5 Reasons it's CRUCIAL to declutter and easy TIPS on how to do it!

Spring is here!  It may not feel like it (I mean it literally snowed this past Saturday) but She is. One of the most common things that comes along with Spring is Spring cleaning.  For me it's the perfect time to do a deep cleaning of everything from closets to my pantry to the kids' toys.  I started my Spring cleaning about two weekends ago and boy was I not prepared for what I found.  A whooooole lot of CLUTTER!  I mean unnecessary clutter. I literally got rid of two huge lawn bags of toys alone.  Let's not talk about the coat closet.  I fussed at myself the entire time. I found myself frustrated as I was clearing things out mad at no one but myself for having all of the things I no longer needed and forgot I even had!
  

Clutter equals stress
The more clutter you have creates additional stress in your life.  Just think about it, you wake up from a great sleep, walk into the living room and things are just there.  Or you come in from a long day of work, open the door and BOOM clutter in your face.  I'm talking about things that have no need, purpose or even interest to you anymore. I don't know about you but for me I immediately get stressed out and my mood changes completely.  The thought alone makes me feel a little stressed.   

Tip: Make a game plan.Take inventory of your clutter and plan to attack it.  Whether you knock it out over a long weekend or you work on it every Saturday for a month. The goal is to get rid of it asap!

Clutter means you have a lot more than you actually need 
If your house is cluttered there's no way possible that you're actually using everything that you have.  For example, I just did a spring cleaning in my children's room.  As I previously mentioned, I literally filled up two lawn bags of toys alone. As I was going through the items the kids all of a sudden wanted to play with toys that have been at the bottom of their toy bin for literally a year or more. I mean for them it was like Christmas all over again.  However I stressed to them that it was important to get rid of things they no longer use so that someone else could use and play with them. I allowed them to pick about five toys (that I see them play with regularly) to keep.  I also let them keep all of their costumes and anything related to art. As for us adults it's items like old birthday cards from friends from 5 years ago or a hat that you used to wear when you had short hair but the afro you are rocking now won't fit under.  It's time to let these items go.

Tip:  Be aggressive.  Yes you will run across items that have a special memory or maybe even make you smile however keep telling yourself that somethings just HAVE to go.  If it's special but not really attached to a person who has passed and it's hard to get rid of maybe take pictures and archive them in a special electronics file. 

Cutter can literally affect your health 
In our house my husband and my son both have terrible allergies.  My husband is especially allergic to dust. I don't know anyone who takes a duster and dusts all up and through their clutter.  Dust can get into the air and then it's in your system and cause you to be uncomfortable especially at night when all you're doing is laying still and breathing.  Clutter attracts dust.  Yes, there will be dust however you can control the amount of dust you have by making sure you get rid of clutter.

Tip: Try to keep the amount of decor clutter you have on surfaces to a minimum so that dusting doesn't seem like a chore.  The more you have to move in order to dust the harder it's going to get to talk yourself into dusting.  Knowing that you can take just a couple of minutes with your duster makes it easier to just get it done. 

If you have clutter you are quite possibly sitting on a gold mine
This may not be true for everyone but for myself I had an almost brand new stroller and car seat, tons of toys, bins of clothing and shoes that I could have probably made at least $500 from. Had I done a yard sale if you are short on cash or just leave a little extra money for a trip you're planning to take you can sell all of those things and put some change in your pocket I mean more than likely you're not using most of it anyways so why not make some money.

Tip:  Take pictures of the items that are in pretty good shape and sell on Craigslist!  Advertisement is free and you can even bargain if you have more than one person interested in the same item.  

The more stuff you have the longer it takes for you to find what you need.
Clutter can cause you to be late and ruin your day. The more stuff you have the longer it takes for you to find what you need. For example. I have a cluttered pantry. There are items in there that I KNOW I'm not going to cook/eat. When I'm trying to figure out what to cook for dinner I am constantly frustrated (at myself) that I have to move around things in my way.  While I do have baskets to categorize items, those baskets are cluttered. LOL 

Tip: Donate the unopened food to a food bank. Throw anything opened and old away.  You can also do a swap-a-roo with friends.  Swap unopened food with friends who too have unopened unwanted food.  Ya never know, i my lead to a new recipe!

You may also enjoy These 3 steps are guranteed to transform your pantry from drab to fab