The dawning of Spring brings warmer weather, greenery, and floral blooms. The Spring also brings the opportunity to form new habits. Many people have the Spring ritual of decluttering, also known as spring cleaning. Whether or not it is already on your list of things to do this year, here are some benefits of decluttering your space and life.
1. Decluttering helps you feel more comfortable in your space
Clutter usually means that you are confined to certain available areas in your space. In a study, Ferrari et al. (2017; 2018) revealed that excessive clutter reduced comfort and everyday experiences because of limited access to space and objects.
2. Decluttering helps with focus
In addition to being able to access objects and spaces in your area, a clutter-free space also allows you to focus more. Physical environments can strongly influence our cognition and emotions. Fewer objects around you also mean fewer distractions. Visual clutter can reduce your ability to focus, visual distractions of clutter can increase cognitive overload and decrease working memory. You’ll be able to focus on the task at hand when you don’t have to worry about the space or objects around you.
3. Decluttering can alleviate stress and depression
Clutter can impact your anxiety levels and also has the power to affect sleep. In a 2010 study by Saxbe and Repetti, clutter was linked to depressed moods and higher cortisol levels. In the same study, participants with less cluttered spaces reported experiencing less stress and felt less depressed.
4. Decluttering is better for your overall health
Our bodies have developed survival tactics to fight colds or other bugs, a cluttered home environment lowers our chances of fighting off bugs, digesting food, or combating heart disease. In addition to having the potential to weaken the body’s defense system, clutter also influences sleep. A cluttered environment affects how fast people fall asleep, and also influences the quality of sleep one could get throughout the night.
5. Decluttering presents opportunities
Decluttering your space may also present many opportunities. Decluttering allows the person to go through their things and find objects or articles of clothing they do not need or use anymore. In an earlier blog post, we mentioned, in the February 2022 post, things that can be donated to homeless shelters. Many of the things we listed can be found when you go through the process of Spring Cleaning. Organizing and going through the clutter can also help someone find something they may have lost or misplaced.
Sources:
Ferrari, J. R., Roster, C. A., Crum, K. P., & Pardo, M. A. (2017;2018;). Procrastinators and clutter: An ecological view of living with excessive “Stuff”. Current Psychology (New Brunswick, N.J.), 37(2), 441-444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9682-9
Sander, L. (2019, January 23). This Is What it Means if a Messy Room Stresses You Out. Men’s Health. https://www.menshealth.com/health/a26012549/clutter-messiness-stress-anxiety-health-psychology/
Saxbe, D. E., & Repetti, R. (2010). No place like home: Home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(1), 71-81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209352864
By: Selita O. Paea
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