Mindful Decluttering: Emotional Challenges and Practical Solutions

Living in a cluttered, messy space is proven to cause stress and peak your anxiety. Research shows that people living in untidy spaces have raised cortisol, which can trigger a constant state of fight-or-flight. Clutter also impedes your ability to respond appropriately to relationship trouble, as background clutter may make it difficult to empathize with others.

However, if you struggle to keep your space clean, then you know the issue is as much about your emotional relationship to cleaning as it is to the practical responsibility of tidying up. Addressing this emotional attachment to your clutter is key, as you may struggle to lead a healthy, happy life if you’re surrounded by mess.  

Finding practical solutions to your cleaning woes can make vacuuming, laundering, and tidying up fun, too. Doing so can be deeply transformative if you’re used to experiencing sudden rushes of heightened cleaning motivation followed by lengthy periods of failing to clean up after yourself.

Here are our best tips to transform your space to improve mental health and well-being.

Emotional Self-Care

Cleaning is a powerful form of self-care. However, if you’ve been living with depression or anxiety for some time, you know that finding the motivation to clean your space can feel impossible. Unfortunately, slipping into the depression-disorganization cycle will only make it that much harder to improve your mental health and keep your space clean. You can beat the depression-disorganization cycle by:

• Asking friends and family for support when your space gets unclean;

• Working with a mental health professional who can help you navigate depression;

• Make the most of the good times by cleaning your space thoroughly;

• Designing a room to recharge in when you’re unable to tackle bigger tasks.

When you start to feel low, take some time to practice emotional self-care. For example, if you enjoy spending time outside, consider taking a break from cleaning to walk around your local park or sit outside in the garden. Alternatively, you can consider other mindful activities like journaling or creative activities like painting and pottery. Finding mindful activities that raise your self-esteem is vital if you find that clutter makes you feel helpless. A few mood-boosting minutes outside can give you a mental refresh and help you start organizing to boost your mental health.

Organizing for Mental Health

For many, the idea of living in an organized, clean space is highly appealing. However, turning the dream of clean floors and tidy cupboards into a reality is usually easier said than done. You’ll likely run out of energy quickly if you plan to spend all day organizing the pantry or cleaning behind every couch and sofa. It can be deeply frustrating to find that your efforts to clean up bookcases and shelves have had little impact on the general untidiness around the house.

Rather than taking on “big” tasks when motivation is high — like going through old clothes or cleaning behind the oven — aim to tackle easy jobs first, like doing the dishes. These easy jobs will have a big impact on the visual clutter in your space, too. So much organizing and cleaning is certainly an enterprise, but it can help your mental health, which comes with many benefits:

• Improved sleep

• Reduced stress

• More free time, as you’ll find items quickly

• Enhanced focus

• Better relaxation

Living in a well-maintained, clean space can help you work up the energy necessary to take on bigger tasks like repainting the walls or re-organizing your garage. Organization is essential, as you don’t want to spend all your mental spoons on tasks that make little difference to the reality that your space is untidy 24/7. 

Exciting Storage Solutions

If you struggle to keep things organized at home, you may need to invest in new storage solutions. Investing in boxes, under-bed bins, and bookshelves can increase your motivation to clean and immediately decrease clutter in your space. This mindful approach can be powerful if you’re used to running out of energy mid-way through the cleaning process.

If you’re not ready to throw out sentimental items but no longer want to keep them in the house, consider moving them into ancillary spaces like garages. You can maximize your storage space in your garage by using garage wall modifications to maximize storage opportunities without sacrificing floor space. Examples of exciting wall-mounted storage solutions include:

• Custom shelving to maximize vertical space

• Wall-mounted workbenches to free up floor storage

• Pegboard systems to keep your tools organized

• Slatwall panels to hang small items and free up space in large cupboards

You can utilize the same approach in other rooms that become cluttered quickly. For example, if your bedroom becomes messy regularly, consider redecorating to reduce visual clutter and make cleanliness easier. This can help you build some mental excitement around the idea of cleaning and may help you let go of items that no longer serve you.

Conclusion on making mindful decluttering a practice

Mindful decluttering can reduce the emotional strain associated with decluttering and help you keep your space clean throughout the week. This can signal a powerful shift in your cleaning habits and help you break free from the depression-disorganization cycle. Taking a mindful approach can help you assess your space and make helpful modifications to your storage solutions and general clutter.