20 AMAZING BENEFITS OF A DECLUTTERED HOME
Decluttering won’t take away all of life’s challenges but it does make life easier in many ways. There are 20 amazing benefits of a decluttered home, beyond just having less clutter, and I’m sharing some of them in this article in case you’d like to explore decluttering for yourself.
GREAT REASONS TO DECLUTTER YOUR HOME
There are some wonderful benefits of a decluttered home. Aside from the obvious benefit in creating more space, having less stuff and clutter can also benefit your finances, time management and productivity, your relationships, physical well-being and mental health.
A decluttered home is your sanctuary from the outside world, the springboard for a life that, although not always easy, is certainly simpler and easier in many ways. And, ultimately, the greatest benefit of all is a freedom to live your life as fully as possible, in whatever way that means to you.
“The less you have, the more free you are.”
Mother Teresa
20 BENEFITS OF A DECLUTTERED HOME
Here are 20 benefits of a decluttered home to help simplify your home, time and life in different ways.
1. Less stress
Our outer environments (our homes, workplaces and surroundings) affect our inner environments (our bodies and brains). Scientific studies have shown that clutter affects our ability to focus and concentrate and too much clutter has also been shown to increase our stress levels.
For many of us, our homes are the place we come back to at the end of the day, to relax, reset and recharge. For this reason they should be a source of relaxation and rejuvenation, not a cause or place of stress.
Lessen your stress and improve your mental wellbeing by removing excess clutter and create space, peace and calm in your outer and inner environment.
2. More space
This is perhaps obvious but one of the immediate benefits of a decluttered home is to create more physical space. You’re only keeping what you need, love, appreciate and adds value to your life. So, there’s less random clutter taking up space in your cupboards, garage, shed, drawers, on table-tops, shelves, work surfaces and of course, maybe stacked on the floor and stairs!
Without clutter, you can maximise space in your home, no matter how big or small. You might even find that you create more flow, ease of access and a clearer line of sight from room to room so it feels like you have more space to move around and enjoy living in your home.
3. More peace
Your home will be calmer and more peaceful because too much stuff not only clutters your space, but it becomes visually distracting and clutters the mind.
When my home is cluttered, I’m aware of all the things that I need to do to look after my home. Every item sends out messages about how it should be looked after or how I feel about it, or what it reminds me of or something I have to do. You can read more about clutter adding to our ‘Silent To Do List’ which, I think, describes how our stuff weighs on our hearts and minds.
With less clutter and a more spacious, stress-free home, hopefully you’ll feel more at peace in your heart and mind as well.
4. Easier to find things
It’s less likely that you’ll lose something (and therefore, it’s easier to find things) if you’ve generally got less stuff. There’s less clutter to sift through so even if you’re not the most neat and organised person, you’ll still be able to find things quicker!
As part of the process of decluttering and deciding what to keep and what to get rid of, you’ll probably be reorganising things anyway and maybe even setting up proper filing systems, storage or places to keep things so you’ll find it easier to know where most, if not everything, is.
If organisation scares you or you’re a naturally more messy person, I think decluttering can really become your best friend! It’s so much easier to be organised when you have less stuff to organise.
Here are some tips on how to be more organised at home and in life which you might find helpful after you’ve decluttered.
5. Increases productivity and efficiency
Another benefit of a decluttered home is that it’s easier to organise (and it’s often easier to find things too!). There’s no point organising before you declutter because you’ll just be organising your clutter, but organising your home after decluttering will make your home work better for you and your family.
With these benefits, it’s very likely that you’ll be more productive and efficient. You’ll find it easier to prioritise what’s important, find those papers, emails or documents you were looking for and deal with them without having to sift through lots of clutter in the process.
It’s easier to set up systems for filing, paperwork, school work and your own work if you have a clutter-free space.
For example, here are some tips on how to organise your home office if you work from home.
6. Improves sleep
Another benefit of a decluttered home, or in this case, your bedroom is that it improves sleep. A cluttered, stimulating and visually distracting bedroom can busy the mind and stop you relaxing and feeling calmed in the evening and into the night.
You can create space by removing clutter, perhaps even consider removing your TV and phone, to help you avoid those screens which wake us up when we should be winding down.
You also might not want to be reminded of laundry waiting to be sorted, piles of paperwork requiring your attention or anything else that’s been stuffed in your bedroom out of sight and out of mind from the rest of the home.
A decluttered bedroom will help to improve your sleep.
7. Your home is easier to look after
A great benefit of a decluttered home is that it’s so much easier to look after and maintain, less of a burden on your time and energy and much more of a haven from the busy world outside. If there’s less stuff then it’s quicker to tidy up, clear things away, clean and generally keep on top of.
Whenever I decorate my home or think about adding to or changing the décor, accessories or furniture, I’m always mindful of how easy and quick it’s going to be to look after. The same goes for when I buy books to read, clothes or shoes to wear and toys for my kids.
Wanting a decluttered home doesn’t mean I don’t buy any of these things, but I always try to consider how long it will take to tidy and clear them up and/or where I’m going to store them.
In the end, I usually go for the less is more option because my home is easier to look after when I have less inventory to manage.
Less time cleaning and looking after your home means more time (and energy) to do other things.
8. Better eating habits
This benefit of a decluttered home is related to the kitchen. I’ve found that when my food cupboards, fridge, freezer and kitchen in general are decluttered then I’m more aware of what food we have in the house to eat.
It’s easier to choose meals based on the ingredients I already have, I can meal plan and grocery shop more simply and strategically and I can ensure that I have healthy foods readily available for meals and snacks.
When my kitchen is cluttered then I don’t know what foods I have, what I’m running low on and what I need to buy. I tend to grab whatever’s easiest or choose unhealthy but quick foods.
A decluttered kitchen has helped me create better eating habits.
9. Your home is ready for visitors
If your home is easier to look after and has less clutter, then it’s easier to keep it looking neat, tidy and ready for visitors (pretty much) at all times. Yes, you might need to do a quick run-around picking up a few things, but nothing that will take longer than a few minutes or that your guests will really notice!
10. Helps you define your style
As you choose what items to keep and what to get rid of, you might notice certain themes recurring. You might find that you tend to keep plain, neutral colours for your clothes and all the pieces you decide not to keep have bold patterns and bright colours. The same could apply to the colours and accessories you decorate your home with.
Decluttering helps you hone down on what you like and what you don’t like so you can define your own personal style.
The added benefit of this is that you can use this information to help you make better purchasing decisions when out shopping. Instead of being swayed by big red sale signs, you might disregard temptation and those impulse buys because you know that whatever is being sold at bargain price isn’t something you’d wear or want in your home. A bargain is only a bargain if you’re going to use or love it!
11. Reduces decision fatigue
Building on the point before, defining your style will help you shop more carefully. You might not be tempted to consider buying that floral top when you remember that most of what you have hanging in your closet at home is plain. So, when you go shopping you know to disregard the big, bold patterns and colours and focus your shopping efforts on items you’ll enjoy wearing.
This is just one example of how decluttering our homes can help us make fewer decisions. And, as decisions require energy and effort, you want to avoid making too many decisions or it will lead to decision fatigue!
12. Feel more pride in your home
I don’t know about you, but when my home was messy and full of stuff and I hadn’t had time to pull it together, I didn’t feel very proud of my home or my ability to look after it. Our homes send out messages about us and how we look after them and I prefer to have a home that’s well cared for, clean and tidy and welcoming to guests. This is so much easier when I have less stuff to manage and it’s easier to keep tidy and clean.
And that doesn’t just apply to me. I’ve noticed that the rest of my family takes better care of our home when it’s neat, tidy and clutter-free too. When there’s stuff dumped on surfaces or piled up on the floor, what difference does a bit more clutter make?
However, for my kids especially, when their rooms are decluttered it’s easier for them to look after their stuff and they’re more inclined to put things away and maintain their bedrooms that way. Too much stuff feels overwhelming and they lose interest and motivation to keep their spaces tidy.
13. More careful spending (and maybe save money)
When you get used to living with less clutter and learning to be intentional and mindful about what you let into your home, then you’ll probably find that you’ll spend less on stuff that you don’t really need or want. You’ll begin to find other ways to bring joy and happiness into your life instead of a trip to the shops. You might even save money too!
A decluttered home doesn’t mean you won’t want to buy things for it but you might think twice before clicking the ‘buy now’ button. You might decide to wait a few days to see if you still want to buy an item. You might question where you’re going to store or put something, or whether you’ve got something the same or similar already. It’s not to stop you buying things but an awareness of clutter will help you shop more mindfully.
These are all helpful questions that a decluttered home might encourage you to think about before you commit to buying something which could just become clutter.
14. Encourages gratitude
Being grateful for what you have and focusing on what’s important to you and your family is so important but easily forgotten in today’s consumerist world. When we’re used to having lots of stuff then we often don’t fully appreciate what we already have. The same is true for both us adults and for kids when they have so many toys they don’t know what to play with first!
To use a tiny little example, I used to have lots of mugs in my kitchen cupboard. They seemed to multiply by themselves but I probably received them as presents, came on special offer such as 3 for the price of 2, or bought them myself because I thought they looked cute! In reality, I had way too many so I decluttered the excess and kept my favourites. Now, when I go to make a tea or coffee, I appreciate the mug that I pour it into so much more because it’s one of my favourites and is something I look forward to savouring and appreciating!
15. Your home will function better
One of my strategies for keeping my home decluttered is to put things away when they’re not in use. Everything has a ‘home’ where it’s stored and everyone knows where everything is (more or less!). This means that if we need to find something or get something, we know where to find it.
My entrance and hallway is clutter-free. We have a shoe rack, some hooks for one coat for each of us for the season. I have a pot for keys, a place for incoming post to be sorted. Excess outerware, bags etc get stored in a separate place. This set up ensures that there’s as much space as possible for everyone to grab what they need, easy access in and out of the front door and no extra clutter getting in our way.
These are just a couple of examples of how a decluttered home will function better if you have less clutter. Particularly when you have a busy family and/or a busy life, it’s really important that your home helps you rather than hinders you!
16. More time
A decluttered home is not the end goal. Although it’s lovely to have an uncluttered, organised, family-friendly, welcoming home (i.e. a decluttered home), it’s WHAT this decluttered home will give you that’s the real magic.
One of those benefits is to have more time. Less time from cleaning, tidying and clearing up your home and more time for focusing on other things. If you could carve more time out of your days, what would you do with it?
17. More energy
I found that having a decluttered home gave me more energy back. I wasn’t spending so much of my physical or mental energy doing housework, tidying things away, or trying to stay on top of my clutter.
With less stuff to manage, I had to expend less energy in looking after it. Less energy to clean because I was cleaning less stuff and less energy to tidy because it was quicker to tidy with less stuff. I used up less mental energy because I wasn’t stressing about having too much clutter and what to do with it, and it was easier to keep organised and functional.
All in all, I was spending less energy managing my home which meant I had more energy for everything else in life!
18. An act of self-care
Decluttering your home and life is a huge act of self-care. So often we think of self-care too little, too late. It’s like sticking a plaster over a wound. Decluttering your home, simplifying life and creating more ease for yourself generally is, I think, one of the greatest gifts you can give your body and brain and is far more long-lasting and profound than a hot bath or box of chocolates (even though these are very lovely too!). Read more about decluttering as self-care.
19. Better relationships and family time
I’ve found that when my living room is clutter-free my family are much more likely to want to spend time in there, watching a film, playing a board-game or generally have fun together. There’s more space to sit, to lay out a game or a puzzle, it’s a more friendly, relaxed and inviting environment that’s a pleasure to spend time together in.
The same goes for my kitchen where we all tend to gather whilst making dinner or catching up after school and work.
A decluttered home encourages more family time and time spent together making better relationships.
20. More focus on your priorities
The combined effect of all these benefits of a decluttered home that we’ve looked at here means that you have less pulls on your time, energy, freedom, money, resources and yourself. There’s less clutter to get in your way and distract and remove you from life and the things that matter most to you in living it.
Less stuff to manage means you focus more on what’s important to you in life, your priorities, without having clutter and stuff get in your way.
HOW TO START DECLUTTERING
I hope this article has been helpful in explaining some of the benefits of a decluttered home and why decluttering has become so popular in recent years.
I truly believe that decluttering my home was the springboard for a simpler, easier life and I’d love for you to explore decluttering if you feel it might help you too.
Decluttering can be tough if you have a lot of stuff, feel overwhelmed or lacking in time or motivation. Maybe you don’t know which room to declutter first, or your family isn’t on board. These are familiar reasons why many people struggle to achieve a decluttered home so you’re not alone!
Here are some quick tips to help you start decluttering:
- Start somewhere easy like the bathroom. Try this article which explains more about why the bathroom is a great place to start decluttering.
- Practice making decisions about what to keep and what to declutter using these simple decluttering questions.
- Build your decluttering confidence by following a Decluttering Checklist like this list of 100 things to get rid of right now. This can help you overcome any decluttering anxiety you may be feeling.
- Don’t worry about decluttering perfectly. Decluttering is all about progress not perfection.
- If you get stuck decluttering, try this article on what to do if you’re in a decluttering rut for some simple solutions to common problems.
- Make decluttering a habit. Clutter will invade your home regularly so try these habits for a clutter-free home that stays clutter-free!
SIMPLIFY YOUR HOME
To achieve and feel the benefits of a decluttered home for yourself, it takes motivation, time and willpower. Sometimes we struggle with finding these but to make it easier to clear your clutter I created Simplify Your Home.
Simplify Your Home is a guide, workbook and decluttering checklists which will take you step-by-step around your home decluttering as you go.
I offer lots of decluttering tips, hacks and practical advice to overcome common decluttering problems.
Everything is all laid out for you so all you have to do is follow the steps and action points and use the checklists to create your own decluttered home.
Hopefully you’ll feel the benefits we’ve talked about in this article!
Click here to read more about Simplify Your Home.
A FREE DOWNLOAD
If you’d like to start decluttering but need a little help and support, here’s a free Decluttering Checklist which you might find helpful with 100 things you can get rid of today!
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