Mind Over Clutter

Mind Over Clutter helps you take steps to improve your mental health, physical health, and the environment by showing you why having too much junk is so bad for you and outlining how to get rid of it all.

Doesn’t the thought of having too many possessions just overwhelm you? It’s not fun to think about these things so you tend to shy away from doing so, but you’ve got to for the sake of your mental and physical health.

You might not solve all of your problems by decluttering, but it will definitely help improve your state of mind. Research shows that the stress hormone cortisol is higher in people who live in cluttered homes.

When you’ve got more cortisol your risk for anxiety and depression is higher. It also makes you less productive by harming your ability to concentrate. And the negative effects aren’t just mental, too much stress can also cause headaches and insomnia.

Now, the idea of just starting to clean up your home might sound daunting. You might have tried multiple times with no luck. The good news is that you don’t need to overwhelm yourself. Just start small, with one little win.

The easiest way to get this is to begin each day by making your bed. It sets your day off on a positive note and can even make you sleep better!

Once you’ve got that down just do one project at a time. It doesn’t even have to be huge, you can clear one shelf in a cupboard each week if you want. Small steps over time will make a big difference.

Envisioning the bigger picture of an entire home that’s clean might be pretty difficult for you right now. But consider how great it would feel to wake up in a place that inspires you and actually helps you destress after work. The author recommends following four steps for each room in your house to make this happen: Take everything out of the room except furniture. Sift through everything to make four piles. One is for stuff you want to keep and the other three are for things you’ll trash, donate, or sell. Only keep those things that you use at most once a month. Throw things away ruthlessly! Clean the entire room, including inside the furniture. Don’t forget the top shelves that might get dusty! Put everything except for your trash, donate, and sell items back into the room. Make sure to organize it carefully. Don’t forget to do this with your bedroom, too. You might want to overlook it because nobody else usually sees it, but it’s actually one of the most important rooms in your house. Having a…