How Decluttering Can Aid Your Mental Health

We have spent a lot more time in our homes during the pandemic, and for some,  it’s become harder to rest and relax in the space you once called your sanctuary.

If you’ve found yourself feeling a lot more stressed than usual at home, it might be time for a declutter. We’ve asked the team of specialists at Delamere Health to share how decluttering your home can help relieve stress and aid your mental health.

“Decluttering can help to reduce stress levels and anxiety, as keeping hold of things you no longer need and being unable to find anything can lead to irritability, annoyance and stress”

“Especially after a difficult  year of spending a lot more time in our homes than usual, you might find you’ve accumulated a lot more ‘clutter’ around the house – even if you don’t realise it yourself, it’s likely contributing to your mental state”

Decluttering isn’t necessarily about ‘cleaning’ – but deciding what really matters to you and what doesn’t. Whilst the idea of throwing things out might seem overwhelming at first, you’ll slowly start to feel the weight on your shoulders lift as you work your way through, room by room.

1. Helps Relieve Stress and Anxiety

Your home can be an obvious reflection of how you feel inside – a cluttered home shows that you’re stressed, anxious and unable to think straight. With less to worry about around the home, and a cleaner, more spacious environment – it gives you more time to focus on things that really matter.

Tip: If you’re feeling overwhelmed or apprehensive at the thought of starting to declutter, it’s recommended to begin in small bursts, and work slowly room by room.

A helpful site for decluttering your tech can be fond here: https://freedom-mobiles.com/ 

1. Makes Your Home Easier To Tidy In The Long Run

More clutter usually means more cleaning and tidying, being able to cut down how long it takes you to do your weekly clean by having less clutter to tidy, organise and move around gives you more time to spend with family, friends or even focusing solely on yourself.

With less ‘stuff’ to move around and reorganize whilst you’re cleaning, you’ll find that your weekly cleaning routine becomes a lot more streamlined and it doesn’t take you as long.

1. Physical As Well As Mental Health Benefits

Decluttering doesn’t just get you moving, but it can also help you sleep better. In your bedroom especially – a place that’s supposed to be associated with tranquillity, rest and relaxation having clutter around you can leave you to feel overwhelmed and stressed before bedtime, creating sleepless nights.

“The bedroom is one of the most important rooms to focus on when decluttering, it can not only aid with sleep – but improve your mornings, waking up with to a clean room can instantly give your day a considerably better start”

1. Improve Creativity and Productivity

With many of us still working or studying from home, focusing in a cluttered room can be difficult. Decluttering your workspace, whether it be a home office, bedroom, living room – or even the kitchen table will do wonders for your productivity. Even having less clutter in your eyeline whilst working will help you stay focused.

Tip: If decluttering has left you wanting to redecorate completely, consider that colours you use can have a big impact on your emotions. Whilst it’s not necessarily a colour people usually opt for when redecorating, purple can stimulate both serenity and creativity, perfect for those working from home whilst blue can encourage intellectual activity and can also lower blood pressure. 

1. It Can Save You Money

Money is a huge stressor for most people – and it’s no lie that one of the hardest parts of decluttering is coming face to face with regrettable purchases, whether it be clothes that you’ve never worn, toiletries that didn’t work for you or food that’s been sat at the back of the cupboard that’s now out of date.

Decluttering will leave you questioning ‘did I really need that?’ – and that’s not a bad thing.