Haunted by Your Clutter? 4 Simple Habits to Start Today
Are you feeling overwhelmed, trapped, or even haunted by the amount of clutter surrounding you? Do you feel the presence of your clutter staring back at you? Are you afraid to look in your closets or under your bed? It’s time to set aside some time to tackle this clutter and get control of your surroundings.
Emotional Clutter
Does it feel like you’re living in a haunted house? Is the emotional energy in your home exhausting you? Clutter can affect your energy levels in a myriad of ways.
Do the items around you make you feel guilt or bring back negative memories? A lot of clutter around us holds onto negative energy that we may not even be aware of. Do you feel yourself holding onto items in your home for other people? Do you feel as if you let go of an object, you’re going to give up on the person who gifted it to you or the memories you have of them? Our belongings are not people or the memories we hold of them. Do you feel guilt because of the cost associated with buying the item or object originally? You will never get that money back; it is already spent. Is it worth holding on to that item because of previously spent money or letting it go to open space up for yourself?
Physical Clutter
Do you feel like the walls in your house are moving inward and making your home feel smaller, more crowded, and taking your breath away? Does it make you feel as if you’re going crazy or that it’s a negative reflection of yourself?
Do you feel paralyzed in your home? The fear in a haunted house can feel the same as when you’re sitting on your couch. Like everywhere you look there’s something waiting around the corner… it’s too overwhelming and you don’t know where to start?
4 Simple Decluttering Habits
After physically decluttering your space, work on building habits to ensure your home remains manageable and less overwhelming. There are a few habits that I’d recommend you start building in order to accomplish living a more minimal and decluttered lifestyle.
1. Follow the one in, one out rule.
The one in, one out rule is a simple and easy to remember rule if you’re wanting to start by changing a small habit. There are variations of this rule and you can individualize it for yourself. For every physical item you bring into your home, you let one go.
- For every physical item you bring into your home, you let go of an item in the same category. Such as, you bring home a new mug, then an old mug will be removed from your home. One mug in, one mug out.
- For every physical item you bring into your home, you let one of any category of items leave your home. Such as, you bring home a new mug and you let go of one of your childrens’ toys. One mug in, one toy out.
- For every physical item you bring home, you let go of two physical items. You can alter this to be any number of items leaving your home with every new item coming in. One in, two out. One in, three out. ETC.
2. Everything has a place and everything in its' place.
This is a great way to identify what is clutter in your home versus what just needs a home. If you find items that no longer serve a purpose; let them go. If you find items that are out of place, but you want to keep; brainstorm where their home should be and make it so. Now, it’s time to find a permanent home for that item to be stored.
3. Question your purchases and impulse buys.
This is going deeper than the actual decluttering process of physical items. This is how clutter accumulates throughout our lives without us really noticing. If you start to work on building the habit of questioning why you want the items you’re considering buying, this can become second nature and you’ll eventually accumulate less.
Impulse buys are a big contributor to clutter surrounding us with shopping online being as convenient and popular as it is. Instead of shopping online and immediately purchasing the items, try to keep the items in your online cart for a set amount of time. You can set the amount of time for your liking. I’d recommend 7 days. Waiting an entire week before re-evaluating your cart and having that time to think through your purchases can shed light on how much you truly want or need the items you’re considering buying.
4. Practice gratitude.
Practicing gratitude is something I’ve talked about and written about time and time again, but it’s a truly important concept when it comes to keeping a decluttered home and space. We often see others’ lives posted online. We hold our cellphones in our hands and see what others have that we don’t staring us back in the face. This can lead to a dangerous comparison loop that you may not realize you’re even in at the time.
When you look at your screen and see the newly renovated and sparkling clean kitchen, and then glance at your own, it can leave you wanting and desiring more. Wanting more isn’t terrible in and of itself. You can want more for yourself and for your life and work towards that, but what is dangerous is the shame and guilt that comes along with comparison. This can lead you to feeling like you are less-than or less valuable than others that you’re comparing yourself to online.
When you feel anxious or become aware of yourself comparing your life or valuables to others around you, I encourage you to take a minute to take a few deep breaths and ask yourself to name three things you’re grateful for in the moment.
Conclusion
If you’re feeling haunted by your clutter, take the time to make a small change in your habit development in order to rid yourself of the clutter surrounding you. Now that Halloween is over, it’s the perfect time to clear your space of the clutter that has an invisible hold on your home. Invisible signs of clutter such as stress and anxiety can be partially alleviated by taking back control of our homes. The time to start is now. 
Related Posts
Spooky Season Simplified? Here are 5 Things to Declutter After Halloween
Spooky Season Simplified? Here are 5 Things to Declutter After Halloween Now that spooky season has subsided, and our homes
Go Green for Halloween: Sustainable Options to Consider this Year
Go Green for Halloween: Sustainable Options to Consider this Year Halloween can be an extremely fun and creative holiday to
Discover more from No Thank You, Love Cass
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.