Look at the photo above. How do you feel? Don’t you feel mentally exhausted? You will feel stressed just by mere looking at it. Does your environment look similar? The fact of the matter is that a messy living and working environment do cause stress and anxiety. A study done by anthropologists from University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) showed a direct link between clutter and stress. So, to remove stress, you must begin by decluttering.
Clutter Defined
What is clutter? A clutter is a collection of things from mails, books, magazines, plastics, pens, dirty clothes or just simply anything that is scattered everywhere creating a mess. It results to the impediment of movement and it reduces the functionality of the space.
It is difficult to maximize the use of your space if you have clutter everywhere. Not only that, chances are, you will be wasting a lot of time looking for missing items. In addition, clutter can also make you lose money by misplacing your bills. You might also feel embarrass when there is an unexpected guest. Thus, removing clutter will help you get rid of that unnecessary stress, worries and fear.
Causes of Clutter
Common causes of clutter include:
- Emotional attachment to things
- Guilt in disposing presents
- Lack of time to clean up
- Procrastination
- Shopping for things that you don’t actually need
- Unfinished projects
How to Remove Clutter
Here are some tips on how you can remove clutter in your home:
1. Allot 15 Minutes per Day
Decluttering can be overwhelming if you have managed to accumulate tons of it for the past several years especially if you are busy. It would be very difficult to do it one sitting. The best approach is to allot 15 minutes a day for decluttering. All you need is a timer and a calendar. Set the timer at the start of the 15 minutes and mark your calendar with an X once you are done. This 15-minute daily habit will not only slowly transform your home but will also result to an improvement in your quality of life.
2. Do it One Room at a Time
If clutter is present in your whole house, the best approach is to do it one room at a time. Choose the room where you spend most of your time.
Figure out what the purpose of that room is. Each room in your home needs to have a clear purpose. What is it for? Is it a place where you sleep and rest? Is it a place to entertain your guests or to eat with the family?
Once you have clearly defined what the specific purpose of that space is, now you need to remove all things that do not relate to that specific purpose. Start with the left hand corner going down and slowly moving to the right. Think of it as if you are reading. Once you have finished with one room and see the results, you will be more than motivated to continue to the next room.
3. Use the 3-box-method
First look for items in your house items in your house that you need to declutter. Get 3 boxes and label each box with the following:
- Keep
- Donate
- Dispose
Then begin filling each box. Make sure to fill up each box equally. For items that you are unsure of, ask yourself whether you need that item or not. If you do need that item, do you use it? If your answer ‘no’ to both questions, then that is a sign that it is time for you to let go of that item.
4. Do the Oprah Winfrey Closet Hanger Experiment
If your problem is on how to organize your wardrobe, a quick and easy way is the Oprah Winfrey Experiment. Start with hanging all your clothes in the opposite direction. After wearing a specific clothing, return it back to your closet but this time in the correct direction. Do this for six consecutive months. After six months, you will have a clear idea on what items to dispose and not. You can try this approach with other household stuffs such as linens, bedsheets, cleaning products, etc…
5. Stop Buying Stuff
If there is a need for you to declutter, it only shows that you have so much stuff in your home. It would be very difficult to proceed with your decluttering if you are going to continue buying stuff. So, stop buying in the meantime until you have finished your decluttering. You will also be saving money by not shopping.
First published in Pinoy Smart Living on 07.22.2018
Feature Image by Posted by A.L. Jonas in Environmental, 0 comments
Feeling bored? If you are one of the millions of people out there who are in a lockdown because of the coronavirus, now is the perfect time to clean and organize your home. A clean house is good for you and your overall wellbeing. Just look around you, for sure, there are things to get rid of to improve your home. When your environment is clean you feel happy, motivated and healthy. According to a study by Nicole R. Keith, PhD, associate professor of Indiana University; people who live in cleaner houses are healthier and more active. On the contrary, another study reveals that people who live in cluttered areas are more likely to be depressed. Clutter affects people’s feelings and satisfaction about life. Normally, people are so busy that they don’t have enough time to clean and declutter the house. That is the reason why things just accumulate over time. If you want a better and healthier life, take advantage of this time to get rid of things or clutter in your house. Here are top 10 things that you need to get rid of as starters: Go through your refrigerator and your pantry. Avoid health risks by getting rid of anything that is already expired! If there are foods that you don’t eat, it is much better to give them away so that someone else can enjoy them. Do you have any unused or expired medicines in your cabinet? You really have no use for expired medicine. It is best that you throw them away. Check the dates on the labels of each box or bottle. The ones that you will still keep should be properly labeled. Take inventory of those that you no longer need such as pain relievers or antibiotics. It is recommended that you throw them away also. Remember, they are prescribed specifically for you. It is not wise to let others take the medicines that was originally intended for you. So, you can’t bear to part with an half-consumed expensive beauty product that you bought a year ago. Unfortunately, hanging on to expired beauty products might be doing your skin more harm than good. They might even become the cause of a skin problem. In a study published by the International Journal of Cosmetic Science, results showed that about 70% of women in the study used expired beauty products and that 67% of the make-up samples used by these women were contaminated. If you use expired beauty product, there is a big probability that it is contaminated. You might have shoes or clothes that you don’t wear anymore that are just taking up space in your closet. If you do, this is the best time to get rid of them. They may be outdated or do not fit anymore. Whatever the reason is, if you have not used them for over a year now, that’s a clear sign that you should get rid of them already. Let’s face it, you are not going to re-read old magazines or subscriptions. Before they even pile up and start cluttering your home, why not donate them instead to local charities, schools, libraries or free clinics? It is always best to recycle plastic and bottle containers. However, if you have kept them for so long and they are still unused up to this time, it is best that you dispose of them already. Just may sure to dispose of them properly so that they can be recycle elsewhere. There are companies that buy unused plastic and bottle containers for recycling. If you have old or outdated technology, that is considered an eWaste, short for electronic waste. These kind of waste can be extremely harmful to the environment because of the materials used in its production such as lead, mercury and arsenic. So, if you have old technology at home such us gadgets, TV remotes, cords, chargers and many others; it is best that you dispose of them properly. Include used and old batteries that are just lying around. Throw away broken toys. Donate old toys that are no longer in used but are in still good condition so that you can make other children who are less fortunate a little happy. With the new toys that the children received over the years, they won’t notice if some of the old toys went missing. Even in this digital day and age, you have probably still accumulated a lot of paper clutter in the house. Sort them out and throw away old newspapers, receipts, pamphlets, brochures, old bills, your children’s test papers and scribbled notepads. Do you have any other broken furniture or items like chipped mugs, pens that are not working or broken jewelries in the house? Now is the best time to get rid of those. Remove clutter and get rid of items that are useless, broken and can no longer be repaired nor be given as gifts. Edited Version. First published in Pinoy Smart Living 01.07.2019.
Things To Get Rid Of To Improve Your Home
1. Expired Food
2. Expired Medicine
3. Expired Beauty Products
4. Clothes You Don’t Use
5. Old Magazines
6. Unused Plastic or Bottle Containers
7. Outdated or Broken Technology
8. Old Toys
9. Paper Clutter
10. Other Broken Items
Feature Image by Hans Braxmeier from Pixabay Images.