Declutter your home to declutter your mind

If you have kids at home, you likely have your share of clutter to deal with. It can be due to their toys, their laundry, things they needed when they were younger but have grown out of… the list is endless!

While this is a common situation, it’s not an ideal one. You see, allowing this kind of chaos can have adverse psychological effects on your children. It can teach them that disorganisation is normal and this can affect the way they deal with life later on.

That’s why you should take the time to declutter your home. If it can benefit your children, it is worth doing for that reason alone!

9 ways to declutter your home

1. Start with a small area – one drawer in your kitchen (or even better, the highly visible kitchen bench or hallway credenza where many homes “dump” their daily lives).
2. Have a designated place for everything and put it there – car keys on a hook, office keys in your work bag. “Loss proof” your life by having labelled areas for your things. Organise a linen cupboard with a labeller – single bed sheets, towels, beach towels, etc. It means when you go to put these things away you don’t have to think about it – because you already did think about it – thus freeing up valuable mental space and energy.
3. Things that are used less frequently can be put into separate (labelled, yes, labelled) boxes or storage containers (Christmas decorations, beach paraphernalia). Be extra careful when moving heavy boxes. According to the team at Orthopedic Clinic Singapore, such accidents tend to happen at home.
4. Make decluttering a quick 15-minute weekly routine – start with the place where the “stuff” gets dumped. Go through the mail that was opened and put aside, read the school notices and make notes of important dates on a calendar.
5. Separate things for charity and for throwing out. For example: broken toys get tossed, clothes not worn for the past 12 months put aside for charity shop.
6. Lead by example – adopting a quick tidy-up routine will inspire others to do the same and result in the whole house being easier to live in.
7. Make sure each member of the household takes responsibility for their own “stuff”. Kids can have a basket each for their clean laundry – it is their responsibility to put it away.
8. Teach your child how to clean. Be mindful of dust-covered toys. According to a specialist from an ENT practice, ENT Doctor Singapore, some of the kids get asthma attacks or allergies after handling dusty toys.
9. Buy a labeller – an easy way to organise everything is to place items under categories: toys, school supplies, electronic gadgets, sports equipment, and so on.

Research from Princeton shows that people who regularly declutter or who maintain an organised home and workspace are more likely to be punctual, less likely to be stressed, and generally have better working memories. These are some pretty great reasons to keep your house (mostly) free of clutter – and your desk/workspace too.

No matter how you do it, though, here’s one final thing to remember: you also have to set realistic goals for your decluttering project.

Don’t expect everything to be immaculate after your first decluttering because you’re bound to stress yourself out trying to make everything look perfect. Decluttering and organising your house should take away your problems, not add to them!