It’s deceitful and bound to cause conflict.ĭeciding to do a big life declutter together, on the other hand, can become an occasion to connect and communicate. It is not a good idea to throw out someone else’s things without their approval. Of course the way we approach a declutter becomes important here. Each person will have their own feelings about living with a surplus of things, and it can cause tension in your family or partnership. Unless you live alone*, clutter is a shared experience. Not necessarily ‘fun’, but certainly valuable for your mental health. Giving away the clothing, even years after the original bereavement, can release a final wave of grief you’ve been avoiding, and help you fully process the experience. And sometimes those stories are things we’ve tried to forget or not process.Īn example is clothing of a loved one that has passed on. Facing up to repressed feelings and experiences. So one could argue that perhaps asking some friends for support and pushing yourself to do a big life declutter once and for all could be a way to break through long-held negative core beliefs about yourself. We place ‘get organised’ on our yearly list of resolutions, it doesn’t get done, and we beat ourselves up again.Ĭognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) believes that sometimes a faster way to a mental breakthrough is to use enforced action, called a ‘behavioural intervention‘. This is negative self-talk, and shows how mess and disorganisation can become a tool for self-criticism. Raised self-esteem.ĭo you believe you are ‘a mess’, that you never change, and are hopeless at organisation? But the study didn’t account enough for variables, and it might be that less conscientious people can excel just fine in mess! 4. Better efficiency?Ī small study at the University of Navarra in Spain showed ‘conscientious’ people did better in tidy environments than messy ones. Each stage is another goal achieved, which in itself is shown to raise our sense of wellbeing.īut it also means you create a ‘feedback system’ of dopamine, where you feel better and also more motivated to keep going. New ways of decluttering have become about ‘systems’, decluttering in clearly marked stages. How does this relate to decluttering? Dopamine is released if we think we are about to achieve a goal. Konmari method or no, decluttering allows us to more easily see and access what we actually have, meaning we can be more grateful than if we have no idea what is stuffed at the back of closets or sheds. Such methods have been made fun of by detractors, but are all ways of showing gratitude. She even encourages ‘thanking your house’ and ‘being grateful to your clothes as you fold them’. The popular ‘Konmari method’ of tidying might be better than just a general declutter because creator Marie Kondo places a focus on ‘thanking’ each item you give away for the value it bought to your life. The results were impressive, showing that gratitude not only improved moods, but led to better sleep, more energy, a greater desire to exercise and less trips to the doctor (read our article for more, “ How Practicing Gratitude Changes Your Moods‘). Gratitude itself was once the trend, and became the subject of extensive research. Let’s look at how a living space and life declutter might lead to better wellbeing for you and those around you - and when it might backfire. But is it true? If you declutter your life, will you feel better? The psychology of decluttering It seems like everyone, their mother, and their pet dog has ‘Kondo’ed’ their lives lately, claiming tidying has made them happier.
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