Whether you are conscious of it or not, objects have the effect of giving your home a peaceful and comfortable feel as well as the ability to give a sense of overload and chaos. It may be that how we are feeling on the inside translates to what our home looks like. Along the same lines, how we engineer our homes can have a significant impact on how we feel.
While there are a number of ways to approach setting the stage for a healthy and supportive home, one of the simplest and least expensive methods is to remove clutter. Clutter can apply to décor, papers of daily living, household items, storage, garage, attic, basement and closet content. It is amazing how often we manage to literally not see the clutter we’ve created. It seems that the brain has a method for limiting our conscious awareness of visual stimuli over time sufficient to help us become unaware of an overabundance of stuff.
There are many reasons we gather things. They vary from the practical to the emotional. Architects, Interior Designers and Psychotherapists have provided much written material on this subject. Without going into detail from that perspective, here are some steps to freeing your home from clutter and increasing the flow of comfort and wellbeing in your home:
Go through each room in your home and get an overall feel of the space
Choose an area in your home that needs improvement
Identify the objects that appear to be causing discomfort
Determine which objects need an organizing approach or removal approach
Make a plan for organization and execute
Make a plan for removal and execute
Remember to seek the help of a friend or professional if needed. Sometimes people are needed to help make decisions and solutions or to provide emotional support/coaching during the process. Make good use of the many organizations that take donation. Be sure to get a receipt for tax reporting purposes.
