I am not a hoarder although at times I do have way too much fabric. I don’t like the look of clutter or how it makes my house feel. I don’t understand hoarders, and there are many benefits of not being surrounded by clutter.
People who help others declutter for a living say that clutter creates stress because the human mind is not meant to deal with so much constant stimulation.
When you clear out the clutter it’s almost like a sigh of relief. It visually opens up the space and makes it restful to look at instead of stressful.
There is a cost to clutter as well that many of us don’t think about, it costs an average of $10 a square foot to store clutter. Do you really want to pay ten dollars to store that pile of papers on your counter top?
Also, because we have so much stuff, American’s spend an average of one year of their lives looking for lost items. I can think of quite a few other things to do with my time.
Clutter increases the amount of housework necessary to make your home livable. If you get rid of clutter you can eliminate as much as 40% of the housework in your home.
It is also a health hazard, navigating around piles can lead to slips and falls. Clutter is also a perfect place for mice and other pests to hide.
Clearing clutter is hard for some people, but not impossible. Only you can decide what is important to you, and how to organize those items.
Start small, one closet. Go through it and get rid of things you don’t need or use. Just one closet. Organizing that one space may motivate you to organize other spaces but don’t get overwhelmed with it. Stay small, don’t decide to organize the entire family room, start with the coffee table, and move from there. Little by little it will get better and you can breath a sigh of relief.
image from Mrs. Mopp