There’s Physical Clutter & Mental Clutter:
The 30-Day Self Care Challenge
- DAY 3 -

This post is the 3rd of our 30-day self care challenge on the topic of Creating Calm. I will be looking at the difference between physical and mental clutter.

This post may contain affiliate links, which means that I earn a small commission with every purchase you make through my links, and of course, at no additional cost to you. I do greatly appreciate it, as it helps me run my blog and post content that will help you in your daily life.
Please read the full disclosure here.

Oh, and just in case — I am NOT a mental health professional! What I write are my experiences, tips & personal advice. If you are in need of help, please don't hesitate to contact a professional!
Please read the full disclosure here concerning that point. 
Okay, that's out of the way - READ ON!!

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT

 CONTINUE READING BELOW

The Difference Between Physical & Mental Clutter And Their Impacts on Your Life

Hey hey my lovely entrepreneurs,

Clutter can come in many forms. For simplicity's sake, I'd like to break it down into two main types. These are physical and mental. Each has a heavy impact on your stress levels. They both are likely to play a role in keeping you from creating calm in your life. Therefore, I think it's important to take a look at each type, define it, and examine ways both can negatively affect you.

Physical clutter

Physical clutter is easy to understand. This is the kind of mess you can see. It's the piles of clothing, papers, dishes, and more that are strewn around your home or office. It's the overabundance of things you've been holding onto for years because they're sentimental or you might use them one day. Physical clutter can even be the many tabs you keep open in your computer browser or the tons of media you consume each day. These things can be seen. They consume large amounts of your resources such as time, space, and money.

mental clutter

Clutter does not only happen at home. In fact, it also can happen in your mind, your body, your schedule, your finances and your workspace. Unfortunately, chances are that if you have clutter in one of those areas, you most likely have clutter in all of those areas. If you have been trying to conquer the clutter in your home, it is time to move beyond and follow these tips for decluttering your life.

Mental clutter isn't as simple to define. It involves the overload of information, along with nagging emotional issues, that overwhelm your mind. This type of internal congestion can consist of things such as your never-ending to-do list, negative internal dialogue, relationship demands, old grudges, or habits that don't serve you. The source of such mess usually lies in emotions like fear, regret, worry, guilt, or shame. Identifying the types of mental issues that are cluttering your brain can lead to purging yourself of them.

What clutters your mind? 

Begin by getting a notebook and a pen. Take a deep breath and think about things that you have to do. Write everything down. Once you have written things down, you can see what is necessary to accomplish and you will have a list to keep track of everything else. It can also help if you watch less television as it tends to clutter the mind with things that are not important.

You will soon discover that I am obsessed with note taking, may it be digitally or on paper! So, I enjoy writing things down and just dumping them on paper! I've also created this brain dump printable that you can download here, in collaboration with our other site The Awesome Printables! It will download directly to your computer, as a .ZIP file. Use it to write down all the things that are cluttering your mind, as well as obscuring your creation of calm! You'll also find it at the bottom of this post, in the PRINTABLES OF THE DAY section.

Body

In some cases, people who have a clutter problem also have a weight problem. Sometimes people use both as a self-protection mechanism. If they are overweight or their house is full of "stuff", they will not have to worry about others getting too close and possibly hurting them. Once they begin to let go of the "stuff" in their home, they may find that it is easier to let go of excess weight as well.

Schedule

How many activities does your family have? If your family is like most, each child has at least one activity they participate in after school. Mom and Dad may each have things they do that keep them on the go. To declutter your schedule, sit down as a family and talk about the activities each does that mean the most them. If you can cut out some activities, you will have more time to share as a family and there will be much less running.

Check out Jefferson Bethke's book, Take Back Your Family, in which he pointedly helps us take stock of what is truly important when it comes to family & family time. The NYT best-selling author hits the nail on the head, whilst trying to knock some sense back into us when it comes to how we are living our lives and why it's essential to question our values. That maybe our quest for being that "perfect" family is just utterly flawed and we are looking at the way we think we need to live completely backwards. A total eye-opener!

Finances 

Think about bills you have that are draining. For instance, is it necessary for everyone in the family to have a cell phone? If the answer is no, then let some of them go and have one extra that your teenager can use while they are away from you. Do you watch all of the channels on satellite or cable? Chances are good that you do not, so pare your programming down to what you know you will watch. Stop eating out so often. Even though eating out is easier, it is more expensive and is often not good for your health.

Workspace 

Depending on your job, workspace clutter may or may not be a problem. For those with an office desk, workspace clutter may be having too many pictures or mementos. For those in a factory setting, it may mean you cannot find your tools when you need them. By creating a functional and clean workspace, you increase your productivity, which will make everyone happy!

Effects of clutter

Ridding yourself of clutter, both physical and mental, can truly increase your feelings of happiness and calm. It can lead to less stress and overall greater well-being. The negative effects of too much clutter are astounding.

Decreased mental health is one of the biggest issues to come of surrounding yourself with all sorts of clutter.

Studies show that mental hygiene is improved when clutter is kept under control, both in the home and in the workplace. Too much physical clutter impairs visual processing. It can be incredibly distracting to see lots of piles and messes in your surroundings, leading you to miss cues regarding people's emotions and other important information. Your cognition and clarity of mind are adversely affected by excess mental clutter. You simply can't think straight when you've got a whirlwind of thoughts and emotions swirling around in your head.

MORE book recommendations

printableS of the day
in collaboration with theawesomeprintables.com

the takeaway

It is unlikely that anyone consciously decides to have clutter in his or her homes or their lives. Unfortunately, clutter tends to creep in and take over once it starts. Use these tips for decluttering your life and you will marvel at the sense of freedom you experience.

The next post that will follow is all about creating inner calm through meditation. 

Until then, stay humble, grateful and remember that today may not be the best day, but you can always improve on it!

Elle Ash xo

THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT

 CONTINUE READING BELOW