How To Get Rid Of Clutter And Minimalize Your Home When You’re OVERWHELMED – Tip 2 and 6 Below WILL Help You ELIMINATE Clutter In Your Home.
If you’re ready to get rid of clutter and stuff you do NOT need in your home once and for all, check out the quick tips below – especially if you’re overwhelmed.
SOME clutter is normal, but clutter that flat-out overwhelms you is a sure sign you have… TOO. MUCH. STUFF! Let’s get RID of it to create space in your home so you can breathe and relax.
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Yep, it’s true – decluttering is GOOD for you, but man, it is SO hard to get rid of clutter, isn’t it?
It’s all SO overwhelming!
But what a difference in EVERYTHING if we take control over our clutter and create a home we deserve to live in.
Let’s talk about the reality of eliminating clutter in your home – WHY you feel so overwhelmed… and the RIGHT way to get rid of clutter quickly.
✅ Overwhelmed?
If you are flat-out overwhelmed trying to get rid of clutter in your home, here’s some tips that WILL help.
- Start Small – Trying to tackle a BIG decluttering project FIRST is guaranteed to make your overwhelmed brain WORSE.
- Try a Decluttering Challenge – Having a plan of action WILL help a lot.
- Pace Yourself – eliminating clutter from your home is a marathon, NOT a sprint. If you trying to declutter too much, too quickly, you WILL burn out and give up.
- Take More OUT Than You Bring IN – Remember this one simple concept about getting rid of clutter…. Box IN? Box OUT!
- Enlist a Clutter Buddy – Teaming up with a friend or family member can really help you eliminate clutter faster.
- Learn the RIGHT way to get rid of clutter! Yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to do this. A proven system WILL help you a TON!
☑ Above ALL…
Be sure you are doing what WORKS.
WHY Clutter Is Overwhelming
It is SO easy to become overwhelmed by CLUTTER – because…
Clutter IS overwhelming!
This might sound odd, but I knew I was a real “grown up” (or OLD, as my kids say) when I realized I was surrounded by TOO MUCH STUFF.
And I’m not quite sure where it all came from!
We’ve got our own childhood STUFF as our parents decluttered and downsized their own homes, we have our grown children’s STUFF after they’ve moved out – we have our day to day ENDLESS clutter that just magically appears – ugh!
Stuff EVERYWHERE!
Does clutter multiply or reproduce when we’re not looking?
Are there like clutter elves or something that come in and add even MORE clutter to our homes each night?
Whether it’s elves or avoidance, it’s time to get RID of the clutter.
Once I saw this chart below from HomesRevamped, I KNEW it was time to declutter MY home (finally!)
Did you READ those facts about clutter?
- The average person spends almost 2 hours a week DECIDING what to WEAR.
- Average woman now owns 30 outfits – in 1930, that number was NINE.
- Business folks spend 6 WEEKS a year finding lost stuff.
- Reducing clutter ALSO reduces housework by 40%.
- Any random clothing item is only worn SEVEN times before it’s discarded.
- There is a DIRECT relation between women’s stress levels and the amount of clutter in her home.
- The average person throws away over 70 POUNDS of clothing a year.
- 25% of homeowners with a 2 car garage don’t have ROOM to park their car IN the garage.
- 80% of the items we keep, we NEVER USE.
- Our homes are 3 times BIGGER than in the ’50s, yet we still don’t have enough SPACE for our STUFF.
- The average person will spend a YEAR looking for lost things over their lifetime.
- We only WEAR 20% of the clothing we OWN.
Bottom line – we have TOO MUCH STUFF… and it’s stressing us OUT!
By simply reducing the amount of clutter in our homes (and lives), we’ll do LESS housework, have LESS stress… and have more TIME.
And… as a bonus – if you keep stuff from coming IN to your home, you’ll probably have more MONEY too.
That was plenty enough to get ME motivated haha!
Are you a clutter hider?
Some of us are really good at hiding clutter by stuffing it inside drawers, closets, basements and garages, making our homes look organized. At first glance, our home appears clutter-free, but we know it’s still there and will eventually spill over back into sight all over again.
Fact is, there’s only so long you can HIDE clutter, right?
There’s only so long you can FAKE a clean house.
There came a time when I didn’t even try to hide my clutter anymore because I was WAY too overwhelmed to even know where to start decluttering.
And so there it all sat – clutter on our countertops, kitchen table, the floors, my desk… Clutter was everywhere and anywhere there was room for it to sit (and multiply – those darn elves!).
And wow! Clutter sure can mess with your mind and overall well-being!
Clutter is a constant, nagging reminder of what is left undone in our lives. It’s not that we don’t CARE… we’re just overwhelmed and on the brink of giving up.
It’s an on-going conversation…
Or, are you depressed because of all your clutter?
It’s like the chicken/egg thing…lol!
Either way, it’s SO important to reduce the clutter in our homes…and in our LIVES.
Seriously, who really LIKES clutter?
But there are many valid reasons for why they still have it.
Alrighty, let’s talk about your junky house that has you SO overwhelmed by clutter…
Why Getting Rid Of Clutter is Hard
No doubt about it, getting rid of stuff feels good so why is it so HARD to DO?
Here are the most common reasons why decluttering is so hard for many people.
Which of these reasons resonate with YOU?
__ I don’t have enough time to declutter.
__ The process is too overwhelming.
__ The clutter doesn’t belong to me.
__ I don’t know what to do with the clutter?
__ Why bother getting rid of clutter when it’s just going to accumulate again?
(sidenote: I could check ALL of those boxes at one time!)
These are all very real obstacles that leave us feeling SO overwhelmed and paralyzed by our cluttered homes.
10 Types Of Clutter
Did you know there are TEN types of clutter?
How many types of clutter do you have in YOUR home?
Now, are you ready to get RID of all that clutter?
Not yet?
Need more motivation to clean it up?
I’ve heard that motivation is only half of the battle when getting rid of clutter, but I truly believe it’s more like 75% of the battle.
Once I get motivated to move and DO something about the clutter, it’s so much easier to keep moving and get it done.
(something about a body in motion stays in motion – or something along those lines)
So here are 7 really good reasons to get rid of your clutter – hopefully, at least one of these reasons will motivate YOU to get YOUR body in motion.
Why Getting Rid Of Clutter Is Good
1 – Getting rid of clutter boosts your energy and keeps positive energy flowing in your home.
I don’t mean to get all “woo-woo” with you but this first reason to declutter is sooooo true.
It’s said that everything around us, including ourselves, is made of energy – and energy needs to flow freely. But when clutter is in the way, that energy gets blocked.
Just recently, out internet was down for almost a week.
(yes, a whole WEEK without internet! ugh!)
As I sat there looking around my home office, I could feel the clutter closing in on me and sucking the energy OUT of me.
So I got my body in motion!
I cleared and cleaned the shelves, cleaned out my files (dealing with paper clutter is a BIG weakness of mine!)
I cleaned out the cabinets and organized them – I organized my desk – I reorganized the furniture – heck, I even treated myself to a new area rug!
As I got rid of more and more clutter, I could FEEL the energy of my home office start changing!
And now that it’s done, I no longer dread coming into, or being in, my office. Best of all, when I look around my office space now, I feel calm and focused… and well, dare I say “happy” too!
Getting rid of my home office clutter also renewed my energy to work AND to get rid of more clutter in our home – I’m SO happy I did it!
2 – Getting rid of clutter saves time.
How many times do you frantically run around looking for things?
How many times do you hear, “Mom, where’s my shoes (my ipad, my school thing, etc etc)?”
The more stuff we have, the more time it takes to manage it all. Less clutter and more organization enables us to make decisions quicker, find things when we need them, avoid lateness, and have more time for what is most important to us, like spending time watching Netflix with family.
If you find yourself constantly moving STUFF around to FIND your stuff, you have TOO. MUCH. STUFF. It’s time to get rid of it.
3 – Getting rid of clutter WILL improve your mood.
It doesn’t matter how small of a space that you declutter and organize, it will put you in a better mood.
The simple act of clearing ONE spot on my desk almost instantly put me in a better mood and made me feel productive.
4 – Getting rid of clutter enables us to help the less fortunate.
If you need only ONE reason to find joy in getting RID of your clutter – give it to someone else who needs it.
Go right now and pick ONE thing that clutters YOUR life, but is still useful… and donate it or give it to someone who wants/needs it.
That feeling will motivate you to keep going.
5 – Getting rid of clutter helps the kids.
There is nothing wrong with our children having nice things – However, there is a fine line between enough and too much.
Too much clutter can overwhelm our children and block THEIR energy, too.
In fact, I’ve talked to many families where their children were flat out EMBARRASSED of the cluttered home they lived in.
Personally, that would MORTIFY me to know my children were embarrassed of our home – talk about major motivation -ugh!
6 – Getting rid of clutter helps us begin to deal with the emotional issues that may be causing the clutter in the first place.
It’s a strange phenomenon, but it’s quite common for those with cluttered homes to “hide” their emotional clutter behind all the STUFF.
I’ve heard that emotional clutter is a primary reason behind hoarding – clutter and things provide a false sense of control over their emotional clutter. It’s only when the clutter decreases that they are able to really look at, and deal with, the reasons that cause them to hoard.
7 – Getting rid of clutter opens your life to new opportunities.
Take a moment and just imagine what your life would be like if you had less clutter all around you.
What would you have more time for?
(and YES, watching Netflix DOES count – “You” time is super important too!)
Would your overall outlook on LIFE change?
(hint: YES, it will!)
Would a more organized and clutter-free home help you save money?
(another hint: YES!
Here’s how decluttering my pantry saves me money)
Summing Up
Getting rid of clutter is good for you AND for your kids. It’s quite possible that ALL your stuff is suffocating you and sucking the energy right out of you.
Go, right NOW, and pick one teeny tiny spot in your home and declutter it.
Then, ask yourself how you feel in the clutter-free area.
Trust me, you will love how it feels!
Best of luck!
Recommended:
My House Was a MESS!
And my anxiety was through the roof!
I needed a plan to get it together - it was all pushing me over the edge.
Thing is - we LIVE here... I never had the fantasy that my home would ever look "Pinterest perfect".
I simply wanted more control, less clutter and much less anxiety.
I finally found something that worked for ME.
- My house is now easier to clean - I can now clean it in minutes, instead of hours.
- I can now actually FIND the things I'm looking for.
- I learned some simple decluttering systems that make me much more efficient every day - and I'm more relaxed and less overwhelmed all the time (finally)
- My house now looks pretty darn good almost all the time.
- Best of all - I no longer stress about guests unexpectedly showing up.
This is how I did it.
– Will a Decluttering Challenge Help YOU?
– Do You Have Decluttering GUILT?
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