Decluttering: Therapist approved tips to help lower stress
June 12, 2021We have all heard it before. Whether you live in Bedford, Farmers Branch, Flower Mound or anywhere, clutter can do more than just affect living space; it can also affect the mind. But, of course, this is not the case for everybody. Some people don’t mind clutter while others find that it helps their creativity. For those on the other end of the spectrum, though, clutter can distract them from things that matter in their home. It can interfere with all kinds of things like sleep, work, finances, hygiene, and so much more. A study from UCLA even found that clutter impacts not just mood but also self-esteem. All in all, clutter can often equal stress.
For most of us, though, getting rid of clutter and keeping it that way is easier said than done. While we can easily clean it up, the challenge comes in keeping them all and the stress at bay. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be that way forever. Here are some therapist-approved tips to clear the clutter and stress from your apartment.
Decluttering: Therapist Approved Tips
1. Deal With Things That Are No Longer Useful
Many of us have things that we don’t use anymore but are hesitant to get rid of, which is perfectly normal. More often than not, they are the most significant things contributing to the clutter in our homes. That’s why it’s essential to look at your items and determine their value to you.
If they could still be helpful in the future, consider putting them in a box or storage. If these are not useful, but they do have great sentimental value to you, like a wedding dress, then you can keep it. Just make sure to keep these kinds of things at a minimum, though. And lastly, if it’s a valuable item that you no longer want for various reasons, why not give it away or sell it? This way, it doesn’t entirely go to waste and can still have another life with people who want it.
As a psychologist and integrative mental health expert, Roseann Capanna-Hodge said, “We all have different things that bring us joy. When what we are doing brings a lot of angst into our lives, it is time to re-evaluate whether we should continue with that activity or action.”
2. Go Easy On The Seasonal Decor
A lot of people love decorating the apartment anew every single season. While they enjoy it, for some people, such sudden changes can be overwhelming and overstimulating. If you’re one of these people, go easy on your seasonal decor. Instead of doing the entire work, maybe just switch up a tiny decor element here or add a little color there. Go subtle. Small changes like these allow you to bring the feel of the season into your home while not overwhelming yourself. Another trick you can do is to have neutral home decor that goes well with any season.
If you live with someone who likes to change up your home frequently, psychotherapist and wellbeing coach Emma Azzopardi recommends talking with them. Ask them how they feel about the room and let them know you appreciate their efforts, but you also have to be honest about how you think about it. With that, you can work to get to a compromise.
3. Don’t Go Overboard With Decor
Too much decor can create a sense of clutter in your apartment. And as psychotherapist Haley Neidich said, this can create a feeling of being disorganized in your home and impact the calm that a lot of us need for our mental health. To avoid this feeling, take a look around your home. If you feel like there’s too much going on around you, maybe it’s time to pack some things away.
This doesn’t immediately mean getting rid of everything, though. Keep the things that are meaningful to you around, like family heirlooms or even vacation souvenirs. While we can get stressed by having too much around us, we can also bring stress by having too stark surroundings. So, highlight what’s important to you. Then, after a year or two, you can revisit your packed stuff. If they still hold value to you, keep them. If they no longer do, then it’s time to let go.
4. Keep Only The Trinkets and Souvenirs That Matter
Trinkets and souvenirs can quickly pile up and become clutter without us noticing. And that is mainly because a lot of us think that we should keep most of them just because we should. If they’re taking up too much space, though, you know you have to let go of some.
A good tip is to pick one precious item from one period of your life rather than keeping a whole room of it. For instance, instead of storing all your high school memorabilia on your bookshelves, why not just choose one or two items, or even just your yearbook to commemorate everything while keeping the others in storage. You can even take a picture of particular objects and put that picture in a memento book rather than keep trying to cram that object wherever in your apartment. This way, you make room for new memories. You also swap the clutter for things that matter.
5. Take Your To-Dos One Item At A Time
Knowing that something needs to be done or something needs to be fixed at home while you’re busy with something else is very stressful. In addition to that, looking at your growing list of to-dos can also be very stressful. That’s why instead of piling them one on top of the other to be done in one day, why not try spacing them out? Make a list of what needs to be done, and every day, pick one task to do and commit at least 15 minutes to it until it’s done. Breaking down your to-dos like this would help alleviate the pressure you’re setting on yourself and help make the task seem more conquerable. It also helps lessen the anxiety of doing it and helps you feel a sense of accomplishment each day.
If it’s time to find a new apartment, call us in Dallas at 972-818-3456 or Fort Worth at 817-794-0091 or click here: https://aokapartmentlocators.com/contact/
#FarmersBranchApartmentsForRent #DallasApartmentLocator #FlowerMoundApartmentsForRent #BedfordApartmentsForRent #DallasMetroPlexApartmentsForRent #FindDallasApartments
