We live in a world today where we can accumulate a lot of things very quickly. We can order products with the click of a button. We can have our items in hand in as little as 2 hours.
My husband and I are in the process of selling our home and it was crazy to see how much stuff we started to pull out of the closets. I do consider myself a pretty organized person so everything had a place in the closet, or in a bin put away somewhere. Thank God for closets right! I mean as soon as we got started I immediately regretted every purchase.
We were sorting through what to keep, sell, donate and trash by the end of day two I just wanted to call a dump truck and have them come haul it all away never to be seen again. It just felt never ending and I was so stressed out about it. One night I was reading my nightly news and I stumbled upon an article talking about clutter and how it is linked to depression!!! Yes, depression. Boy was I feeling the affects of my decluttering. It is a thing and it is real!
That just made me think about those who are not as organized and who actually have to deal with a cluttered home on a daily basis. I mean just thinking about it makes me sad.
Studies show that clutter affects our mental well being. A cluttered space can make you feel overwhelmed, anxious and helpless. Being surrounded by chaos can contribute to a negative emotional atmosphere that can lead to having symptoms of depression. People living in cluttered spaces are more likely to experience higher levels of stress and depression.
They say our external environment can often reflect our internal state of mind. So when our minds are cluttered with negative thoughts, excessive stress and emotions it can manifest in our physical spaces. The physical clutter becomes a visual representation of our inner chaos.
I am a firm believer of this. I always tell my family that I can't function when the house is in disarray. I just can't even breathe right. I will say that since we have gotten rid of so much stuff I feel so much better. I feel lighter and a little more free. I know now that the closet under the stairs isn't calling my name to clean it out every time I walk past because there isn't anything in there anymore. Even though the clutter was out of sight it was never out of my mind especially if I had to look at it when I opened the door everyday.
Decluttering is a way to alleviate both the internal and external clutter and helps you create a sense of peace in your mental and physical spaces. My husband really has me thinking about trying this minimalist lifestyle in some shape or form. I just don't want to possess so many things. In order to keep the clutter at bay I should have less things right... We shall see how this goes.
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