Top 10 Reasons to Declutter Your Home

 

Having a clear-out can be a be great for taking a weight off your mind (and your shelves!). Not only will you find yourself with more space for the things you love, but the whole process of decluttering your home can also have great benefits for your mind, body, and soul – as well as your bank balance!

As you can imagine, here at Ziffit, we’re all seasoned declutter-ers. It’s in our DNA! So, we’d like to share some of the perks that clearing-out our homes has had on all aspects of our lives.

 

1.      Discover lost treasures

From those beautiful earrings you misplaced years ago to a cheeky fiver that’s been stuck at the back of a drawer – you’ll be surprised at the things you’ll find. You may have even forgotten you ever owned them.

More importantly, you’ll uncover lost memories as you rediscover priceless sentimental items. A photo of Nan nestled inside a book, the home-burnt mix CD from your first crush or the save-the-date to your best friend's wedding that’s been stuck inside a pile of old bills. Each will bring precious memories flooding back.

 

2.      Purge bad memories

 

Just as items around your home can bring you joy and invoke happy memories, all-too-often we keep hold of items that have negative energy attached to them. The textbook for that course you spectacularly failed. The Xbox 360 games your ex never came round to collect 13 years ago. Nobody needs these haunting their home. Every time these catch your eye you’ll be reminded of times you’d rather forget. It’s time to clear them out and release the negativity. You’ll be surprised how cathartic it will feel letting them go.

 

3.      Boost your productivity

 

The sense of achievement you’ll experience when you’ve cleared those shelves will improve your overall productivity. By removing clutter, it gives us time and space to focus on other areas of our lives. You might even be to tackle some of the other jobs you’ve been putting off.

 

4.      Help good causes

 

Donating to charity is a selfless act and can help you achieve a greater sense of personal satisfaction. In fact, several scientific studies have used brain imagining data to show the link between small acts of generosity and improved happiness and well-being. When you donate to charities and help others, your brain release endorphins similar to those created when you perform activities related to joy and happiness: eating, exercising, or even receiving a big hug!

You don’t need to dig into your bank balance to achieve this warm fuzzy feeling. Your clutter can be turned into cash for causes close to your heart, all from the comfort of your own home when you trade your unwanted books and media through Ziffit.

 

5.      Improve your sleep

 

Sleep and mental health are intrinsically linked; getting a good night’s sleep can have an incredible impact on our overall wellbeing. Research has shown that people who have problems sleeping are more likely to feel anxious or depressed.

Luckily, decluttering your bedroom can actually help you have a more restful night’s sleep. Even if we consciously ignore the clutter around our homes, our brains unconsciously interpret this as tasks that need to be done without us even realising. This can make it difficult for us to turn-off and unwind. By removing excess clutter from your bedroom you give your unconscious the full capacity to rest and relax, helping the bedroom become a sanctuary to rejuvenate your mind and body.

 

6.      Top-up your bank balance

 

You’ll be surprised how much money the clutter on your shelves could be worth. Whether you’re selling your old clothes online or trading in your unwanted books and media using services such as Ziffit, your unwanted stuff could give your bank balance a healthy top-up.

 

7.      Develop healthy shopping habits 

 

Many psychologists argue that humans are hard-wired to collect things, stemming from our days as hunter-gathers. But how much of the stuff you’ve collected over the years do you actually use? When you come to tackling those cupboards and shelves, you’ll find all sorts of things that serve no purpose in your home other than collecting dust.

Having a declutter can help us assess our shopping habits and improve our sense of gratitude. Once you see how much redundant stuff you have, it can help control your impulse buying in the future. Not only will that help you save money by only buying the things you need or truly bring you happiness, but it can also help reduce your environmental footprint too.

 

8.      Improve your physical health

 

Without realising it, the clutter around your home is gathering dust and other allergens. Even if it’s accumulating in your attic or in the deepest depths of your drawers, it can still make its way into the areas of your home you do use.

Clearing out this unused clutter can help improve the air quality in your home. And removing those dust-gatherers from your home will ensure it's much easier to keep clean in the future.

 

9.      Achieve clarity of mind and boost your self-esteem

 

Our brains are constantly bombarded by signals from the objects around us and this can often contribute to us feeling anxious or stressed. Decluttering our homes will help in unconsciously decluttering your mind and thoughts, helping you think more clearly and creatively. You don’t need to go full-on Feng Shui, but even reducing the amount of clutter in your home can help create a space for new ideas and possibilities.

Further still, no matter how positive our outlook in life we all have those niggling voices in our heads that sometimes make us question our actions, our abilities or character. But decluttering the things in your home that don’t give you a positive vibe is just one step that can help banish that negativity and help you feel better about yourself.

Whether that’s only keeping clothes that make us feel good or only keeping items on our shelves that make us happy, decluttering your home can help you express yourself and see yourself in a more positive light.

 

10.  Give old items a new lease of life

 

It’s true that one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. Just because something doesn’t bring you happiness anymore, that’s not to say somebody else won’t cherish it. Giving items away promotes sustainability and helps the environment. You can be sure that 90’s jacket stuck at the back of the wardrobe will be adored by a vintage-loving fashionista. Loads of people will appreciate the crackle and imperfections of your old vinyl records. And if you’ve loved a book, share that story with somebody new.

 

What do you think of our top 10 reasons to declutter? Have you got any to add? Let us know!