Peace of Mind Organizing

Can decluttering lead to happiness?

8 April 2009

Gretchen Rubin who writes the blog (and upcoming book) The Happiness Project also blogs for Real Simple.

A couple of weeks ago, in a Real Simple blog post, she discusses how she gets a lift from decluttering. If she’s feeling down, cleaning out a cabinet makes her feel better. She’s found a link between happiness and the act of getting rid of creating order.

It’s an interesting idea and I get it. I find that I usually get a lift from the result of decluttering, and often enjoy the process, though I often kind of dread the prospect of starting it. (Participants in our teleclass, Declutter Happy Hour get some help with that as Shannon Wilkinson takes participants through some meditation-like exercises that jazz them up to start decluttering.) I can tell you this much: It’s way more fun for me to help other people declutter their stuff than it is to tackle my own.

In the end of her blog post, Gretchen writes, “And if I want to lift my mood, I clear a little clutter. If I can’t face a closet, I tackle a drawer. If I can’t face a drawer, I clean out the fridge. How about you? Do you find it cheering to clear clutter – or just annoying?”

The comments she received in response are worth reading. If you ever doubt the value of taking some time to declutter, the commenters might change your mind.

Tagged with: declutter happy hour, decluttering, gretchen rubin, happiness

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