You may be wondering how organizing your home can change anything more than your environment. To understand how this could happen we need to look at our needs as a human beings. In Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs we all know we need the basics; food, water, warmth, and rest. We know we need to feel safe and secure. We desire intimate relationships and friends. We want to feel some type of feeling of accomplishment. The ultimate goal is to achieve our full potential. So how does organizing your environment and getting rid of excess create more benefits and change than just your environment? Let's look at how any change you make big or small changes the path and direction of your life.
In the basic need of humans we need food, but if the refrigerator is full of rotten or expired food because it is jammed in no particular order, it's going to be hard to eat healthy. Going out for fast food or restaurant food filled with fat, salt, and calories is not good for your body and it will catch up to you. Imagine cleaning the refrigerator and creating an easy system to see what you have. Would you eat more at home and pick healthier food? Being organized in your pantry and refrigerator can change your health.
How about the need of rest? How do you rest when chaos surrounds you? When you cannot find your keys in the morning or take 15 minutes to find a missing shoe? Organizing and getting rid of excess in your environment is more than just cleaning up the "junk". It's about finding things when you need them, coming home to a clean, peaceful environment, and creating a safe haven to rest after a long day so that you can fall asleep knowing the "to do" list is much shorter. Could organizing your home help your mental health? Absolutely!
Safety and security is not only about locking your doors, alarm systems, and "good neighborhoods". It's about feeling in control of your surroundings. When the chaos of clutter overwhelms you, how can you feel in control? Clutter produces anxiety, depression, insomnia, and many more stress producing reactions. Cleaning out the excess and organizing what you really need gives you that sense of controlling your environment. The world is unpredictable, but when we close the door to our homes, we should feel that sense of safety and security that comes with the peace of controlling our environment at home.
What about intimate relationships and friendships? Living in clutter or chaos definitely affects relationships! If you have a spouse or significant other, stop and think about how it is affecting your lives together. Is your partner depressed or angry at the clutter? Do you have frequent arguments regarding where something was placed or whos responsibility it is to clean up all the excess stuff that's piling up? If you are single and dating, can you confidently bring someone into your home and not feel embarrassed or are you avoiding showing them your life for fear they will walk away? Can you entertain your friends and family comfortably or do you avoid having guests even though you desire to entertain? Organizing your home gives you that flexibility and confidence to have company come over at anytime announced or unannounced. It opens the door to possibly becoming more social and expanding your network of relationships.
Ask your self how accomplished you would feel it you tackled the clutter and organized your home. Would it give you more time to be with loved ones? Would it allow you space to be creative? Would you be able to spend more time and energy working on creating a great live by doing the things you love instead of time cleaning or shifting stuff? What would organizing your home and environment do for your social, physical, and mental health? I can tell you A LOT!
The one thing that all us organizers hear most often is how a weight has been lifted off our clients shoulders when the job is done. When they can finally breathe and feel in control of their lives. It's why organizers do what we do. To see a client feel at peace and be happy again gives us a sense of accomplishment and joy. We get to give back and in the end as human beings we want to help one another and be a source of joy to another.
I hope this article was helpful in seeing how organizing your home can change many things in your life other than removing and organizing your material items. It's so much more! I wish you the best in your journey.