9 Signs That It’s Time to Start Decluttering Your Home

Are you currently living in a cluttered home? If so, it’s best to change this situation right away. Numerous studies have found that clutter often causes depression and anxiety. By getting rid of clutter, you bring positivity into your home.

By learning a few simple decluttering tips, you can win back the fight against clutter. Here are nine signs that it’s time to start decluttering your home.

1. You’re struggling to find anything

Do you often find yourself wondering where you put something important? If you are, it might be because you live in a cluttered home. It’s hard to find what you need when there’s clutter everywhere. By decluttering the rooms in your home, you won’t have to waste countless hours tracking down lost items.

2. It’s tough to close your cabinets and drawers

No home is complete without cabinets and drawers. Ideally, you should be able to place things inside of these items and fully close them. However, this isn’t a reality for adults with cluttered drawers and cabinets. 

To solve this problem, start clearing these areas and tossing out what you don’t need. It might also be a good idea to buy cabinet and drawer organizers. You might amaze yourself at how quickly a few well-placed organizers put an end to cluttered cabinets and drawers.

3. Paper piles are growing around you

Most people keep track of their bills, letters, and other important documents. However, problems can start happening when you’re not organizing or throwing away your papers. Soon, you might find that paper piles appear throughout your home. 

Not only are paper piles signs of clutter, but they’re also a clutter-related fire hazard. Papers burn extremely quickly, piles of them ignite even faster.

4. Dishes are also piling up

Almost everyone leaves a few dishes in the sink from time to time. If you’re not staying on top of washing dishes, a few plates can soon turn into a sink full of dirty dishware. Food left on dirty dishes often attracts ants, cockroaches, and other bugs. 

These piles of unwashed dishes also contain the stench of bacteria from spoiled food. For a safer and cleaner kitchen, start placing dishes in the dishwasher immediately after washing them.

5. You haven’t seen clean floors in ages

Another common problem area for clutter is your floors. At the end of a long day, the floors are a comfortable place to toss shoes, clothes, and other items. Over time, it can become hard to see or remember what clean floors looked like!

To put an end to cluttered floors, consider buying a few shoe racks or storage bins. These items give you places to store clothing and other items that commonly end up on the floor.

6. Mountains of laundry start popping up

It’s hard for many people to find a chore they dread more than doing the laundry. This is one reason why both clean and dirty laundry can start to pile up in a home. You might think about throwing away clothing in your piles of laundry.

The problem is that throwing away unwanted clothes often sends them to already overcrowded landfills. Research shows that clothing can stay in landfills for over 200 years. Instead, consider donating clothing you no longer want to a charity.

7. Your car no longer fits in the garage

One of the most cluttered spaces in any home is the garage. A recent study found that, for 50% of adults, the garage is the most disorganized room in their homes. If there’s no way you can get your car into your garage, it’s often due to excess clutter. 

By decluttering your garage, you can use this space to store your vehicle away from the elements. You might also use your newly clutter-free garage as a gym, workshop, or similar type of space.

8. There is no tabletop or countertop space in your home

People living in cluttered homes also have difficulties finding tabletop and countertop space. It’s easy to see why so many homes have cluttered tables and countertops. These spaces are within arm’s reach, making them convenient locations for items you’ll get back to later.

One tip for reducing cluttered kitchen counters is by storing or getting rid of those many small appliances you’re not using regularly.

9. It takes forever to clean your home

No one wants to spend all day cleaning their homes. If daily cleaning turns into an all-day task, this is a sign of a clutter problem.

It might surprise you to learn how much time you save by getting rid of clutter. Research from the National Soap and Detergent Association found that decluttering your home can eliminate 40% of housework-related tasks.

By recognizing the signs of clutter, you can stop them in their tracks before they become a bigger problem. Follow the previously mentioned tips, and clutter will soon be a thing of the past.

About The Author : Written by Rafaella D Angello

 
Image by Deedee86 from Pixabay