Homes get cluttered easily, especially if they are being used for multiple purposes. If you are parenting, working from home, studying from home or socialising and entertaining, clutter is inevitable.
Some people are naturally tidy. Others, not so much so. Oftentime, clutter and mess can creep up on us. It is easily done. One moment the house looks clean, the next moment you cannot believe how much of a bomb site it is.
While a bit of clutter has never hurt anyone, a lot of it can damage your productivity, mental health and sense of wellness.
Here’s why…
The Problem With Clutter
There are a few reasons why a cluttered home could be detrimental to your life.
1. You can’t find important things.
If you find yourself losing documents, misplacing your glasses or never finding a matching pair of socks, we’ve got news for you. Your house is likely too disorganized and could benefit from an overhaul. Not being able to find very important information such as a passport or a report for your boss could have serious consequences. So it is important to take this seriously.
2. Your mind reflects your environment
A cluttered mind and a cluttered environment go hand in hand. If you are sitting in a mess, disorganised paperwork and hundreds of child’s toys, you are less likely to keep a clear head. Overstimulation is partly to blame. It’s therefore good to have an organized environment so that your frame of mind can reflect this.
3. It’s unhygienic
If you let the dust gather, germs aren’t far away. This is especially true if you have children. Children are less likely to adhere to proper handwashing and are more likely to leave sticky objects around the house that attract bacteria and mold. Getting sick is never fun, but if you get sick during your working hours you will miss valuable time. Keeping a tidy home allows for easier cleaning of surfaces - and helps you spot dirt when it begins to gather.
4. It’s unsafe
Clutter, especially when you combine paperwork and open wires, can be a fire hazard. Firstly, if one part of the clutter catches fire, it can spread more easily if it has other clutter to ‘cling on to’ and spread to. Secondly, it is harder to leave your home if you are tripping over things. Therefore, any fire expert will advise that keeping your home organized maximises fire safety. Even without a fire, it is easy to trip over wires or files and hurt yourself. Make sure everything is out of the way and organized to maintain good safety.
5.You look unprofessional
If you are working from home and have to do an important zoom meeting, a background of mess is never going to give your clients or partners a good impression. It’ll make you look unprofessional, disorganized and clumsy. Instead, a well organized, neat and tidy background will give the impression of professionalism, organization and control.
Get Organized
There are some simple steps you can follow to get organized in your home.
1) Throw out the rubbish. Get a bin bag and walk around the house. Throw out any rubbish, old magazines, unused toys, discarded wrappers - anything you are never going to use again. Be honest and ruthless. As a general rule, if it hasn’t been used in the last 12 months, it can probably be thrown out.
2) Buy storage boxes. Storage boxes in varying sizes will help you to pile away toys, cleaning products, books, pet products, toiletries - in fact, just about anything you don’t need to hand. They look nice and tidy, and you can buy them in any colour you want.
3) Get your desk organized. A tidy desk will make all the difference to your professional life. Get a desk organizer and an under-desk drawer to store your paperwork, pens, work phone and anything else you need for your working day.
4) File file file. A good filing system is essential. Having hoards of disorganized paperwork can be a headache you don’t need. Invest in a good filing cabinet to fit under or beside your desk.
5) Label things. If you can’t remember what you have put in a storage box or filing cabinet, label it. This way you find things faster.
6) Do a midday sweep. Before you break for lunch, set aside 15 minutes to collect, throw out or organize any clutter. Doing this daily will help to prevent the build-up of clutter.
FlexiSpot Can Help
We offer a huge range of home office furniture and accessories to meet your home office needs. As well as providing state of the art ergonomic chairs and desks, we have filing cabinets, under-desk drawers and desk organizers for every person in every home. Visit our website to choose the right accessories for your home office.
