Clutter is not good for us but storage facilities in Earlsfield are here to help. Read on to find out how. 

The amount of the clutter within our homes and workspaces and our mental health are connected. And we are all probably more aware of it than we think. 

When you walk into a messy room, how does it make you feel? Stressed? Annoyed? Upset? We can imagine that you don’t feel a positive emotion and that, in fact, your mood switches to being more negative. Any small amount of clutter has an effect on our wellbeing and mental health. 

Within this article, we will look at how and why clutter has such a detrimental effect. And we will talk you through some of our tips for a clutter-free life and how storage facilities in Earlsfield will help. 

How Does Clutter Affect Our Mental Health? 

Clutter is defined as a collection of items that lie about a room in an untidy state. This could be piles of clothes on the floor, piles of paper on a desk or piles of random items on your kitchen counter. We all have these little collections from time to time and they only become a problem when they are never tidied away and the collections build. This is when clutter begins to affect our mental health. 

Letting the clutter build has a detrimental effect on our mental health because it increases stress and anxiety, reduces focus and productivity, negatively impacts your self-esteem, impacts your relationships and has possible ties to depression. 

Why Do People Have Clutter? 

If clutter is so bad for us and we all feel the effects of it, why do people still have clutter around their homes and workspaces? Here, we will look at some of the reasons people hold on to clutter.

Emotional Attachment Or Nostalgia 

We all have items that hold a great deal of nostalgia for us or carry a high level of emotional attachment. With these types of items, it can be very hard for us to let them go, with the worry that without the item, we will forget the happy memory or person. 

No Time To Keep On Top Of It

We all lead busy lives and keeping on top of clutter, particularly if you live in a busy house, can feel like a full time job in itself. We can feel like we have to always do a big clean or a big sort out but little and often can be equally as effective. 

Fear Of Being Wasteful 

We live in a time where we know climate change is having a big impact on the Earth. Our consumption of items is playing a role in this and the amount we throw away each day. This can lead many people to hold on to items because they don’t want to be wasteful and add to the ever growing amount of items in landfills. Many items could be resold or given away to charity shops to prevent them going to landfill. 

Mental Health Illnesses 

Clutter affects our mental health but, in an unfortunate Catch 22, mental health illnesses can lead to clutter. Illnesses such as depression can lead people to lack the energy needed for staying on top of clutter. 

Tips For A Clutter Free Life 

If your home is cluttered and it is affecting your mental health, it can be hard to know where to begin. Here we will offer some of our tips for having a clutter free life and let you know how storage facilities in Earlsfield will help. 

Make A Plan Before You Start 

Before you start, you will want to take some time to make a plan of action, thinking about how you are going to approach your decluttering. You will want to think about where you want to start. 

Think About The Whys

With decluttering, it is a good idea to think about why you want to do it. 

Is clutter badly affecting your mental health? Do you not like going in certain rooms because of the clutter? Do you want more space in your home and life? 

Knowing your whys will help you to stay motivated and stick with your decluttering. 

Start Small 

When you are in the right frame of mind for getting stuck into decluttering, it can be really easy to want to go in, gun’s a’blazin ‘, and try to do it all at once. This is not a good idea. The motivation will quickly leave you and you will feel frustrated and you could even burn yourself out. 

It is really important that you start small, do a room at a time or even just a drawer or cupboard at a time. This will make the whole project more manageable and will stop feelings of frustration occurring. 

Try Some Decluttering Methods 

There are many decluttering methods out there and it is a good idea to try a few and see if any of them work for you. Finding the right method could make decluttering easier or more fun.

There is The Four Box Method in which you get four boxes and label them Keep, Throw Away, Give Away and storage. And then you go through your belongings placing each item in the correct box. 

There is The KonMari Method, invented by Marie Kondo, in which you hold each of your items and decide if they bring you joy. Any items that don’t bring you joy should be removed from your home. 

Then there is The Packing Party Method which is how The Minimalists, Ryan Nicodemus, became a minimalist. In this method, you pack away everything you own, as if you are moving house. And then you spend the next few weeks unpacking only what you really need. Things like your toothbrush, bed sheets, work clothes etc. 

If one of these methods sounds good to you, give it a try. This will start you on your way to a decluttered home. 

Set Achievable Goals 

As we have already mentioned, once you are in the right mood for decluttering and once you get started, it can be easier to want to dive right into doing it all. But, it is important that you stay realistic and to set achievable goals. 

Depending on how much clutter you have, one to two rooms a day is an achievable goal.

Utilise Storage Facilities In Earsfield 

If you find items that you do want to keep but don’t use year round, such as seasonal clothing, sports equipment and holiday decorations, these could all be placed into storage facilities in Earlsfield.

Within a professional storage facility in Earlsfield, such as Cinch Self Storage Earlsfield, your belongings will be kept safe and secure for however long you want/need to store them. 

All of our units are fitted with alarms and smoke and fire detectors. And we have 24/7 CCTV around the entire Earlsfield facility. 

Declutter For Your Mental Health With Storage Facilities In Earlsfield 

Clutter can be extremely detrimental to our mental health. There are many reasons why we hold on to it but it is a good idea to try and eliminate as much as possible from our lives. There are some very simple ways to do this, such as using a decluttering method, starting small and setting achievable goals and utilising storage facilities in Earlsfield. 

Our storage facilities in Earlsfield will be a perfect place to store those items that you don’t need year round or items you want to sell in the future. 

If you would like to know more about our storage facilities in Earlsfield, please give us a call on: 02030 079 683 or click here.