Organizing with Cloud Nine Organizing

DECLUTTER

YOUR WAY CALM TO

by Crystal Nerpel, Owner of Cloud Nine Organizing

Your home is your sanctuary. It’s where you should feel the most comfortable being yourself and enjoying your time with loved ones. When you walk through the threshold of your home, you deserve to feel relaxed, calm, and secure.

If clutter and chaos smack you in the face every time you walk through your front door, you are probably not feeling calm.

Decluttering your home is probably one of the best things you can do to foster calmness in your life. It’s also one of the most intimidating. That’s why I’m here to give you encouragement and tips for getting started.

DECLUTTERING

There are two types of clutter – physical and mental. Removing physical clutter can actually alleviate quite a bit of your mental clutter and lead you to feel lighter and more relaxed.

Not only will you feel the difference, but the people around you might start seeing a difference in you. One of my Loving Your Home Club members recently shared that people are asking her, “Have you lost weight?” She says, “Nope. I’ve just been getting rid of stuff, so I look lighter.”

Decluttering lessens the chaos around you and helps you feel more in control of your environment. It’s a great feeling. There’s no right or wrong way to declutter. You just need to commit to getting started.

A FEW BENEFITS OF DECLUTTERING

When you get rid of clutter in your home, you make it easier to find things. This saves you time and frustration.

You will avoid that panicky feeling of having lost something.

You have peace of mind and a sense of security knowing that things are in their place.

You free up physical space when you get rid of the mess. Meaning, you will have more room to move around freely.

A decluttered, open space is visually calming for your brain.

Clutter has been shown by researchers to raise levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, in our bodies. It’s nice knowing that we have the power to lower our stress levels by doing something as basic as decluttering.

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Just start. I can’t emphasize this enough. Simply taking the first baby step towards decluttering can often provide the momentum and motivation to keep going. Clearing off just one surface area is a step in the right direction.

Be consistent. Doing a little every day is more sustainable than tackling all the clutter at once. Take before and after pics of your clutter each day so you can see the progress you are making.

Be realistic. Perfectionism is a sabotager. Don’t expect yourself to get it all done in a day (or even a week). And don’t expect yourself to create a beautiful, Pinterestworthy home. If you’re searching for perfectionism, you’ll never find it. If you are making progress, you are doing great!

Decluttering your home can have such an impact on your overall mindset. That sense of calm is likely to spill over into other areas of your life. Making just a few small changes can spur on larger ones, so just get started on a small home-decluttering project today to see where it takes you on your journey to loving your home.