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Iceni Magazine | February 15, 2025

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The Why And How Of Living Without Clutter

The Why And How Of Living Without Clutter

Simplicity is an underrated concept in modern life. That’s not all our fault, in fairness, because the efforts expected of us in the everyday mean there’s very little opportunity available to us to actually achieve a simple life.

We wake up, we go to work, we come home, we eat, we sleep. We’re automatically driven towards convenience, and this doesn’t offer us much room for simplicity. But when time allows us, it’s worth taking the first step towards a simpler life, which is the effort to declutter our homes.

Less clutter does mean more simplicity. When you can look around your house and see clear surfaces, space to move in and an absence of extraneous items, it allows us to relax, and so it’s worth setting out some useful information on why and how minimalism can and should be achieved. If it’s something that interests you, the following information should be useful.

Why is decluttering important?

There is a wealth of information out there that explains how the mind is affected by looking at clutter. When we look around us and see disorganisation, it is harder to clear our minds. Our brains prefer order, and when they see reminders of disorder it is harder to focus and function properly. If you’ve ever looked at things in your home and thought “I should sort that … but not now”, you’re not alone. The presence of clutter makes it harder to do anything about clutter.

Why do we let clutter happen? 

We’ve all seen examples on TV and in print media of people whose homes become unlivable because they hoard items. This habit is not something people do because those items are important to them; it’s simply that a small amount of clutter can easily become a medium-sized amount, and then a large amount because we’re not sure where to start. It’s an issue that particularly affects people with depression. It begins as simple indecision and anxiety over whether an item might be needed. Before too long, though, this indecision infects everything, and you’re holding on to anything and everything that may be useful someday.

So where do you start?

You start by recognising that an end to clutter will make all future decisions easier. You remove the need to throw lots of stuff away by hiring a unit at the likes of Container Self Store, and resolve to keep things there initially. Then you set about stripping your home back to just the things you need, and the things you really like and use regularly. Once you’ve cleared out a lot of space, you have a deep clean, hoovering everywhere and cleaning surfaces, and consider whether some spaces that have been hidden for years need redecorating.

What do you do with the clutter?

Initially, as stated above, you store it. This is an essential step, because if you try to clear out all the clutter and sort it as you go, you’re likely to end up keeping things that you aren’t sure about – because clutter makes you indecisive! Once you’ve removed the clutter from your home and can think about things with less distraction, you can make a decision on what to throw away, what to donate, what to keep and what, maybe, could stay in storage for the time being. With a clearer mind, everything becomes easier.

Decluttering all in one go is hard, and it’s always going to be hard – so don’t try to do everything at once. You’ll be amazed what a difference it makes.


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