What is clutter? Clutter by definition is an untidy collection of things, and it happens quite often with us that our thoughts become unorganized. As thinking entities, all of us reflect on something or the other which becomes the center of our thoughts and while we focus on it we have some other things which are going on the fringes.
Living in a disorganized state can also clutter your state of mind and can make you feel that you are under pressure that is just not going away. We can all be victims of consumerism and get into a state of mind where we think we will actually benefit from the purchase of something which really won’t add to our value. A cluttered mind can really be the cause of depression and weigh you down by making you dispassionate about activities that you should be excited about.
#1. Review Usage
Reviewing usage every six months and being totally honest about the things that you have not used in a while will help you sideline the things you have not used in a while. We do attach sentiments to things that are in our possession for a while and have served us in our past. However, it is important to acknowledge the fact that they don’t serve us now and we can pass it on to people in our family so that the objects renews its sentimental value through their affection.
#2. Don’t Delay
You wanted to take that trip last month but delayed it to this month and now this month is also going to end and you have not booked any flight or hotel so what is the deal here? Clearly, you are delaying important things and blocking your own happiness. When you push yourself to do something you will be able to do things that you always wanted to do without losing your way or delaying them further.
#3. Perform Simple Tasks
Human beings are emotional vessels as we are made up of feelings and sentiments. we feel empty when we are drained out of emotions. Simple tasks like filling a garbage bag or emptying a vase full of sand can make you feel light whenever you feel heavy or too pressured by the weight on your shoulders.
#4. Assess The Need Of One Item Each Day
We try to compete with others and often tend to do certain activities that will keep us on a higher plane. As human beings, we tend to compare ourselves with others quite frequently. Comparison pertains to everything, from skills and abilities to what objects do others have so that we have an idea of their possessions and rank ourselves accordingly. However, we forget that we require possessions for our needs instead of drawing comparisons with others.
#5. Digital Purge
Whether it is reading about your friend’s love life on Facebook or finding the details of the personal life of a person you admired a lot, you don’t need to know this once you have started walking in the direction you are going in. It can get overwhelming and exhausting to read and see what all is going on in the life of others and it can send you spinning so deep that you lose all touch with your personal life asserting the truth only in terms of facts and figures. Cleaning your inbox and wiping out the old applications from your phone is more necessary than it has ever been so that you can have peace of mind and happiness.
#6. Clear Your Office Desk
It is very important to clear your office desk as a messy one can bug you and hinder your productivity. You spend a considerable time in office at least more than what you spend at your home. Therefore, it is always a good idea to practice the art of decluttering in your office as it will help you to free up your mind so that you can think clearly and push anxiety away.
#7. Maintain Order
Set a routine that keeps you in shape and, take care of your basic needs. make sure that sure you follow it regularly so that you never lose yourself in the clutter that impinges on your basic needs. The key to establishing order in assigning greater value to the things which are more important to you than others and ensuring that they are done daily before you begin things which are of less value.
#8. Decline Invitations
This may seem rude and can even threaten to destroy the good relationships you have with a person but if you give them a good explanation they will see the intent and not mind too much given your past goodwill. It is very important to look after yourself and be honest that whether going to the event will make you happy or exacerbate your worries. You can send them gifts or a souvenir from your shared past that tells them that you wanted to be there but could not.
#9. Clean Out Drawers
Drawers can be really messy especially when they are used for stocking every little thing from nail polish to that foot scrub you got from the nearby store. Cleaning out drawers can be therapeutic and give you the sense of decluttering quickly as it is easy to dispose of little items which can be bought again when the need arises.
#10. Clean Your Closet
A closet full of stars? Not Likely. The stuff your closet packs can creep up on you and can easily become a place where you start shoving things so that they are out of your sight. One of the most effective ways of getting rid of the clothes you won’t use is to try them on and see if they fit or not so that you can decide if or not it is usable anymore. Other than this you can put the clothes you wear in a separate column so that after a few months you know the ones you have to keep and the ones you have to discard.
#11. Keep More Surfaces Flat
One of the easiest ways to declutter is to make every surface in the house flat from the bedroom floor to the bed top and the kitchen counter. We see people keeping stuff atop their almirah and shelves and dressing tables all the time. Once you have kept all the surfaces flat you will be amazed to know that a lot of decorations which you thought were needed were actually clutter and were keeping you from relishing the simplicity of the room.
#12. Don’t Try To Be Perfect
"I cannot tolerate even a speck of dust as it will raise questions over my housekeeping abilities.", if you get into such a mindset you will not be feeling the invert effects of decluttering. When you declutter, you are not bothered by getting rid of excess material but making sure that everything you own is prim and proper.
#13. Delete Photos
We live in an era where everyone wants to record their entire lives on camera. Deleting photos you click from your phone will help you stop camera usage. You can get a polaroid or a small camera not the one in your phone to capture your most intimate and private moments so that you hold them close to your heart and can honor them like they should be respected.
#14. Go Camping For A Week
Going camping for a week is the best way to declutter as you will reunite with your survival instincts and see how little you need to survive. Don’t get too carried away and plunge in the mode of living a survivor life at your place but take the lesson of limiting the number of things you surround yourself with.
Tell us how you declutter your life. Drop your comments in the comment section below.
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I am a married man with two kids and life can be hectic managing my kids when my wife is tending to other things or when she has something of her own to do. For the first two years of our marriage I used to snap at my wife every now and then and she used to snap at me every now and then over stuff lying around where both of us started expecting a sorry from each other when we have convinced the person who was guilty of their guilt. It was hard for me and my wife to admit guilt as we constantly assumed that both of us came with no flaws and everything that
we did was well thought of and correct. Our everyday life has to be balanced and we need to understand that we cannot always manage the throes of expectations hurled at us and sometimes we will sink into the imaginary pool in our head which is taking us away from reality. My mind had become habitual to getting in the pool because over and over again I had met with
a lot of people who expressed disappointment over the simplicity of life and in the pool which was in my head I regularly questioned what made people think that the happiness from their life
has disappeared. I was of the firm view that everyman can expose nature to his method of questioning and how to use that method for his own benefit is up to that man himself. Just when
I was thinking of all this my wife snapped at me to pick up our newest born from the bed and put his diaper on. At that moment I decided that I will not slip in my head anymore and just focus on
the present as the ones who have gone sadistic on life and are always hunting down errors will not waver from their outlook and keep egging to form one like theirs. On top of this I was
adamant on keeping up with my habit of binge watching which did more harm than good to the relationships in my life. Work, Marriage and too much screen time had taken a toll on me along
with growing belly and restless nights to change diapers or wake my wife up when she was sleeping like a rock to feed the kid. I needed to de-clutter and at the same time ensure that
something like this never happen to me so me and my wife sat down after a while and the first thing we decided on what getting the old phones on which you can only call and not the
smartphones which are too loaded for their own good. After this we decided to hire a nanny for a few months till our child grows up a little and made sure we meditated for five minutes before
sleeping and exercised for 30 minutes every day. We were successful in accomplishing all of it and the final thing which we did and took great pleasure in doing was donating all the clothes
and unnecessary stationary items which were occupying space and becoming a source of stress. We gave ourselves two 14 days rest period all year when we didn’t do any of the things
in our schedule and had fun before resuming the lifestyle that keeps one sane and happy.