Benefits of Purposeful Decluttering

source: Ian Sterling

This post was first published last year, but I’ve been thinking about the benefits of living without clutter lately — and how to prevent clutter from accumulating in the first place, which we’ll talk more about in a couple of weeks — and I thought it was a good one to revisit!

Decluttering means different things to different people, and there are many ways to approach it. But before you begin, be sure to define what decluttering means to you and what you hope to accomplish by decluttering – such as when I set out on my decluttering mission – to help you make the hard decisions about what to keep and what to give away.

What Does It Mean to Declutter?

My definition of decluttering is simply getting rid of those things which have a higher cost than their benefit. I don’t necessarily mean the financial cost, but rather the cost in terms of the space they take up and the time they waste (to dust, move, think about, etc.) just by being in your home.

By decluttering your home and giving away, selling or trashing any items that aren’t making your life richer, you are able to simplify and enjoy life more.

Benefits of Decluttering

With that in mind, here are a few benefits of decluttering that you may or may not have thought of:

• The more you practice evaluating the value of things in your life, the less attached you become to stuff in general.

• As you purposefully declutter your home, you’ll realize how much stuff you truly have and start to evaluate future purchases more carefully, which will ultimately save you money as well.

• If you are more of a keeper and your spouse is not, starting the decluttering process can reduce the conflict around that issue. Of course, decluttering can cause conflict if you start giving away your spouse’s things without their permission, so I don’t recommend doing that!

• You’ll spend less time dusting and cleaning.

• You’ll have a better idea of where things are in your home and be able to find them more quickly and easily.

What is the biggest benefit you’ve noticed from decluttering? If you’re avoiding getting started, what is holding you back?