10 Surprising Benefits of Decluttering Your Home - Life's Little Pleasures and Struggles

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Decluttering is still a new word to many people. It’s getting a lot of attention recently due to the increased popularity of intentional, simple living. Ever wonder what all the buzz is about? Decluttering means getting rid of all the unnecessary stuff that neither add value to your life nor serve any purpose. There are some surprisingly powerful benefits of decluttering that you should know so you feel inspired to declutter your home in order to improve your life.

What Are the Benefits of Decluttering?

Decluttering is powerful, and it can have a profound impact on your overall well-being. It will make life so much simpler and easier. It’s not just getting rid of old, broken, useless, or unnecessary stuff; it’s way more than that. Decluttering is letting go of your fear, frustration, regrets, unreasonable expectations, and insecurities; even your past that’s holding you back.

There are many surprising benefits of decluttering, but these ones are my favorite:

1. Saves Money:

When you declutter, you save money. After getting rid of all the broken, duplicates, or unnecessary stuff, it’s easier for you to organize your home. Everything has a place where it belongs. You don’t have to spend money buying duplicate items that you already have in your home because now it’s easier to find things when you need them. Also, because of owning less stuff now, you won’t have to spend money on storage anymore.

Once you have decluttered your home, you will be more intentional about your new purchases and what you bring into home. You won’t spend your hard-earned money on random things that you truly don’t need or value. You will buy less and spend less. That means more money in your bank to spend on meaningful pursuits that you love and enjoy.

2. Saves Time:

One of the great benefits of decluttering your home is that it saves you a lot of time. Once you are done decluttering, you will spend less time cleaning, caring, and searching for your stuff.

You won’t waste your precious time trying to find things anymore. As a result, you will have more free time to spend with your loved ones and do the things that you enjoy.

3. Less Stress and Anxiety:

A cluttered, messy home increases your stress and anxiety. A direct link between excessive home clutter and higher stress levels has been found in numerous studies in recent years. In one study, women who lived in cluttered homes had high levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day, while those who lived in a well-organized, restful space had lower levels. As psychologist Sherrie Bourg Carter explains in Psychology Today, “Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed.”

In a paper published in the Journal of Environmental Psychology in 2016, it says that an online survey was conducted with a population of U.S. and Canadian adults. Findings revealed that clutter can have a negative impact on our subjective well-being and happiness. Though we like to consider our home to be a safe and secure place, excessive clutter compromises some of that security, according to that survey.

When you declutter, your home has less stuff and less mess, and you feel safer. You don’t always feel the pressure to clean the house. It’s easier to keep it neat and organized, and maintain. You don’t have stuff scattered all around competing for your constant attention which also results in reduced stress and anxiety. You feel more relaxed and calm in your home.

4. Easier to Clean and Maintain:

A wonderful benefit of having a decluttered home is that it’s easier to clean and maintain. According to the National Cleaning Institute, clutter can add up to 40 percent of the total amount of household work you have to handle.

Once you have decluttered, you won’t have to clean as much as you used to as you have less stuff now. Everything from dusting to vacuuming to doing laundry — it’s all easier to do when there is less stuff to deal with. Also, when you choose to own less, you put quality over quantity. Good quality stuff usually last long and need less maintenance.

5. Frees Up More Living Space:

When you declutter your home and own less, you get rid of the unnecessary, extra stuff from your home that takes up most of your living spaces. You choose to live with only those things that you love and use frequently.

As you accumulate less stuff, you free up more space for yourself and your family to make room for the things you all love to do and enjoy. Some examples are: an exercise room, a comfortable reading nook, kids’ play room, or arts and crafts room.

6. Helps You Focus On What Matters Most:

One of the amazing benefits of decluttering is that it helps you focus on the people or things that are truly important and meaningful. When your home is not cluttered anymore, you are not distracted by the stuff that were screaming for your attention all the time. You are not busy cleaning and organizing your home during weekends. You don’t feel tired and overwhelmed from constant cleaning. It’s easier for you to focus on the things that really matter.

When you reduce or remove excess stuff from your home, and choose a simple lifestyle over a cluttered, complicated one, you will unearth more time in your day. As you feel less stressed and more relaxed, you will enjoy spending more quality time with your family, practicing self-care, or doing meaningful things that you love.

7. Boosts Your Productivity and Creativity:

Clutter hinders our creativity and productivity by invading the open spaces that allow us to think clearly and solve problems. Physical clutter in your surroundings (home or office) almost always competes for your attention, resulting in poor performance and increased stress. When you thoroughly declutter your home, you won’t deal with such distractions anymore.

Since you will be able to organize your stuff easily and find your things right away when you need, you will also become more productive. If you have fewer items, it’s easier for you to know where they are. You will never waste time looking for lost items you need. Also, by removing clutter from your desk, you will be less distracted and more able to focus on the task at hand and get more productive and efficient.

Our material possessions consume our precious time and energy more than we realize. When you declutter and choose to own less stuff, you will have fewer distractions and more time and energy to develop a new hobby, learn a new skill, or do something creative.

8. More Peace of Mind:

Peace of mind that comes with deliberately living with less is one of the greatest benefits of decluttering your home and your life. Since having less stuff significantly reduces your stress level, you will naturally experience more calmness and peace of mind.

By decluttering and reducing the extra, unnecessary things you own, especially the ones that remind you of a painful past, trigger negative emotions such as anger, sadness, or regret, or give you more stress, you are able to create a calm, peaceful home where you can relax and unwind after a long day without having to deal with negativity, or having to worry about cleaning or organizing things. That definitely means more peace!

9. Improves Your Health:

Living in a decluttered home can also be beneficial to your physical and mental health as research has revealed. The reasons for this could be due to the fact that developing a more simplistic lifestyle often means less stress and increased rest. This benefits could come from spending more time with your loved ones, getting more physical activity, eating healthier food – prepared at home, sleeping better, and changing hectic jobs to find something more fulfilling and less money-orientated.

Less clutter means less space for dust and allergens to accumulate in your home. If you or someone in your family has allergy problem or asthma, decluttering will help. Kristine Cane mentions this in her article on usnews.com: “Removing clutter is also physically healthier because it removes dust particles and toxins from the air which can improve allergy symptoms and overall wellness.”

Having fewer possessions and not worrying about cleaning, upkeeping, and “keeping up with the Joneses” can also significantly reduce your stress-related symptoms, and thus, improve your health.

10. You Become More Appreciative of Your Blessings:

Once you have decluttered and deliberately chosen to own less stuff, you will have more time to notice and focus on the good things in your life. You will then value and appreciate what you have. You will recognize that what you have is what you love and what is necessary.

When you simplify your home, you make room for those people and things that add value to your life and make your life more enjoyable. It’s easier to appreciate what you have when they enrich your life, and you love and use what you own. And when you truly appreciate something, you become grateful for having that in your life.

This attitude of gratitude will boost your mood and confidence, change your outlook, increase your happiness, and improve your quality of life.

Final Thoughts:

Now that you know about some of the great benefits of decluttering your home, hopefully you will feel more motivated to take that very first step toward simplifying your life. The simple act of intentionally letting go will surprisingly change your outlook on life. You will experience freedom and happiness like never before.

You may also like to read: The Real Cost of Clutter in Your Life