10 Reasons Why You Should Start Decluttering Too!
How decluttering has impacted this mama's life for the BETTER!!!
Learning how to care more about the items I already own and how to manage them CHANGED everything even more for my already eco-living lifestyle!
When you hear about decluttering, you think about tossing things out, and yes, that is part of it, but there is so much more to it… and I’ll share my 10 Reasons Why You Should Start Decluttering Too, but first I want to share how I started this journey.
2023 I found out that I was pregnant with our second child in February whilst travelling in Canada visiting family. It was a shock and a bit scary as I kept bleeding (another story). When I got home and everything checked out fine with the baby in March, I had to accept that another child was coming into our life before Phoenix turned 2. This was a mental juggle as I was trying to be present with Phoenix only still being 8-9 months old (first-time mama) and also how was I going to manage another little one whilst Tony was still working away (FIFO). I came across Madisun Gray minimalism channel on YouTube and binge-watched all her videos as she was a mama and how it helped her become less stressed. Everything she said just clicked inside because I had always loved the idea of minimalism, but I felt it was too extreme. The way she talked about it as just decluttering stuff you don’t use or really need if you think about felt so right for me. I started decluttering everything she would say she didn’t use, like old cables you keep for phones or tech you don’t need or have doubles of. Long story short, it kickstarted my journey, and I slowly did our entire house before October, when the baby was due.
10 Reasons Why You Should Start Decluttering Too!
Manage less stuff
everything you own is “STUFF” and at the end of the day
it takes up physical space in your house
you have to manage that stuff either by cleaning it or tidying up all the time
it will never make you feel the happiness the marketing promises you with awesome-looking models or beautifully styled home/decor
Letting go
decluttering teaches you how to let go, which is not easy, and the best way to learn to get better at letting go is actually to practice it. I mean this in 2 ways;
physical items in your life that are no longer serving you and just sitting there
mental thoughts that are not supporting your purpose, aspirations and lifestyle ie. worrying about having to clean up all the stuff you have at home if you have less it takes away some of that worry.
The feeling of space
more stuff means more clutter and tidying, organising and cleaning, which, let's face it, none of us think about when we purchase anything for ourselves or our homes or kids!
But with minimal stuff to manage, it is an awesome feeling. If you do not have much clutter on your kitchen benchtop, your house looks naturally cleaner, and your mind feels more at ease!
fact - visual clutter actually stresses out women more than men
it allows you to feel less “busy” because your home looks minimal and tidy more often with less effort
You know what you own
helps you understand what you actually need
you have an actual inventory of all the items in your house!!!
it stops you from buying more stuff unintentionally
stops you from buying repeat of stuff - especially pantry items
you become more intentional with your purchasing
You shop with intention
You might start to buy more quality products
You might start caring about how the brand or company you buy from produces their products and the impacts on the environment
You stop shopping because you know you might have to declutter it or you know you already have too much and you will have to declutter something else to replace the item you bring in - this happens more with your wardrobe
To fall in love with your clothes again or to change your wardrobe
so many of us keep clothing for that just-in-case moment or one day I will wear it, that never comes, and it is simply just taking up space in our closet
anything we keep takes up space in our mind and body because it still keeps it as inventory that one day we do have to sort
if we get rid of clothes we don’t like or use,
you can start loving what we do wear and realise we have enough, or if you don’t, you have space now to find pieces we do really love to add
you could minimise your wardrobe to a capsule wardrobe, or you can just organise it and know and appreciate all the pieces you keep
Love all that you own
if you don’t love it, don’t feel like you have to keep it
if it was a gift and you feel bad giving it away, don’t keep it, just because it just takes up space in your house
understand that your home is your safe, sacred, special space for you to ENJOY and make memories but essential you have to manage it so try to make it one that you want to be in as we spend so much time at home
Appreciation
Learning to declutter helps you appreciate what you already have probably don’t really pay much attention to how fortunate you are in life to have it
More Free Time
After you declutter most of the stuff you are not using, it frees up time for you to enjoy doing things you like. YES, you gain back more TIME because you are managing less stuff and isn’t that what we want? We always feel “too busy” or I have no time.
Cleaner home + lifestyle
Ultimately, what you get at the end of the day is a cleaner home and lifestyle because it becomes simpler and easier to manage with less.
There are many documentaries on Netflix or YouTubers talking about all the benefits about minimalism on Netflix or YouTubers talking about all the benefits of minimalism. I don’t consider myself a minimalist, but I do like and enjoy what my house feels like after a major decluttering. But in no way have I managed to declutter all my stuff, as there are still things I see that creep back into my house I want to get rid of. That is why it’s a lifestyle change you must adjust to when you want to get to the root of why you would start doing it. It can impact your life in many areas; one specific one is finances as you actually start to buy less or consciously think before you buy now. It’s pretty amazing if you think about it. However, I started intentionally thinking about buying when I started my zero-waste journey in 2018. Minimalism was always going to come into play at some point in my life, and it’s funny how motherhood is what got me wanting to do it. And I think all mothers would agree less to manage and clean is always a good idea when you got kids running around.
I hope these 10 reasons are helpful and inspiring to kickstarting your journey to decluttering your life, too. I will share more on how I managed to declutter both our wardrobes by more than 50% and still want to reduce it more.
Let me know in the comments if this decluttering article interests you so I know to write more. I love learning more ways to CARE MORE about areas of my life that I didn’t pay much attention to before but now seem so obvious that I should. Being at home 24/7, it makes sense to me now to prioritise it and make it organised and feel beautiful and manageable.
Lots of love
Kim
Great post, Kim.....trying a bit of a feng shui / declutter effort myself.....so yes, keep 'em comin! :)