5 Tips to Boost Mental Health with Organizing

How do you feel when you:

Try to find something in your home and can’t?
Want to invite guests over but are too embarrassed by your clutter?
Come home to a chaotic, messy, and disorganized home?
Waste money re-purchasing items because you can’t find the originals?
Realize you aren’t living the life you desire

If frustrated, anxious, overwhelmed, defeated or stuck made your list, you’re not alone, and these feelings may be affecting your mental health more than you know.

If your home feels more like a combat zone, with numerous unfinished projects and a multitude of “failures” on display, how can that be restorative or good for your mental health?

Our surroundings deeply affect our ability to regulate our bodies. When under stress, we start producing too much cortisol (a hormone that regulates bodily functions), which leads to a breakdown of our physical and mental functions.

To boost our mental health, we can reverse engineer the process:

Boost our mental health by
Decreasing our cortisol levels by
Gaining control of our belongings and space by
Decluttering and organizing

To be clear, decluttering and organizing tips expressed here do not replace medical intervention or treatment for serious mental health issues. They are practical tools that can help manage stress and boost mental health.

Here are 5 ways to START decluttering and organizing your home and boost your mental health.

Make time

Block out a time in your busy calendar to focus on this task, even 15 minutes works! Once momentum and confidence build, you can add more time. Timers to keep you focused, and treats for completing tasks, help with motivation and energy.

Set an intention

Think about how you feel in your home now, and how you want to feel in the future. Really lean into your feelings and imagine what your home will feel like after you declutter and organize. Your goal is to fill the gap with intentional action.

Start small and easy

When starting, try to check off an easy item such as your purse, one drawer, or one shelf. If you try to do too much too soon, overwhelm may set in, derailing your progress and motivation. Pick something simple at first, make that work, and then move onto more complex areas (Ex: your closet, keepsakes).

Celebrate wins

Many people may not acknowledge this step, but it’s important! Recognizing that you’re making progress is a key factor in keeping intentions, motivation, and focus strong. Decluttering and organizing can be challenging processes, so celebrate your achievement with something nice.

Ask for help

Whether you ask a family member, friend, or a professional, having someone witness your efforts, provide support, and help with decision-making, is invaluable. It feels less lonely and can make the decluttering and organizing process more efficient, impactful, and fun.

As life continues to unfold rapidly around us, these 5 decluttering and organizing techniques will not only help you optimize your physical surroundings, your stress levels will decrease, which leads to a boost in your overall mental health.

Recognizing that starting is not always easy, our team at Simply Home Downsizing offers personalized, non-judgmental support for each step of your decluttering and organizing journey, so please reach out to us at: info@simplyhomeinc.ca