7 Benefits of Decluttering Your Home

This month JAM Organizing presents another informative article from a guest blogger. Enjoy!

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​If you don't spend a certain amount of time getting rid of it every day, clutter can quickly accumulate in your home. And there's so much of it! From piles of mail stacked on the desk that you plan to go through, all the old receipts you kept for whatever reason to the old clothes you haven't worn in years that are just sitting in your closet, it's easy not to notice it all piling up until it's too late. Although decluttering can seem overwhelming at first, the payoff is well worth it. There are plenty of benefits of decluttering your home, and in this article, we will go over some of them. Hopefully, they will help you find the motivation to finally start decluttering!

1.  It Helps You Find Things More Easily

How many hours of your life have you spent looking for things you know you own but can't seem to find anywhere? [Note from editor: 55 Minutes! The average person spends 55 minutes a day looking for things they own and can't find!] Have you ever wasted a whole hour going through your entire document drawer, looking for that one paper? That's where decluttering comes in. By decluttering and organizing your documents and paperwork, you won't have to waste so much time. You will know exactly where things are, or at least, where you can find them. Once you declutter your home, it will be so much easier to find all the items you need. When you can find things quickly, you save not only time, but you also save money by not buying duplicates.

During the decluttering process, people are frequently surprised to discover how many duplicates of one thing they own. When you declutter by category, you can see how much of each item you have and how much you have leftover so that you can pare down.

2. Decluttering Creates More Space In Your Home

The most evident of all the benefits of decluttering your home is creating more free space. It's simple: the less clutter there is - the more space you have for other, more useful things. Moreover, because of the free space and clear surfaces, you might feel like your home is bigger than it actually is. You may be surprised by how much space inside your home you've been wasting on the things you don't need, want or even use. Don't forget: creating more space doesn't mean you should buy more stuff and fill the rooms back up again! 

It's also important to note that, when decluttering, people of all ages but especially seniors should pay extra attention to the things that could cause them to trip and fall. It's best to declutter anything standing in the way. This includes decluttering items on the floor and removing rugs and unnecessary furniture. Once you've decluttered, you will have more space to walk around your house and be able to do it more safely.

By decluttering your home, you’re creating more space and saving your time and money.

​3. It Saves You Money

By decluttering your home, you will face your past purchasing decisions. People often buy stuff on a whim, with little to no consideration of need. A thorough decluttering can help you be more mindful of your purchases in the future. You will realize how much money you wasted on stuff you don't use. Moreover, once you've gotten rid of all the extras, you'll discover how much less stuff you actually need in your home. Remembering this will make you less likely to spend money on impulse purchases in the future. You will start to analyze your need for the things you buy before buying them, which will save you money.

​4. Decluttering Is Great For Mental Health

One of the most significant health benefits of decluttering your home is less stress. Clutter causes stress. Having more stuff in your house than what you're able to maintain can feel overwhelming and incredibly frustrating. On the other hand, it's proven that an organized home can reduce your stress and help you relax. A clean and uncluttered home can help you achieve balance and bring harmony to your life. Once you declutter, instead of walking through the door and seeing a mess that needs to be cleaned and stuff that needs to be sorted, you can come home and relax.

You've probably heard of Marie Kondo, the decluttering expert. By decluttering and throwing away things that "don't spark joy," you will feel so much happier. It's so important to always surround yourself with items you enjoy and display only the things that are most valuable to you. That way, you won't have to sift through a lot of items you don't want, and you won't misplace your favorite items in the back of the cupboard or at the bottom of the drawer.

Living in a cluttered space can have a bad impact on your mental health and cause stress.

​5. It Saves You Time

Another great benefit of decluttering is that you will have to make fewer decisions. There's a thing called decision fatigue. It means that having too many options can sometimes make it more challenging to make a choice. For example, it is immediately overwhelming to walk into a closet or open a drawer that is crammed with stuff. Picking out what to wear every day can feel impossible when your closet is bursting with the things you own. After organizing your wardrobe and donating the clothes you don't like, it will take you a lot less time to get dressed in the morning.

​6. Decluttering Means You Will Spend Less Time Cleaning

​By decluttering your home, it will take you less time to clean everything. That isn't to say you won't have to do laundry or wash dishes, but having fewer of them means they won't pile up as much. It's easier to clean when there aren't as many things lying around. Dusting can take a long time when you have to remove numerous items from furniture first. After you've decluttered, all you will have to do is basic upkeep that shouldn't take you longer than half an hour every day. This is because it's much easier to tidy up an already decluttered home. BONUS: Decluttering regularly helps you feel more comfortable entertaining your friends or family at the last minute.

If you declutter your home, you will be able to clean your home much more quickly.

​7. It Makes You Money

​One person's clutter can potentially be another person's treasure. One of the benefits of decluttering your home is that you can make some money selling your unwanted belongings. Of course, you can always choose to donate the clothes and things you don't need. However, you may want to try to sell a few things. Thanks to the internet, selling is easy. There are a ton of sites for that. You can also try having a garage sale to get rid of all the unwanted things from your home. Maybe your neighbors were in the market for a lamp just like the one that's been sitting in your garage and taking up valuable space. You will never know what you can sell until you try. So why not declutter out your home AND make money? That's a win-win situation.

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AUTHOR BIO
Natalie Hawkins is a blogger and a passionate copywriter with an interest in all things organization and space-saving. She had experience with arranging her own small apartment and now hopes to help others with her advice. When off the clock, Natalie enjoys a good book and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Happy Organizing!

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