The many benefits of decluttering the family home that will motivate you to get started

ByLuci McQuitty Hindmarsh Last updated:
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Is decluttering one of those things you vow to do yet never quite get around to? Or is it something you do sporadically, promising that this time will be the last… but then find clutter building up again almost instantly?
Once you truly understand the myriad benefits for you and your family, you will be motivated to finally get a grip on decluttering your home and ensuring it stays that way.

YOUR FAMILY HOME IS MORE THAN JUST A LIVING SPACE

Ideally, a family home isn’t just a living space; it’s also a sanctuary for everyone in the family. This is why I believe the importance of decluttering cannot be underestimated in creating a calm and comfortable environment that cocoons everyone.

Maintaining a tidy and well-ordered living space can have a profound impact on everyone’s overall wellbeing, from reducing stress and improving mental health to encouraging healthy life skills and habits for your entire family.

For example, a clutter-free space helps everyone to feel relaxed and is a great way to improve sleep.

It is also much easier to get stuff done living in a well-ordered, calm space, where you know where everything is, and you aren’t wading through clutter and dodging mess.

And decluttering creates an opportunity for you to teach essential life skills to your children that will serve them well throughout their lives.

Let’s just take a saunter through the many benefits that decluttering your home can bring for both you and your family.

15 BENEFITS OF DECLUTTERING

Here’s a list of a few of the wonderful benefits that decluttering your home can bring for you and your family.

1. MORE SPACE IN YOUR HOME

Now this is a great reason to get motivated to declutter your home. 

Ever have that feeling that you’ve outgrown your home?

Take a look around, assess how cluttered your home is and reassess whether you have outgrown your home or whether, in fact, your home is simply crammed full of stuff. 

Decluttering a room can totally transform it. 

It can turn a dumping ground into a functional space. 

Editing and decluttering a room can give it a new use or help define its use so that the room gets more use. 

2. IMPROVED SLEEP FOR EVERYONE

If you live in a cluttered home and the clutter is causing you stress, you won’t have a restful night’s sleep. 

Your brain will be mentally processing the external stimuli of all that clutter and the fact that decluttering is a job that needs doing but isn’t being done. 

Moreover, sleeping in a cluttered space is the opposite of restful. 

Keep your bedroom furniture to a minimum. 

Don’t let your bedside table become a home for a stack of paperwork. 

Keep housework stuff like laundry out of the bedroom. 

Make your bedroom your sanctuary, and you will find your brain able to switch off more easily at night. 

Make your child’s bedroom like a calm sanctuary, and it will encourage them to sleep – I’m guessing there is no need to explain the advantages of a child who sleeps well!

3. IT HELPS ALLEVIATE ANXIETY

Decluttering can significantly help in reducing stress and anxiety. A cluttered space has been known to distract the brain, making it difficult for everyone in it to focus on important tasks.

Having a clear and organised home environment can lead to better mental health and reduced anxiety levels for you and your family.

Taking control of your home space by decluttering can help reduce anxiety by allowing you to feel like you are actually in control of an important area of your life at a time when you might be feeling stressed and anxious. 

The act of taking control and creating a calm, clutter-free environment to live in can go a long way to reducing your levels of anxiety. 

Once you have created a calm and relaxing environment to live in, you will likely find you have more time to focus on dealing with other areas of your life that are causing you to feel anxious.  

4. HELPS YOU FEEL LESS OVERWHELMED

Living with clutter can be really stressful. Waking up to a home full of clutter, walking in from a day at work to a day of clutter, parenting surrounded by clutter. 

It’s enough to make your brain feel completely overwhelmed processing the mess of stuff that it has to navigate around your home. 

The feeling of being overwhelmed by living in a cluttered home can also lead your brain to feel unsafe and insecure, which in turn puts stress on your central nervous system. 

By taking control and getting rid of the clutter, you can take your feelings of being overwhelmed down several notches, which will also help you cope more effectively with other areas of your life that might also be causing you to feel overwhelmed. 

5. AIDS RELAXATION BY AVOIDING OVERSTIMULATION

It is hard to escape the ‘always-on’ world we all live in.

Our phones are like an extra limb; we’ve got laptops and tablets at our fingertips, Alexa of Google a voice command away, and social media galore… it’s not hard to find yourself in a state of being constantly overstimulated. 

So one of the best benefits of decluttering your home is that it gives you a haven to relax in and retreat from all the stimulants of everyday life. 

Picture this. Instead of walking through the door and seeing clutter, jobs that need doing, and mess that needs sorting, you can arrive home and relax.

That’s it; simply walk through the door, put your phone down and switch off. 

So say goodbye to that feeling of being overwhelmed by decluttering your home and creating a clutter-free space for you and your family to relax and thrive in. 

6. ENHANCES ENERGY AND CREATIVITY

Decluttering can be a great way to increase your energy levels and even your creativity. As you clear out the clutter from around your home, you’ll find more space for yourself and your ideas to flourish. A clear environment will foster greater mental clarity and allow you to think more effectively.

7. IMPROVES MOOD

A well-organised home can create a positive atmosphere, ultimately leading to improved mood and overall wellbeing.

I know that I have found a real sense of accomplishment when I’ve successfully decluttered, which is a great boost to self-esteem and confidence.

8. IMPROVES TIME MANAGEMENT AND PRODUCTIVITY

As a mother, time management is often at the crux of how well you navigate your days. By keeping your home organised and clutter-free, you can save precious time that would otherwise be spent searching for misplaced items or cleaning up unnecessary messes.

Not only is it easier to find stuff, but a calm and clutter-free environment will improve your focus.

And improved focus will help improve your productivity. Which means you’ll be able to get stuff done faster and more efficiently. 

Which in turn will help reduce your stress levels and give you more time to spend doing things you enjoy.

This is literally one of the all time greatest motivations to declutter your home!

9. IT GIVES YOU MORE TIME TO ENJOY THE MORE FUN STUFF

The less cluttered your home is, the easier it is to clean. 

Whether you clean your home yourself or whether you have a cleaner, the less stuff there is to shift around and tidy before the cleaning can start, the better. 

There is also, by default, less to clean. 

So if you’re a lover of having stuff on display, work out how much extra time it takes to clean everything and then work out if it’s worth it. 

You will also claw back time by knowing where everything is. 

No more searching for that screwdriver that you think you put in the kitchen cupboard, but didn’t! 

Seriously, this is one of my favourite decluttering benefits. Anything that means I have to spend less time cleaning is an absolute winner for me. 

10. HELPS YOU HAVE A HEALTHY LIFESTYLE

Decluttering can also impact other aspects of your life, such as eating habits and self-care routines.

For example, it’s much easier to plan and prepare healthy meals when you have an organised kitchen, and it’s much more likely you will devote time to self-care when you actually have more time due to your home being more organised and because it’s a nicer space to spend time in.

11. HELPS YOU FALL BACK IN LOVE WITH YOURSELF 

Self-love is often something that gets shoved to one side in the quest to get through the busyness of the days and weeks of family life. 

Decluttering your home and allowing yourself to live in a clutter-free space is a big expression of self-love. 

You are choosing to do something positive for yourself. 

Something positive that you will experience on a daily basis.

By decluttering and keeping your home free from clutter, you are demonstrating to yourself that you can make change happen. 

You are also demonstrating that you are competent and capable, which is a great way of boosting your self-worth and your confidence.

Inspired? You might also like to read my post on simple ways to declutter your life. 

12. CAN MAKE YOU MONEY

One person’s clutter is potentially another person’s treasure. 

That’s how eBay started, after all. 

So if you are looking for ways to make extra cash, this benefit could the just the motivation you need to start decluttering. 

That said, you don’t want to find yourself going down a selling clutter rabbit hole. 

Read my post on the best way to make money from your clutter to understand how best to sell clutter, what to sell, what to donate and what to ditch. 

13. CAN SAVE YOU MONEY

Whilst buying less doesn’t always mean spending less – quality over quantity – if you have a neatly ordered house and, for that matter, wardrobe, you will find that you spend less money. 

Why?

Because you will have defined the space in your home and defined your capsule wardrobe to the point where you don’t need to add to either of them. 

I know. I’ve tried it with my wardrobe, and it works. 

I’ve found it astounding how much less clothes I’ve wanted to buy since editing my wardrobe and creating a much smaller capsule collection of clothing that works for me. 

14. RIDS YOUR HOME OF ALLERGENS

Dust and dander (dandruff and pet dander, yuk) can build up really easily in a hard-to-clean, cluttered home. 

Even if the clutter is in rooms that you don’t really use, it’s still creating a build-up of allergens. 

So get rid of excess clutter and notice what an improvement it makes to anyone in your family who suffers from allergies like dust allergy, hay fever, asthma or eczema. 

15. IMPROVES MOTIVATION

Once you’ve started to experience all the benefits of a successful declutter, you will also hopefully find that you have an increased motivation to keep your home clear of clutter. It’s a virtuous circle!