I love to have a clear, clutter-free space. Getting rid of all the clutter really is transforming and helps to clear my mind as well as the room I’m in, making me feel calmer and more relaxed; so ‘tidy home, tidy mind’ makes a lot of sense to me.
Decluttering gives you more time for yourself and your family and leads to a healthier and more balanced you. And although a clean environment won’t necessarily solve all your problems, it can have an enormous impact on your emotional wellbeing and outlook and make all the difference to your life.
What is ‘Clutter’?
Clutter means different things to different people, but it’s basically all about filling a space with an untidy and chaotic collection of things. It might happen for a positive reason, such as when you’re moving house or you’re decorating or renovating, or it may build up almost imperceptibly over time. If you find that you have to move things around in your home to accomplish a simple chore, or you feel that you’re drowning in ‘stuff’ and overwhelmed by all the space it takes up, then the likelihood is that you have a clutter problem.
Clutter and Mental Health
Your surroundings can have a dramatic effect on your mood, negatively impacting on your mental health – especially if you’re stressed, under pressure or just struggling with the daily grind. Having unnecessary clutter lying around can act like a visual noise, each item potentially triggering an alarm bell in your head. The truth is that most of us have so much stuff either lying around in full view or shoved inside cupboards that it’s sometimes impossible to find what we are looking for when we want it. With so much to do – laundry to wash, meals to prepare and paperwork to organise – it’s no wonder that sometimes we feel overwhelmed when we’re faced with the endless ‘to-do’ lists of life.
Studies in the United States1 have looked at the causes of clutter and how it impacts people’s emotional wellbeing. The researchers found that cluttered homes can be stressful to live in. Yet many people avoid reorganising their things and throwing out even unused or unwanted belongings, especially if it’s time-consuming or unpleasant. Consequently, they sometimes end up living in a chaotic state, surrounded by mess, which can trigger a physiological response, usually in the form of stress and raised cortisol levels. Cortisol is the body’s main stress hormone and when it increases it can lead to a variety of health problems, such as anxiety, headaches, fatigue, insomnia, memory lapses, concentration problems and even depression. When they declutter, however, even with small steps over a period of time, people can start to feel less anxious and better about themselves.
I know this is true from my own experience, from working with clients and from the feedback I get online in response to my blog and Instagram feed.
Elizabeth, a busy department manager who was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when she was 26 and had been off work for six months, struggled to stay on top of even basic everyday tasks like showering, cleaning the kitchen or vacuuming the carpets. She wrote to me:
One day my mum offered to help clean my house and I was offended. Had it really got that bad? It made me realise I was truly debilitated by my illness. I felt so useless, but I know now that a lot of my untidiness was linked to self-worth and I didn’t see myself as deserving of a clean and well-ordered home.
What Elizabeth learned from TGCO is that cleaning and decluttering needn’t be a chore; it can be a pleasure if you approach it in the right way. You can make it more fun by including your family or turning on some music. Elizabeth saw it as her opportunity to catch up on her favourite podcasts and audiobooks and she felt so much better for getting up and moving around. She also valued the support of the TGCO community on social media:
Talking to people online about depression and anxiety has been a lifeline because I tend to isolate myself when I’m feeling low. But scrolling through Nicola’s feed gives me a friendly nudge in the right direction and makes managing my home feel so much more attainable. There’s no unrealistic standard to try to achieve, just moral support and helpful advice.
Elizabeth now looks forward to decluttering:
The biggest thing I learned is that I don’t have to tackle mammoth tasks all at once, and that’s very comforting. I don’t worry about getting the whole house tidy. I just pick a small space and see where it takes me. Doing a little every day is much more powerful for my sanity, as well as my home organisation.
The Power of Decluttering
I’ve witnessed many times the powerful effect that decluttering can have on my clients’ state of mind. When I arrive at people’s homes, they are usually very excited to see me (always a good sign!). Sometimes they tell me that this is the moment when they breathe out and start to relax; the task they’ve been dreading is about to be sorted once and for all.
You see, not everyone likes to declutter and get organised all by themselves. It can be, for some people, sheer drudgery if they don’t enjoy doing it or are too busy to set aside the time. And it can be quite traumatic if people become over-attached to some of their personal possessions and find it hard to let go. I can help to reassure my clients by smiling, taking control of the situation and trying to make the process more fun for them. We will have a chat and a laugh together as we work. I encourage them to tell me what makes them feel relaxed when they’re at home, and then, if they become overwhelmed, I can do something positive to help lighten the mood and take the stress out of what we’re doing. It could be lighting a soothing candle, listening to the radio or a favourite playlist, enjoying some background cooking aromas, or just taking a break from the job in hand and sitting down for a chat with a cup of tea and some biscuits.
It’s not rocket science – really, it’s just about what makes you happy and what transports you to that happy place. And so decluttering becomes a part of your self-care routine and a way of taking care of yourself and your home.
It’s not rocket science. It’s just about what makes you happy and what transports you to that happy place.
Asking for Help
Asking for help can sometimes be embarrassing or even scary. How many times have you said to a friend or relative: ‘Let me know if there’s anything I can do to help’, but you never heard back from them? I guess some people see it as a sign of weakness or they feel insecure allowing someone to do something for them. There’s no denying that we feel stronger and more in control when we fend for ourselves, but it’s important to note that we are even stronger when we work together as a team.
When I started my business, I wasn’t fully aware of the immense and transformative power of decluttering. I knew it worked for me, but I hadn’t seen the wonderful effects on other people’s lives.
One day I received a call from Sarah, who was desperate for my services and couldn’t believe she had found someone who did exactly what she had been looking for. She was extremely emotional on the phone and I remember trying to reassure her and saying, ‘Well done, you’ve just cleared your first hurdle by recognising you’ve got a problem and asking for help.’ I couldn’t wait to lend a hand.
Sarah and her husband both worked for a large law firm in the City of London and every day they both left the house just after 6am and didn’t return until around 9pm. They loved their jobs, but the pressure was high. Sarah became increasingly anxious when the weekends came around and she opened the kitchen cupboards and wardrobes. Along with the bathroom and the living spaces in her house, they were full of stuff and she knew she had to sort it, but the problem seemed so immense and insurmountable that she couldn’t psych herself up to tackle it. It was so overwhelming that it was even starting to affect her relationship with her husband and how she felt about herself. She compared herself unfavourably with some of her work colleagues who were