How to Tell When Clutter is Making You ill – And What to Do About it

To some people, clutter is one too many magazines on the coffee table. Others define clutter as piles of boxes and rooms overflowing with junk. Clutter may not bother you, but if it does, you could have a problem.

Having too much stuff within your house can actually have a negative impact on your health. It can cause a number of health issues, both physical and mental. Here are a few telltale signs that clutter is making you ill and what you should do to overcome this.

Living with clutter is draining in all senses of the word. It interferes with our life – we can’t find things we need and if serious cases, it can actually be a fire hazard. In addition, when a room is cluttered, it is much harder to keep it clean. Dust collects and animal hair accumulates in clumps under furniture and in nooks and crannies. This makes allergies worse.

It’s also very hard to sleep in a bedroom that’s full of clutter. How can you sleep when you are surrounded by boxes and bags? And then we have a cluttered garage. You might want to store your car in the garage, but if the garage is piled high with miscellaneous junk, there’s no way your car can fit in there! Which is stressful if you live in a high-crime area or the weather is terrible and you would prefer not to de-ice your car at 6 AM.

Make De-cluttering Your Goal

Create a schedule and underline what you want to achieve when you begin tackling your clutter.  Make a note of where in the house you have the most clutter and plan your time wisely around this. Staying this organised will not only help improve your mental health but will drastically reduce the build-up of further mess in your home.

Be Decisive

It can be hard to say goodbye to some of your most valued possessions, even if you may not have any use for them anymore. However, ultimately forcing yourself to make a decision can be an effective way of reducing mess at home. Why not consider putting your belongings in a storage facility where you can choose from a variety of sized units and keep your things here for as long as you need? Safestore is well known for their storage facilities and can help you with your home storage. With your precious belongings in a storage facility, you have room to sort through everything and time to make difficult decisions about what to get rid of and what to keep.

Donate to Charity 

Donate any unwanted clutter in your house to help reclaim your space again. This will be great for your mental health as you can reduce large amounts of clutter, whilst giving back to the community. Instead of getting rid of everything, consider that maybe someone else can find a better use for them. Find a local donation point so that you can drop off any unwanted items or even arrange for a free collection.

A Garage Sale

Garage sales are a useful way of getting rid of items that still have a residual value. You can make some money and rehome items with people who might actually need them more than you.

If a garage sale isn’t a good idea, head to a car boot sale or list your items on sites like eBay.

Do not allow clutter in the home to take over your life and make you miserable. Organise and get rid of clutter or distil it down to what you really need. These are all effective ways to create a happier mindset and a stress-free life.