The closet is stacked with shoeboxes (you don’t remember what’s in them).
The kitchen sink is full of dishes (you don’t have time!).
The carpet hasn’t been vacuumed in weeks (you could do it too, you know?).
Having clutter in your life can not only be a mental drain. It can have a negative impact on your relationships, too.
This is because a cluttered home has a deeper meaning than just having things strewn about and chores left undone. Clutter can be genuinely revealing about our inner selves and the state of our relationships.
Some helpful insight from mindbodygreen.com suggests that when you have clutter, you can feel more tired and lethargic, without the energy to clear it up. It’s a vicious cycle!
This article also suggests that having clutter can:
Leave you feeling confused: Nothing you need is where you need it to be, you can’t find that pair of earrings you want to wear, and your partner is tired of fishing around for a spoon for his morning coffee. Getting rid of clutter can de-clutter your mind, too!
Cause disharmony and cause you to put your life on hold: When you come home to a cluttered household and a hundred things to do before you go to bed, it’s a fact that you’ll have to make sacrifices. Often, clearing the clutter comes dead last on your list. Without a clear, clean space to think, you don’t have the mental space to plan for a great future or even imagine a more organized home!
Distract you from important things and people: Because things are messy, you’re continually thinking about how messy they are. You imagine that if you just organized it all, you could start from scratch. You could stop trying to sort through all the “stuff” and begin to live your life. This distraction can even prevent you from spending quality time with your partner because you’re trying to get through the mayhem of clutter in your space.
But what if you could clear out the clutter? We’re not just talking about help for hoarders, either. Regular people often have closets full of old things, unkempt drawers, and unorganized cabinets. Could fixing those things improve your relationships?
Absolutely!
Consider some of the fundamentals of the Feng Shui home: open space, less physical objects, more love. The idea with this philosophy is that the organization and flow of your home can affect how energy travels through it: both positive and negative. With stuff everywhere, positive energy could be blocked from reaching your relationship.
Take this process one room at a time. Go through each thing. Do you love it? Do you use it? Is it practical? Does it work? Or are you waiting on the “right time” to use it?
Be mindful of this process and invite your partner to help out. It can strengthen your bond and help you see clutter from your partner’s perspective. Together, you can break through the clutter in your home and your relationship.
