6 Powerful Emotional and Spiritual Benefits of Decluttering

Decluttering is about more than your stuff.  The rewards go beyond saving you money, making more room, creating an organized and attractive space, or simplifying and expediting home care.  I think these additional benefits make anyone's life better.

6 ways decluttering improves your mindset and mood

1.  Reduced anxiety and stress

Looking at an overfull room can make you feel overwhelmed by unfinished chores and projects.  You feel worried and burdened by all you need to do.  Decluttering adds clarity.  It helps you prioritize what's important and remove what's not.

Plenty of studies indicate that a cluttered environment increases the production of cortisol, a stress hormone.  Clutter puts our "fight or flight" response on high alert.  That response is intended to be an occasional situation – one that lets us meet sudden dangers and challenges.  Being in that stressful situation all the time is detrimental to long-term health.

There's so much we can't control – weather, politics, accidents, the economy.  But decluttering lets us curate and control our personal space, which adds serenity and improves our ability to cope.

2.  Increased focus

The more items that surround us, the harder our brains have to work to sort essentials from nonessentials.  Think of how difficult it is to have a conversation on a busy street corner or at a noisy party, or how challenging it is to spot Waldo* on a crowded two-page spread.  You have to filter out so much, which can be tiring.

Decluttering removes all the extras so it's easier to focus on what's left.  Every task becomes easier.  This helps in all areas of your home, especially in the kitchen, the playroom, at your desk, and on your phone and computer.

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3.  A lighter spirit

I think most of us feel excited and energized when we begin a new project.  Decluttering provides that feeling of a clean slate.  It's a way to start over, refreshed and looking forward.

4.  More confidence and self-esteem

The process of decluttering is decision-heavy.  This is one of the things that makes it challenging, but when we practice making decisions, we improve.  This makes us feel wiser and more competent.

Decluttering can be a big job, so completing each step fills us with a sense of accomplishment.  Decluttering success can be a springboard toward reaching other goals.

5.  Enhanced creativity

Several studies reveal that when we have fewer assets, we explore more ways of getting what we want or need.  Scarcity (or a self-chosen limit) motivates us.  Constraints force us to think harder and dig deeper to solve a problem.  So decluttering inspires us to act with more imagination and resourcefulness.

Related article:  How Limits Help You Become More Creative

6.  Greater contentment and gratitude

Our culture teaches us to be dissatisfied with what we have.  We compare ourselves to others or see the many enticing products for sale, and start to believe we're lacking.  However, when we pull all of our clothes out of the closet, all of the dishes and gadgets out of kitchen cupboards, or all of the sports equipment and hobby supplies out of storage spaces, it becomes easy to see that we have way more than enough.

You're more likely to appreciate all you have when you have only what you need and use on a regular basis.  If you have any desire to overcome greed and find contentment, decluttering is one sure way to begin.

A deeper transformation

When we think of decluttering, we're usually focused on the physical aspects and results.  But the emotional and spiritual benefits might be even greater.  Decluttering is an outward change that will affect your inmost being.

Related article:  How to Weed Out the Clutter and Let Your Garden Grow

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