Just imagine yourself surrounded by a mess and chaos. It’s guaranteed that you won’t be able to think clearly. That’s why you need to consider the best decluttering strategies that not only manage clutter but also help you focus and create a stress-free home environment.
Our homes can quickly become cluttered and disorganized, increasing our stress levels. However, with a few simple decluttering strategies, you can create a stress-free home environment that promotes relaxation and peace of mind.
As per science, when your surroundings aren’t organized and clutter-free, it has a lasting effect on your physical and mental health. You feel more focused and it gives you a sense of control when everything around you is placed in its place. In addition to this, a properly decluttered space also manages your stress levels.
How Decluttering and Cleaning is Connected to Your Mental Health?
Have you ever found yourself in a place where everything in your home is either on the floor or over cluttered? What feeling do you get after watching this chaotic mess?
Of course, you feel more perplexed and stressed. This is how clutter or junk stimulates your mind.
When you see several things cluttered in a space, it results in overstimulation which ultimately overpounds your brain resulting in limited cognitive processing.
But when your home is decluttered, the stimulation mechanisms are suppressed resulting in more mental clarity and good mood.
In addition, cleaning and decluttering also reduces fatigue making you feel more energetic and positive. With a decluttered space, your sleep also improves thus regulating your circadian clock.
Science considers decluttering or cleaning as a therapeutic session as it renders a sense of getting rid of all the things that were consuming your mental and physical energy prior.
Decluttering Strategies for a Stress-Free Home Environment
There are many decluttering strategies that can help us create a stress-free home environment. Here are a few tips to get you started:
1. Set A Schedule For Weekly And Daily Cleaning
Setting a schedule saves you from both overburdening and missing out on deadlines. As per research, when you set a schedule for your cleaning routine for a week, you get more time to manage other chores.
One best thing about scheduling your cleaning routine is that you can switch the day of cleaning to some other day when you are managing other less-productive things, in case of emergencies like New Year events or unplanned guest arrivals.
In addition, pre-scheduling also helps you to categorize your tasks as per their priority. You can manage the major and the important things first and then handle the minor cleaning and decluttering chores on weekends.
You can easily plan the entire week’s cleaning calendar, delegate the responsibilities to each member of the family, and let the plan do its magic.
2. Set Reminders
Setting reminders works best if you have so many things on your plate and you need to manage them all. Set reminders so that you don’t miss out on something important.
Set the reminders as per the priority. Schedule the major tasks first and set two or three reminders for them so that if you miss one you have more in the queue.
3. Tackle Major Cluttering Chores Seasonally
Some cluttering events come with the season. For example, when the winter is near to end, you have to manage all the warm things like blankets, heaters, warmers, or clothing. At the season’s end, you have to pack them up and place them in your stores for the next season. The same goes with the summer seasons, it too comes with the air conditioner’s servicing and many others
So the best thing is to manage the major clutter like conditioning, buying of new things, and removal of old word outs, at the start of the season so that you do not have to manage them in the entire season.
This strategy also works the same for other things that do not need regular cleaning which includes carpet washing, mattress recycling, cleaning of gutters and window tinting and fixings to be scheduled as per their priority. Manage the major chores that need immediate fixings first followed by the rest which can be done on a delay but don’t postpone them for longer as they might interfere with your daily cleaning and decluttering chores.
4. Use 15-15-15 Strategy
Sort your belongings according to their need and usability. Categorize your things as per the 15-15-15 rule which says that you should enlist 15 things that you need to sell, 15 things you want to donate, and 15 things that need to be placed in their proper place.
Using this strategy not only manages your time and gives you a sense of control, but it also creates ample space for new things that need more room.
5. Organize Your Belongings
Sometimes the clutter comes with disorganization. When things aren’t properly organized they come up as a mess or a clutter. so, it is always best to organize your space. Use storage spaces or boxes to pack the things which you dont need daily and put them in store rooms so that you can get them from that place in case of need. Label the boxes with the items they are holding so that you don’t have to waste time finding them in case of urgency.
Make sure the things that are frequently used are placed within your range.
6. Switch To Digital Things
We are living in a digital world. Several things can be just handled on a phone so why make your home cluttered by buying things like Televisions or remotes or DVDs or CDs? board games or many other things that can now be enjoyed in virtual spaces.
You can also manage security with digital gadgets instead of locks and other manual things which are both consuming your physical space plus effort.
In addition to the documents and paperwork, you can shift everything to your cloud or drives which ensures safety plus easy management with unlimited storage space.
7. Follow The Six-Month Rule
There are many things in your home which are just using space for ages and they are of no significance like spare car wheels, clothes, electrons, books, and much more. Try out the six-month rule.
Watch out which things you haven’t utilized from the last six months and you won’t be using after that too. Categorize the things that are worth the space and keeping. Donate and sell are the rest which are of no use and might help someone who is in dire need of it.
8. Partner Your Cluttering Ritual with A Friend
Partnering your cleanup or decluttering with a friend always turns out to be great fun. It also creates a sense of accountability and accomplishment. You can even schedule the same sort of cleaning with your friend and do a follow-up at the end of the day to make sure everything goes as per plan.
Partnering decluttering also comes with one more advantage: if there is some major chore that needs help, you can do it together so that it turns out safe and on time.
9. Manage The Cleaning That Comes With Major Cleanups
Sometimes when you clean something it creates some additional mess. For example, when you are thinking of removing your old worn-out bed with a new one, it will require floor cleaning which was not visible because your last bed was too close to the ground and you could not manage daily cleaning under the bed.
It is best to manage the clutter that comes with decluttering simultaneously so that you dont have to manage it from the start.
10. Install Shoe Racks
Unorganized and decluttered shoes are the major clutter that makes the home look messier and untidy. Install a shoe rack just close to your main door so that everyone places their shoes there and stays at their place.
Make sure you remove all the worn-out and old shoes that you aren’t using and donate them to someone who needs them. Managing shoes in a shoe rack also saves your carpeted rooms from getting the dirt and germs that come along with your shoes.
11. Pantry Cleanup
The pantry makes up the major portion of your kitchen. It is a place where you store all your kitchen essentials, vegetables, fruits, flour, dishwashers, and all the things you would need in cooking or cleaning.
Remove all the canned foods and toiletries or cleaning stuff that has expired. Clean out the pantry shelves by first putting everything on the kitchen counter so that you get a clear view of what things we have in stock, what things are we lacking, and what things are just taking up space and have expired and need replacement.
Label everything on the jar so that you don’t have to waste time finding the thing in your hour of need.
12. Tackle Small Tasks Right Away
Manage the small things right away. It saves you both your time and effort on delayed cases. Minor tasks take less time when they are managed immediately. But they take more time and effort in case they are delayed because they chunk up to something bigger and laborious.
13. Revolutionizing Your Washroom Like A Spa-Like Retreat
The washroom accounts for some major decluttering. We often discard the empty or near to empty shower gels or shampoo bottles which not only occupy the unnecessary space but also impair the overall aesthetic appeal.
So begin with decluttering the old or empty bottles which are of no use. Replace the empty ones with the new ones if you use them daily or else dont fill up the space. Replace the old and broken shower tub if needed. Check the under-the-basin cupboards and check if some unnecessary or expired toiletries need to be replaced or discarded. It’s of no use to keep the old towels as they are just taking the space for the new replacements so just discard them ASAP.
Install new styling products and tools to add a spa-like retreat.
14. Get A Help From Professional Junk Removal Service
Don’t worry if you have so much on your plate and you can’t manage the home cleaning as well. Let the expert junk removal specialist handle the task. Connecting with a professional expert for decluttering services not just saves your time but also ensures that the work is done under a supervision who knows the right protocols and standards or practices of decluttering.
Benefits Of Decluttering Your Home Space
The benefits of decluttering space are manifold. Where it leaves a lasting effect on your psychology it does improve your physical health too. Here are some most common benefits you get from decluttering your home:
- Decluttering makes your home more organized and well in shape. Everything is placed in their respective place which you can easily get in case of need.
- Decluttering your home creates room for new things.
- It also saves your effort of periodic cleaning. Less is more, the less you have in your home, the less chances there are that it will create a messy space.
- Decluttering works as a therapy. When you get rid of unwanted and old worn-out things from your home you feel more empowered and in control.
- Removing the unwanted stuff from your home also improves your mood and radiates positivity.
- You stay emotionally more composed in a decluttered house than in a cluttered one.
- Decluttering makes you feel more calmer yet energetic.
- You feel less overwhelmed and hyperactive when your home is clean and cluttered-free.
- It also saves you from maintenance costs.
- A decluttered home means less cleaning berrier for daily cleaning chores.
- Decluttering also increases the opportunity for efficient usage of space.
Conclusion
Cleaning and decluttering are a must for a stress-free home environment. You can’t expect yourself to stay organized when your surroundings are either over occupied or messier. It is always best to jord down some most effective decluttering strategies that go along with your budget, work-life schedule, and cleaning habits.
Don’t burden yourself. It is not something you should be worrying about. If you can’t handle it yourself, get help from a professional junk removal service provider to tackle all the chores expertly. Or else if that doesn’t sound good, you can strategize a plan, delegate the responsibilities to each member of the family, and let them contribute to making their home a happier and healthier space to live in.
