Plus A Solution To Bring Back Decluttered Joy
Working, living, thinking about, and having to navigate clutter can have a tremendously negative effect on your mental, emotional, and physical health. The ravages of clutter have even been made into a reality TV show, Hoarders, depicting how people’s lives are utterly destroyed by the clutter they’ve created (thankfully there is almost always an uplifting ending). What this type of program shows us is just how completely devastating clutter is, not only to the individual, but to all people in their life as well.
There has been an extensive public education drive for decades now, enough so that everyone should be acutely aware of the dangers and damages to our lives as a result of STRESS. Your physical health, all of your relationships, career, and finances will suffer if you are living in or dealing with stress on a constant basis.
And as numerous studies have proven, if you are surrounded by clutter, whether in your home or work environment, you are going to be stressed out!
A few facts about how clutter creates stress that has biological & neurological effects:
- Inhibits creativity and ability to focus
- Can trigger the release of the stress hormone cortisol
- Chronic clutter equals prolonged stress, which may trigger coping and avoidance strategies, like eating junk food, oversleeping or binge-watching TV
- This can result in higher levels of depression and anxiety
- Stress and raised cortisol levels also have longer lasting impact such as:
- organ damage
- the suppression of our immune, endocrine and reproductive systems
- the lowering of our metabolism
- the disruption of our sleep cycle
Let’s be clear about what we’re discussing; the definition of clutter is:
noun
- a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass.
verb
- crowd (something) untidily; fill with clutter.
As in, “I can’t think straight in all this clutter!”
Another important study by the researchers at UCLA demonstrated that parents who lived in cluttered homes had a hormone profile indicative of chronic stress, with signs of depression throughout the day, less energy than normal in the evenings, and they found it difficult to transition from work to home life. That’s a steep toll your cluttered surroundings can have on your sanity.
Bad Food Choices
Cluttered, messy kitchen? Probably no surprise, but in that type of chaotic environment unhealthy eating habits develop that much easier. If your preparation and cooking surfaces are overwhelmed with too many appliances, a buildup of dishes, mail, catalogues- whatever it might be, there is a good chance that grabbing takeout or processed foods will be your first choice. On the other hand, a clutter-free, clean atmosphere not only encourages healthy cooking but also inspires, resulting in much better options, which of course leads to improved physical health.
The graph from Elbow Room lists a few additional ways that clutter can negatively affect your health:
- More clutter means more accumulation of dust and dust mites, affecting respiratory issues
- Home safety is compromised when excessive clutter hampers safety and exit routes
Straightforward Solution- Decluttering
The reasons clutter accumulates are many, from emotional attachments, to providing comfort and sentimental reminders of significant events, concern about wasting, fear of not having enough, simply not knowing how to organize a space, and so on. If you are ready, there is ample guidance to help you move into a healthy state of spatial freedom.
The importance of decluttering has even taken more of a place in the mainstream, especially when organizing consultant Marie Kondo came onto the international scene with the publication of her books and subsequent TV shows, teaching the world how to declutter and organize with joy!
As we’ve shown above, clutter is terrible for your health in so many ways. After you have made the decision to organize and purge your life of unnecessary clutter, and are ready to let go of those items you no longer want in your home or work areas, Remoov is here to help.
To begin enjoying your new clutter-free life right away, Remoov will pick-up and sell all your items still in good condition and pay you for them. On top of that, Remoov will also recycle or donate anything that is not sellable and gets you a receipt for your taxes.
A clear image demonstrating the different feelings experienced in a cluttered vs an organized space.
A more freeing, comfortable, and productive life is just a phone call away. Here’s how it works:
- Organize things in three categories:
- things you want to sell
- items to donate
- anything to recycle
- Schedule an appointment and Remoov will bring a truck and pick up all of your items.
- We will take care of all the work getting your clutter to the designated drop off locations.
- You’ll receive a receipt for your donations that you can apply toward your taxes, and you earn 50% of all sales of the items you choose to sell.
A new year is fast approaching, which is always a wonderful time to make changes that will have a lasting impact on your life, from lowing levels of stress to increasing overall mental and physical well being.
Dive in and make the commitment towards a clutter-free life; you’ll be amazed at how the quality of you and your family’s lives will improve!
Happy New Year
