once- too overwhelming!
Start small, and in areas you spend the most time in and are most bothered by.
Focus on what you want your environment to look like when you’re finished. Consider having a photo in a notebook or on a “goals board” to refer to.
Once the area is decluttered, take time each day to tidy it so it doesn’t re-accumulate and overwhelm.
Make your bed each morning. This helps me be able to go to sleep at night much more easily.
Schedule your decluttering – even if it’s for 15 minutes. Putting it into your planner helps keep you accountable.
Make a list of what you want to declutter. As you cross parts of your list off, you will feel good about seeing it get smaller and this will help you stay motivated.
Declutter how and what makes you feel comfortable. Do NOT declutter according to other people’s ideals. Maybe the Konmari method of marathon decluttering isn’t your ideal. It isn’t mine. Find out what works for YOU!
Have a box by your door that you can continually place items in for donation. Once the box is full, take it to a donation facility right away to get it out of your house. Then repeat. There are people who can use the stuff you aren’t using!
Consider taking (at least) one item out of your environment each day. That will be 365 less items contributing to clutter each year. Or more if you want!
If you bring in one new item to your home, remove one item at the same time.
Only allow people/things that you absolutely LOVE into your life. Keep what makes you happy.
Prioritize your goals. Learn to say no to what you don’t want.
And prioritize your time according to your goals. Do what makes you happy.
Plan your schedule: daily, weekly and monthly. Organizing your life helps reduce your stress.
Forget multitasking! Focus on completing one task before moving on to the next. Multitasking drains our energy.
Limit the amount of TV, news, and social media you consume. Only engage with those that bring you happiness.
Let go of the past. This removes mental clutter weighing you down.
Find time for self-care.
Write in a journal to help release thoughts and feelings that consume your energy.
Practice mindfulness! Learn to focus on the moment you’re in can definitely decrease your stress and increase your happiness. It helps to decrease the mental clutter we have. If you want to learn more about How Mindfulness Can Change Your Life click the link.

Not everyone will agree with me that decluttering to improve your health will work for them. Some people may thrive in environments that I find chaotic. Each of us is different. What works for me might not work for you! For those of you who are negatively affected by clutter, I hope that these tips for decluttering to improve your health can help you.

Please let me know if you have any other tips for decluttering by leaving a comment below!

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Take care,

Celebrate Life in the Middle Blog