What is the link between clutter and depression? part three

Your workplace, your home, and even your car need to be free of chaos and that means free of clutter.

We instinctively know it to be true, don’t we?

I haven’t suffered a clinical case of depression for a number of years but I certainly remember. I remember that as I got better, my car got cleaner. Seriously. Which came first. I’m not sure I know. It’s all so intertwined.

It’s harder for some of us than others. Some people are just naturally neat. I’m not one of them. I’m a “messy.” I’m an obsessive reader so I have books wherever there is a chair.  Also, I don’t see anything wrong with a glass or two sitting in the sink. And I certainly don’t believe a clean house is more important than time spent with family and friends.

We each have our own definition of messy.

But clutter and chaos are a whole different story. “Messy” is just a side trip.

Frankly, I like my “stuff”. Being clutter-free doesn’t mean you give everything away. Besides, that’s only a temporary solution. It’s a mindset that says, “If I throw a bunch of stuff away, I’ll have solved the problem.” If the solution to clutter is to just throw it all away, do we do that with everything else that’s causing us problems, like difficult relationships? How about learning instead to deal with the clutter?

I have found that if my mind is “cluttered” so are my surroundings. And if my surroundings are cluttered, so is my mind.

Keeping clutter to a minimum has a lot more to do with figuring out why I buy what I buy in the first place than it does with just clearing out for the sake of clearing out.

Clutter can affect our spiritual health as well. It seems to me that our availability to God is in direct proportion to how much “stuff”,  God has to get through to get our attention. God is perfectly able to do so, of course. That isn’t the issue.

The issue is that if our minds are stressed and we’re feeling anxious because we look at our surroundings and feel overwhelmed, we won’t hear God’s voice.

When I bring something into the house now, something else has to go. I am no longer hanging on to “stuff” for a future project.

Although there are some exceptions.

For example, If I have a wall decoration that is sturdy, and made of wood, I wouldn’t think of getting rid of it. I find that wood pieces are always valuable for future DIY projects.

I have this piece that I almost got rid of a few years ago but I tucked it away instead. Now, I have a great idea for it. I hope to finish it and post the picture next week. It’s going to be great.

I also hang onto to baskets, and candleholders because they are one of my “go-to’s” for decorating. Oh, and pillows because I recover them as needed and good pillows are not cheap.

Think about this whole idea of clutter and how it impacts you. As you walk through your home, really consider whether or not you have too much clutter. Sometimes, it’s not too much “stuff”, it’s that things don’t look organized. It might just be a matter of organizing it all by putting away some things, straightening and stacking other items, and overall just a general “tidying up”.

Speaking of “tidying up”, I wrote a post quite a while ago about the book by Kon Marie. I thought some of what she wrote was kind of silly, like talking to your clothes. That’s a bit much. She is a little too obsessed with “tidying up”  and it is her only interest which she herself states. (Much of this has to do with the tiny apartments and homes that most people have there as opposed to our homes in America.L However, I do recommend her book and have found some suggestions extremely valuable.

Click on this picture for an interesting post that I thought gave a good review of the Kon Marie method.

For example, I’ve eliminated a lot of books.  I can always get them out of the library and that way, the library can store them for me.

I also “poo-pooed” her mantra when considering whether or not to keep a piece of clothing, “Does it spark joy?” But when I think about it, it’s just another way of asking, “Do I really, really like it?” I do find myself asking that these days and it does help.

Anyway, I hope this helps you if you are dealing with too much clutter.

God bless and have a good day.