How to declutter to reduce your anxiety

Inside: Steps to get you started decluttering so you can reduce your anxiety levels.

I am an anxious person. I also suffer with depression and easily get triggered by certain things that make me feel like I am losing all control of my life. One of those things is mess. And living with 3 kids does not help my situation!

Clutter simply means ‘a collection of things lying about in an untidy state’ and if you have anxiety, anything lying around instead of being in its proper place can cause overwhelm and stress. Decluttering will remove that stress as everything that remains once you’re done will have a proper place to live.

Tidy home, tidy mind.

It seems simple enough, doesn’t it? Get rid of the clutter and you’ll feel better, right? Except for anyone suffering with anxiety the thought of starting the process is enough to give them an anxiety attack. I know, I’ve been there.

So let’s take a look at how to go through the process in a way that will help with the long-term goal, get you closer to reducing that anxiety bubbling inside you and living in a tidy, calm home again.

Decluttering to reduce anxiety

The thing to realise is that it isn’t the excess of ‘stuff‘ that causes the problem but that all of that stuff doesn’t have a home. If you took all of your belongings that are currently causing your house to bulge at the seams and put them into a mansion, the problem would be gone.

The problem many of us face these days is that we have too much stuff for the space we live in. Our cupboards are full, our drawers don’t close properly and our minds are about to explode with the overwhelm that it causes us every day.

Clutter…

– Overstimulates us

– Diverts our focus

– Inhibits relaxation

– Reminds us of our to-do list

– Makes us feel guilty and embarrassed

If you live with anxiety then you need life to flow smoothly to get through each day. Of course life isn’t like that and that’s something we have to deal with, but if we can make sure our surroundings are calm and organised then it takes the stress out of at least that part of our lives.

If you can enter a room and everything be in its place then you know that at any given moment you’ll be able to find something, guests can come over and it’ll be tidy, and you won’t spend your days tripping over stuff. That’s the goal, that’s the dream, that’s what we are going to work towards.

Overcoming anxiety around decluttering

The first problem that needs to be addressed is the fact that the enormous task of decluttering can too often be enough to make us not start the job in the first place. The sheer size of the task ahead fills us with dread and therefore it is easier to live with the current problem than try and fix it.

Start small

The trick is to stop thinking about the process as one big job. Don’t look at the whole house or even a whole room as the sheer volume of stuff will put you off.

Instead, focus on one shelf, one drawer, one cupboard at a time. Small steps, no matter how small, will get you closer to your end goal without making you feel overwhelmed.

Little and often

Trying to get the whole job done in a short space of time will most definitely set you into a stress fuelled anxiety attack. If you declutter too much in one go you’ll also be stuck having to deal with all of the stuff that needs getting rid of – nightmare.

The trick is to do small jobs, deal with the excess (selling it, giving it to charity or taking it to the dump) and then have a breather. Then when you feel ready again, do some more.

Where to start decluttering?

This is personal to everyone of course, but the best place to start will always be the place that gives you the rage most often.

For me, that was the utensils drawer. You know, the drawer that has all of the spatulas, wooden spoons and other bits and bobs.

This made me laugh…..

I think we can all relate to the spatula jamming the drawer, right? It gave me the rage so often that I knew that it would have to be the starting point for my journey.

So have a look around and see what jumps out at you. If nothing specific comes to mind (because it is all a mess) then pay attention over the next day or so. When does the mess make you crazy? Is it when you trip over something? When stuff falls out of the cupboard onto you? Make a mental note and begin there.

If you’re really struggling then start with this ‘100 things to get rid of right now‘ challenge.

Visualise the end goal

You have to know why you are doing this. You can’t just say ‘oh I want less clutter around the place’. It has to be more cemented into you mind and a vision is the perfect way to do that.

Look at your living room as it is right now. And now shut your eyes and imagine it is clean and tidy. Can you see it? That is what you are aiming for. What will your shelves look like? What will be kept on display? Ok, the rest has to go then.

What about the kitchen? What does it look like now? Ok now shut your eyes and visualise it when it is done. What will the surfaces look like? Will you have some chopping boards neatly leaning on the wall next to a pot plant? (I do – it was in my vision so I made it happen).

Visualising the end result will help keep you motivated and on track. Every time you feel overwhelmed by it all, just shut your eyes and picture the room as it will be in the end. It really does help, I promise.

Work room by room

Now this may sound obvious but if you are anything like me then you’ll start a project in one room, get a bit overwhelmed and then move on to the next room to avoid the first project. Right?

The problem with this (besides the fact nothing ever gets finished!) is that you’ll end up with mess everywhere you go. This will cause more anxiety and overwhelm and leave you feeling paralysed by it all.

You really have to be strict with this one. One room at a time. No cheating. As I mentioned above, you just need to do a little bit at a time and tidy up after yourself as you go along and that will stop you feeling overwhelmed by the room you are in.

Use a timer

I lack a lot of focus. I get distracted so easily and it prevents me from completing things in an efficient way. So, I use timers. Right now as I am writing this I have set myself a 15 minute timer to get as much written as possible. It streamlines my focus and I achieve more than I would have without the timer.

When I am tidying, I always always use timers. I also pop on some music and shimmy myself along until the timer beeps. I get way more done than if I’d just wandered around picking up bits and bobs.

Decluttering is no different. You can set a timer for 5 minutes, 10 minutes, half an hour or an hour. Whatever you feel is achievable for you that day.

If you are cooking dinner and waiting for the pasta to cook, set yourself a 5 minute timer and sort out the drinking glasses.

If you have an hour spare in the morning, set a timer for half an hour and see if you can sort out that junk drawer that always drives you mad. The remaining half an hour can be spent having a well earned cup of tea.

Storage is not the solution

For years I kept buying different storage solutions. It became a running joke with my husband. I’d return home from the shops with a new basket or another box and he’d roll his eyes and say “storage storage storage” and I’d laugh and tell him we absolutely needed it!

We didn’t.

Storage simply hides the clutter. It packages it up nicely but it doesn’t solve the problem. In the end your house just becomes cluttered with storage!

I am not saying storage doesn’t have it’s place. But before you rush out and buy it all, you need to get rid of things – lots of things – and then work out what you actually need. Most likely you’ll find that you don’t need much storage at all, perhaps only replacements for what you already have to help create your vision.

Let go of the guilt

One of the biggest stumbling blocks around decluttering is guilt. Guilt that you spent money on that thing. Guilt that someone you love bought that thing for you. Guilt that you haven’t used that thing as much as you thought you would.

Let go. Let it all go.

Let’s say your great aunt Lucy bought you a vase for your birthday 10 years ago. It’s nice but you never use it. You feel guilty for not using it and think maybe you could keep it just in case you need it one day. You definitely would feel guilty getting rid of it – you love great aunt Lucy.

No.

Great aunt Lucy would not want you to live in a cluttered house that makes you miserable. Great aunt Lucy isn’t going to think you hate her if you get rid of the vase. You will be happier with a tidier home. Someone else will love that vase and it will make them happy when they see it in the charity shop.

Get rid of the vase.

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The biggest hurdle you will face will be making the decision to start. If you can get past that, then there will be no stopping you, and your home will soon be a place that keeps you grounded and calm.

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