I’m continuing my mini-series about clutter! I shared my simple decluttering method in this post, and this week i’m talking about some of the surprising ways clutter drags us down. If you haven’t read the last post, hop over there now.

Before I get into the ways clutter brings us down, I want to start by saying that some clutter and mess are normal.

We’re NOT aiming for perfection. A perfect decluttered home can be an unattainable standard we hold ourselves too. It can play into the capitalist and patriarchy driven message that women should be the ones doing domestic labour, and should be doing it perfectly. In my world, however, decluttering and home styling are actions to help us to create a sanctuary space that reflects our personalities and loves and holds us safe. In my world we don’t talk about “if” clutter and mess build-up, but how to handle it “when” it does. When you have fewer things, and it all has a place, it’s so much quicker and easier to tidy up. It also supports our mental health and happiness in a huge way.

So whilst we’re not aiming for impossibly beautiful and unattainable homes, I DO believe all of us can take steps to make our homes feel lovelier, more like us, and work more practically too. Clutter is the first step in this.

Some of these you’ll already be aware of, or have experienced already, but some of this may be new to you too. 

1. Clutter is bad for your physical health. From obvious things like too much clutter being a fire hazard to less obvious things like the effects of dust and animal dander on our lungs (especially bad news for allergy sufferers and asthmatics.) Clutter in kitchens and bathrooms can make it much harder to spot bacteria, infestations, and damp.

2. Clutter and mess lead to losing things all the time. Whether it’s hairbrushes, kitchen sponges, or car keys. This, therefore, leads to buying unnecessary duplicates. 

3. Clutter costs a lot of money: in buying unnecessary duplicates because you can’t find the originals (see above), in missing important bills and being charged, and also in the physical actual SPACE it takes up!

4. Important paperwork and life admin gets forgotten about. Not only things like switching credit card providers to avoid huge interest charges, but also things like updating insurance information and pension information which could have a big effect on you down the line.

5. Being surrounded with broken, dusty, ill-fitting things sends a subconscious message to yourself that you’re unworthy of anything different. This affects how we approach everything else. 

6. Clutter steals your precious time. People in cluttered homes spend SO MUCH TIME looking for lost things!

7. It can be isolating. If your home feels a bit shameful (itself a very draining emotion) you’re less likely to invite people over, and getting the house ready feels huge.

8. Clutter affects your mental health. You are reminded everywhere you look that you need to declutter and clean. Your home should be a sanctuary but instead, it’s stressful. If you live with mental health issues or are really stressed, the clutter amplifies it. Being surrounded by so much stuff drags our energy down. 

9. Hobbies or activities we enjoy and help us to de-stress become difficult or impossible with no space to do them. 

10. Clutter dampens our potential. Clutter tends to represent action or decisions that need to be taken, that you are avoiding. Being constantly reminded of things we’d rather not deal with takes a lot of mental energy that could be better spent elsewhere; like relaxing, loving ourselves and our families, learning, helping our communities etc. 

There are probably more ways clutter impacts us than I have listed here, but needless to say, taking steps to declutter our homes can have really far-reaching benefits. 

My brand new decluttering guide!

I feel so passionate about helping people to create happy homes, and I am working really hard on a ton of new resources to help, some free, some paid for. One of them is a decluttering guide!

If you would like help with de-cluttering your home, whether you’re just started out or have started but would like some help to keep going, my guide will help. The guide covers:

1. The power of our homes and how they impact our happiness

2. All the ways clutter drains our energy and lowers our mood

3. How to declutter even if you are overwhelmed and super busy

4. My easy, achievable and ridiculously effective decluttering method

5. 10 really helpful tips get the most out of your de-cluttering including why you should focus on what’s staying, how to find the joy, some major mistakes to avoid

6. The 6 key decluttering questions to ask yourself as you declutter

7. A detailed decluttering checklist to work through in your own time. Because who doesn’t love a checklist?!

My Fresh Nest Challenge is now available to sign up anytime! AAAAND if you do, you’ll immediately be offered a discount on the decluttering guide. Just because the guide and the challenge work so beautifully together!

Happy decluttering!