Why the Benefits of Decluttering Extend Beyond the Home
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When most people think of home organizing, perhaps they think only of meticulously labeled bins and color coordinated books. And they’re not entirely off––home organizing is often about labeling and bins and color coordinating. But it’s about so much more. The saying sounds trite until you’ve experienced it for yourself, but here’s that saying: an organized home leads to an organized mind.
You know that expansive feeling you get when you’re able to look up at the sky without feeling closed in by endless rows of tall buildings? This might be unique to New Yorkers, but whenever I leave the city, I’m reminded of how pleasant it is to see more of the open sky.
The same is true of our homes. When we get rid of clutter, we create more vital space that we never knew we needed. Our space suddenly feels bigger, brighter, and as a result, our present and future feel bigger and brighter.
When your space is crammed full of clutter, exciting new opportunities can’t make their way over to you. When you get rid of that box of love letters from your ex-boyfriend or that icky wardrobe from that accounting job you loathed, the universe can finally come to your doorstep with that new job/boyfriend/girlfriend/cool dress/amazing masseuse-who-will-cure-your-back.
And when we organize our homes with systems that serve our needs (e.g., putting the silverware drawer next to the dishwasher instead of far away, keeping the keys in a dish in the front hall, etc.), we free up mental space to focus on more exciting things than wondering where we left our wallet this time.
When your home starts to feel like it’s working for you and not the other way around, you might experience a lightness that you haven’t felt in a while. Perhaps you experience a slight shift in your own perception of self…you might think, “hey, maybe things aren’t as difficult as I make them seem!”
These positive shifts in mindset are real, and they do come about from clearing the clutter and reorganizing. I’ve witnessed clients who change careers after rediscovering an old hobby amidst their clutter. There was the client who didn’t think he could ever cook in his tiny NYC kitchen, but recently texted to tell me he hosted his first dinner party. Or the client who used clutter as an excuse for not being able to write (since she had no place to put a desk!). She now has a desk, and is a freelance fashion writer.
We give ourselves lots of excuses, but when we clear out the clutter, we often find that the solutions are right in front of us begging us to notice them. Don’t let clutter get in the way of your more important plans. Do you want a pared down closet that has some room to grow in size, or do you want to keep it crammed full of American Apparel body con dresses you wore while doing a keg stand in college? Don’t forget––you get to decide!