We could all use a little decluttering. Whether you are already a minimalist or a collector, there is something weighing down your life journey. However, a decluttering checklist isn’t the end of the journey but the beginning.

How and Why A Decluttering Checklist Frees You

If you want to live a more organized and easy life, have less. When it comes to success and overall happiness, less is more. Getting rid of things that you don’t need frees you because it:

Promotes Clarity and Focus

When there are things not put in their place or disorganized, your brain can feel the same way. Confused and lost as to where it should go or look at. Getting rid of these extra things mean you no longer have to worry about making sure they fit.

This is why many productive people get into the habit of clearing off or decluttering their workspace. They are not constantly distracted by the things around them that are generally not there, nor do they have to think about having to do that chore anymore.

Promotes Positive Energy and Inspiration

When you remove distractions, unnecessary tasks, or people in your life causing you pain, it only makes you want to keep going forward. You finally get to see how much better life is without the pain and frustration—the power of saying no and taking control of your life breeds positivity and inspiration.

Here are a few quick tricks to help you create a personal decluttering checklist:

• Streamline Your Business and Personal Objectives
  Getting rid of things doesn’t have to be about material possessions. It can also be clunky processes or systems at work that are making you lose sight of what you care about.

• Start Small and Categorize
  Start with the smallest area in the room or department in your business and take it slow. You don’t need to do this all-in-one day to feel the benefits. The more time you give it, the more efficient you will be and the more benefits you will reap. Donate the things that don’t provide you value or are just sitting around. What are the things you don’t ever use, touch, or often save for last?

• Take Notice of Your Emotions or Mood
  If a task, person, or thing affects your mood to the point where you are bitter, sad, angry, or irritated every time you do it or are around them, you must rid these things or people from your life.

While you can’t use this strategy every time you feel discomfort, it should be used when you can’t get it off your mind or move on with your day, week, or worse years. You can always outsource the work or have technology do it for you instead for a low monthly price.

No person is worth keeping around that destroys your mental peace either. Even though “things” are most commonly what people get rid of, they are often not the real culprit to their problems. People are.

As you can see, getting rid of things is a great way to de-stress and reorganize your life. You don’t need to be caught up with the newest and most significant thing to feel happy. In fact, it only keeps you further away from your goals.

5 Ways to Live a Simpler Life

If you are up to the challenge of ditching a complex lifestyle full of stress in exchange for a life well-lived, then here are five suggestions to help you succeed:

1. Determine your priorities based on your values. What is important to you and your family? What do you want to achieve? What does a simple life look like to you? Once you determine your values, decisions become more straightforward. You say yes to those things that align with your goals and no to those that don’t.
   
2. Reign in the digital noise. Smartphones are wonderful tools that should be just that – tools. Ease tension in your life by turning off notifications when you are at dinner or in bed. You might even remove all social media apps from your phone. Unsubscribe from emails lists that do not serve your mission and reply to emails only once per day, not as soon as one comes in.
   
3. Declutter your home. By removing unnecessary stuff, you open up your home for those possessions you genuinely love or need. You can start small, like in a junk drawer and then move onto your wardrobe. You will feel freer as possessions no longer weigh you down. Don’t forget to sign up and get your free decluttering checklist for the best start!
   
4. Live within your means. A simple life is one free from the stress of making money to pay bills and buy more stuff. When you are in debt, your stress levels elevate. Instead, pay down debt and learn to live within your means. You will quickly learn to enjoy life without struggling with debt.
   
5. Become comfortable with being alone. The constant stimulation of technology and people cause us to be uncomfortable with being alone. You do not have to head out to an isolated mountain cabin and live as a hermit. It may even be uncomfortable for a while. However, as you learn to sit in the quiet with only yourself as company, you learn to relax and listen to what your body is trying to tell you.

Embrace the simple life by figuring out your values and then take the necessary steps to live them out. You will be reaping the benefits of this change before you know it.

5 Reasons Decluttering Won’t Work

Decluttering can be a very worthwhile and valuable endeavor. There is a wide array of benefits to the process. However, decluttering on its own is a fruitless effort. No matter what decluttering checklists you have, without personal evaluation and insight, any progress you make will more than likely be undone. Read on to discover why decluttering won’t work and how deeper personal insight can lead to lasting change.

Decluttering doesn’t require introspection.

Getting rid of stuff you haven’t used in the last year or donating an item of clothing for each new piece you bring home are short-term fixes. For decluttering methods to stick, you must evaluate your reasons for the decisions you make regarding your possessions, such as making statements regarding your values, passions and desires.

Decluttering won’t help you understand your attachment to possessions.

Delving a little deeper, you must actually consider the personal motivations for your attachment to the stuff you own. For example, do you hold onto things because you fear being without? Further examination may lead to the realization that you are holding onto habits from a childhood of poverty and that it’s okay now to let go of your abundance of stuff.

Decluttering doesn’t benefit others.

Decluttering without mindfulness does little to help others who could benefit from your overstock. Taking steps to get rid of some things and tidy up, without understanding your reasons for doing so, rarely leads to the kinds of results that could come from purposeful action. When you understand what you hope to gain from this release of clutter, you can significantly pare down your possessions, allowing more people to benefit from your abundance.

Decluttering has no impact on your debt.

You may think decluttering can help you raise some cash by selling your unwanted things. However, without examining your motives for acquiring so much stuff and evaluating your priorities in life, you’re practically guaranteed to buy more items to take the place of those you’ve sold.

Decluttering rarely leads to lifestyle changes.

Mindless decluttering is temporary. Your clean and organized environment is merely a facade that isn’t likely to last. If you want to change your life by implementing healthy changes and making positive strides, you first must do the work of introspection.

Taking time to evaluate what has led to your clutter and to consider your lifestyle goals will go a long way toward creating a soothing home environment that lasts. Decluttering doesn’t work on its own, but combining it with mindfulness can lead to success.

Frequently Asked Questions

How to simplify your home with this decluttering checklist

Cleaning your home isn’t exactly fun. When you’re tired at the end of a long day, it can be easy to put off things like vacuuming, doing laundry and tidying the bathroom. However, making an effort to maintain a nice, clean home is important for your overall health. Here’s why.

• Improve Your Indoor Air Quality – For one thing, the air that you and your family members breathe in your home can have a major impact on your health. If your home isn’t kept clean, then you have to worry about dust, mold, pet hair and more being in the air. This can have a negative effect on your health.

• Get Rid of Germs – Having germs in your home can suppress your immune system and can make it easier for you to get sick. Also, if one person who lives in your home or who visits your family is sick, failing to clean up the things that he or she comes in contact with can make it easier for others to get sick. Regular cleaning can help you get rid of germs and can help prevent you and your loved ones from getting sick.

• Prevent Stress – Stress is bad for your body in many ways, and it can be caused by all sorts of things. If you walk into a messy home each day after a long day at work, for example, you might feel your stress levels shoot through the roof when you should feel welcomed, comfortable and relaxed. By putting a focus on cleaning regularly, you can avoid the stress of having to deal with a big mess all at one time.

• Improve Mental Clarity – It can be easy to feel as if you are walking around in a fog when everything in your home is a mess and when you can’t find anything because you’re disorganized. Keeping a neat, clean and organized home is a good way to improve your mental clarity so that you can actually think.

• Prevent Depression – If you are depressed, then things like having a messy home can make you feel even worse. If you walk into a nice, clean house, however, it can help improve your mood. Even though keeping your home clean certainly cannot prevent depression, it can help prevent it.

As you can see, having a clean home is very important for your health. Even though you might dread putting in the time to thoroughly clean up your house, you are sure to find it to be worth the effort for these reasons and more.

Simplify Life by Decluttering – Tangible Ways Decluttering Can Improve Your Life

There’s a reason why many people start on a decluttering project (don’t forget your decluttering checklist to get started) during a stressful or turbulent time in their lives or when they simply begin to feel overwhelmed by the chaos. Clearing out the clutter does more than just make your home look neater or more spacious. Decluttering can actually be a life-transforming process in a multitude of ways. Continue reading if you’d like to discover some tangible ways decluttering can improve your life. This knowledge may just be the motivation you’ve long needed to start on your own path to minimalism.

• You’ll Gain More Time – Think of all the time you waste searching for things in your messy environment. Consider how often you don’t feel like doing much or going anywhere because your cluttered surroundings have left you feeling depressed. Investing the time to clean out and organize your living space will pay off in all the hours of your life you take back.

• You’ll Be More Focused – A messy environment leads to a disorganized mind. Being surrounded by clutter makes it hard to concentrate and zaps your energy. You can’t focus with brain fog. An organized space can truly rejuvenate you.

• You’ll Sleep Better – By clearing the clutter, you are making more room for energy to flow freely about your bedroom. It’s true that human beings are made up of energy. Being surrounded by energy that can circulate without obstacles allows for deeper and more restful sleep.

• You’ll Have Room for Personal Growth – By removing physical items from your home, you’ll be making more space to move around. Some creative reorganization or consolidation of your possessions could lead to having an entire room free to put to a new use. For example, you could start a hobby you’ve always wanted to pursue or set up the space as a bedroom to host a foster child like you’ve always talked of doing.

• You’ll Make Some Extra Money – Surely, you have some possessions lying around that would be of value to someone else. Why not gather them up and consider listing them on Craigslist or eBay? The money you make from any sales can go toward your new hobby or guest room.

As you can see, there’s so much more to decluttering than you ever realized. This process can lead to countless positive outcomes if you just open your mind to the possibilities. Hopefully, you’re feeling more motivated to start creating your optimal space of Zen.