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Spring Clean Your Life – Clearing Clutter can Change Your Life

Clearing Clutter Change Your Life

Clearing clutter can change your life!

Clutter can be an external manifestation of a busy mind. It could also be just at outward rebellious act to do something you don’t want to do. Or it could simply just be clutter. Regardless of what it is, it needs to be addressed because living amongst clutter is not an elegant way to live.

Clearing clutter can change your life because it is the first step in claiming your space and your sanity.

Removing Clutter from Your Life

Removing clutter from your life, enables you to become an elegant woman and live a beautiful and elegant life because it beautifies everything around you. Don’t you ever realize that when you have clutter in your life – you feel anxious and a little stressed. It’s always on your mind. It occupies your day because you’re thinking either of cleaning it or how much it bothers you!

It is inevitable. The stress will always be there because you feel uneasy. Some very organized people will feel that they might lose something. For other women, the clutter makes it feel that you can never truly relax. It’s hard to feel like everything is done when you have stacks of papers or toys collected in visible places.

Even if it is mild anxiety or stress, it is stress nonetheless. I don’t know about you, but when you are under a little stress your body reacts differently to circumstances. You might not have the amount of patience you wish you had. Perhaps you eat a little bit too much attempting to emotionally satisfy yourself.

Removing the extra needless stress from your life by removing clutter.

It makes a world of difference. Not just a cleaner space but a freer mind.

10 Clutter-Clearing Strategies that Will Make Your Life Better

1) Separate yourself from the clutter

Sometimes it happens, you might get sentimental with something which is natural but the problem with getting too close to inanimate objects is that it will only keep collecting and growing. After years, it just accumulates to something that is hard to handle.

The memories you attach to possessions are just that, memories. Instead of keeping all the clutter, write down all those thoughts. It will be easier to part from something knowing that you have a reminder of it. You are able to have that memory always.

2) Start with one room

This one honestly helped me greatly because I know if I could master one room, I could master them all.

It just took a little time and effort to get the hang of it for my one room. I would read over and over different clutter clearing methods but the ones that I found I could stick to were the ones that I implemented naturally. It took time for the habit to stick, but now it’s done without a second thought.

One room becomes easy, then you graduate to two rooms and eventually the whole house!

3) Set a timer

Because let’s face it, who likes to spend their whole day clearing clutter? It’s probably a safe bet to say very little! It’s funny how when we do something that is “not fun” it seems to drag on for eternity but only 4 minutes have passed.

What helps is getting a timer and just putting on 10 or 15 minutes. It will help to distract your mind while you’re cleaning and also knowing it’s just a short few minutes, you can do it without feeling like you’re wasting your whole day!

4) Envision your space without clutter

When I’m feeling very unmotivated or overwhelmed by the mess, I like to envision what the house would look like without the piles of papers or the kid’s toys or just random items that seem to have become a staple ugly decor in the living room. Think about how it will look like when it’s all gone.

This gives you a little much needed inspiration.

Sometimes, even moving furniture around will give the space a completely different feel, which is exciting and makes you fall back in love with it!

5) Enjoy the process

That probably will be the last thing you want me to say, I know! But it’s true.

You are taking your home and making it beautiful. You are showing it some love and you will get rewarded for that as well. Who doesn’t like to look back at their efforts and see the fruits of their labor?

Everyone does. Since doing this is a frequent part of your life, you might as well enjoy it.

Plus, what other option is there? Being miserable?

6) Don’t get distracted

I have three boys, I’ve seen distraction!

Whenever it’s time for them to clean they start playing with their toys that they have not touched for days. They completely and happily ignored them, but once they need to start cleaning – that’s when they decide it’s time to play.

Don’t do this.

It is wasting your time and only fooling yourself. It’s really easy to become distracted when we don’t want to do something, however, it only makes it worse because it’s just like kicking the can down the road.

The work still needs to get done. Procrastination only adds more stress than happiness.

What works for me is giving myself little rewards. I tell myself that I will do what I would have been doing while procrastinating, and that usually helps tie me over until I get the work done!

7) Get dressed up

You’re probably a little confused.

But it’s true! If you are trying to declutter in your ugly clothes or pajamas, the odds are you will find it difficult to really be able to clean. The reason is you don’t feel prepared or ready and the amount of effort you put into it will be minimal.

It’s quite simple, when you feel beautiful and elegant then everything you do oozes with that same energy.

8) Practice your elegant attitude

You already know you need to try to enjoy the process, but what better way then to practice being happy with something that you might not like.

Since practice makes perfect, it’s a good idea to try to do everything with an elegant mindset. Be mindful of how you look, how you sound and the look on your face. This is especially important if you have others around you because you don’t want to show to your children that cleaning is terrible work.

It’s a part of your day and will be forever – so practice your elegant attitude.

When cleaning out the junk drawer, think about how efficient and tidy it will be when it’s over. Think about how you’re making your home a better and more organized place. This will help you and others. It will be appreciated, even silently.

9) Give everything a place to go

When everything has a proper place to go, then it makes it easier to organize everything. Even the annoying paper has a rightful place.

I used to have a problem with the blankets in my living room – I hated that all these loose blankets thrown with disregard all over the couches. My husband and I went out shopping and we found the most perfect little chest that doubled as a coffee table. Now all those blankets have a home to go and whenever they are spread in the living room, I know they all have a place where it can again look incredibly clean and organized.

There are many examples where either relocating or purchasing something to keep the clutter made all the difference!

10) When you have not other motivation – look at homes that truly inspire you

To be honest, clearing out clutter from your home is not complicated. It doesn’t take a lot of brain power, but what we mostly lack is inspiration and motivation.

That’s why I like the timer or something else timed. Sometimes I give myself a YouTube video and after it’s done then I am done. But when I get to the core issues of reluctance, it is always motivation.

Since most of us are very visual people, when you can see the potential of the beauty your home can become when you see some remaining clutter – you will want to pick it up and make it feel as beautiful.

11) BONUS) When you treat your house with the utmost respect and try your hardest all the time then you will be pleasantly surprised at the lack of clutter in your home.

Appreciation and respect can do wonders for keeping your home the way you want it. When you love your house and treat it as something special you will do the little extras to keep it that way. Sometimes it prevents the clutter from piling up in the first place!

365 less things

I’ve heard this before. Where every single day you throw out something that you don’t need or want anymore. It’s not a terrible idea either if you think about it.

When I first heard this I thought that 365 objects! That’s so many, I don’t even think I own that many things. But I was just thinking big.

Big like clothes, furniture, and things of that nature.

However, it doesn’t need to be anything close to that. It could be an item in your junk drawer or some extra shoe that you found in your garage that the kids don’t know whose it is. Or even the broken laundry basket you keep because even though you have two more, you never know when you might need a wobbly basket that has absolutely no stability and scratches you with its sharp plastic ends.

You see my point?

There are probably thousands of items in your home that you can start to slowly edit and either throw out or donate.

All it is, is just ONE thing a day.

It could be a pen with no ink that you keep throwing back in the drawer to that darn laundry basket!

Clearing Clutter Where to Start

If you don’t know where to start, just start small.

Even if it is just a drawer, it can be helpful.

Another tip that I love to use when I need to start clearing the clutter is clean my bedroom or office. I know this is helpful for me because this is the first thing I see every morning so when I make more of an effort to make it beautiful then it helps me feel motivated for the rest of the day!

Clear the Clutter and Simplify your Life

All types of clutter can be overwhelming and stressful. In order to simplify your life you need to have a home with less clutter and possessions. It’s easy to accumulate and just throw it in a corner somewhere, but that doesn’t lead to a simple and elegant life.

Spend every day editing and tackling the clutter and the tranquility that results will astound you!

Digital Clutter

If you have a smart phone or a computer, I almost guarantee you suffer from digital clutter.

This is another one of those times that you can clean and organize it all, makes you feel great but nothing physically has changed.

The best way to keep digital clutter from becoming too much is to stay on top of it. When you put files of images on your computer, take the extra 10 minutes to label them properly. That is one of the only ways to make sure that they don’t become overwhelming.

Just like physical clutter, make sure that your digital clutter all has a spot for everything.

10 actionable steps to remove clutter

Clearing Clutter Frequently Asked Questions

Can decluttering change your life?

Of course it can! By removing clutter that is distracting, you are able to live a more elegant and refined life. It is hard to be

What happens when you declutter your life?

When you declutter your life you feel lighter and happier. You find that your mind isn’t always stuck on it and avoiding it. To live in a house with minimal clutter means that you have more time to spend on things you like!

Can decluttering your house really make you happier?

Yes it can! When your home is cluttered on a perpetual basis, then that usually means that you have other thoughts on your mind. This can be heavy on you shoulders and what happens inside manifests on the outside.

Why is decluttering so important?

To make your home more beautiful. Keeps you relaxed and helps you to remain elegant

Why is decluttering so difficult?

It’s difficult because it means that you might have to throw out objects that you might be attached to. Or it can be difficult that you have too many possessions and no place where they belong.

Does a cluttered house cause stress?

Yes. It causes stress to build up in your mind but also other people who come over and your family. It can make you feel uncomfortable and maybe embarrassed.

Clearing Clutter Can Change Your Life

To sum up today’s Spring Clean Your Life Series, clutter can make a huge impact on your life. It has the ability to control you and your thoughts. You might not believe it, but it’s true. When you are home, it’s on your mind.

You are either thinking, “I need to sort this out” or “I’m going to keep trying to ignore it”, but regardless, your mind is wrapped up in it!

Stop avoiding it and just tidy a little bit a day and the progress you make will astound you!

Spring Clean Your Life Series:

Preparation Day

Day 1: Goals

My Shop

200 Ways of an Elegant Woman – similar to the 101 Ways of an Elegant Woman post, with 100 MORE tips and explanations on all 200 ways.

Setting New Year’s Resolutions – and Actually Doing Them– great for any time of the year and wanting to achieve goals to make them your reality

Beginner’s Guide to Elegance– my FREE introductory eBook to help you live your best life

Social

Join the Facebook group – Elegant Living for Elegant Women– a community for women who enjoy elegant living to ask questions, share stories and learn new ways that you can add elegance to your day

Follow me on Twitter

Get all the the info on what’s coming out on my Facebook page 

In the video

Music: Artlist

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Clearing Clutter Change Your Life

Alicia

Saturday 24th of April 2021

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