The Powerful Effect of Clutter

A search on these words pulled up pages and pages of references on Google, which claimed over 7 million results.

According to these, there are psychological results, medical effects, happiness impacts, how it decreases productivity, how it affects your brain, the list goes on and on.

You can solve your clutter problems by getting a coach, getting therapy, using feng shui, stop overeating, clean off your messy desk, even using flower essences, or learning to overcome hoarding. You can stop buying stuff you don't need--it could be that simple. But we live in a society that manufactures more and more for us to take home, just look at the cargo containers arriving at the port before Christmas, where we associate buying with bringing happiness or fulfillment.  

Really, what is clutter? Merriam-Webster dictionary says: "to fill or cover with scattered or disordered things that impede movement or reduce effectiveness, a room cluttered with toys," or according to Oprah: "Clutter is anything that stands between you and the vision you have for your best life."    It's stuff you keep accumulating, bring into your environment, and don't find a place for it where it's out of your way until you really need it.  It's stuff you really don't have a purpose for, and haven't used or no longer use. Yes, there have been studies done, article in journals, all about people with messy desks or messy lives, but how long do you need to sit around and analyze and rationalize this? Don't you  really want to be more effective, and move freely?

It's time to get on top of things, literally.  It's time to stop denying that you have too much stuff, that you have lost control of keeping order in your own home.  Admitting you have a problem is the first important step, where have you heard that before?

When does this become a problem in the real estate world?  When people decide to sell their homes.  To put off the pain of parting with objects, they tell themselves that buyers actually want to come in and view all their stuff, all the while trying to see past it with the ultimate purpose of really finding a home they can love with their stuff in it.  This is not how it really works. All that clutter (to you, precious objects, to them, clutter) is a huge distraction for them, they don't know what to focus on as they look around this house.  And all your possessions are a distraction to you, it's a big job to decide about all those things, it's stultifying, and you can get locked in a quagmire. But you can manage it.

I don't know which method of decluttering will work best for you, but choosing one and following it will eventually lead you to a less complicated existence, which  I believe is a more rewarding way of life.  Try donating, having a yard sale, or going around your house and marking things that you will allow to leave you with a sticky, and then eliminate those things. Search for recycle centers in your area, or donate your car.  Other people may be helped by what you are ready to let go of.

When you make more space in your home, you make more space in your life where new and interesting experiences are allowed to enter.

If you're thinking of selling, please contact me, we can review the entire process to make it as painless as possible.