Positive women know that clutter keeps you in your past instead of allowing you to move forward; you defend it as if it were part of you. There are several reasons why clutter is detrimental, as you can imagine; three of which I address in my article titled “Clutter and Its Negative Effects on Your Emotions, Business, and Vision.” Let’s understand clutter so we can deal with it with less guilt and stress.

1. Clutter is personal

No matter what you are trying to get rid of or organize, at one point or another it will most likely be something personal. Some clutter, like unopened bills, can inspire fear or embarrassment because it strikes a nerve about a situation you may be in that wasn’t planned or wanted. A friend is an organizer and tells stories of how her clients stand up for her mess to the end because… it’s personal.

2. Clutter keeps us in its past.

If you go through all the little pieces of paper and clutter items individually, you relive how you came to acquire that piece of clutter. Whether it’s a bill you haven’t opened yet, a movie ticket, or your favorite high school T-shirt, looking at it puts you back in the space he was in when he received it. If it’s bad, it’s no fun to revive it and it’s hard to dig your way through the pile, pile, or box. If it’s good, it can make you lose a piece of your past and put you in a different state of mind.

3. Stress lasts much longer than cleaning.

When I’m in the mood to organize things, I find I’ve been bothered by a stacking system or unpacked clothes for weeks while it only took me 20 minutes to sort! That makes me wonder how I allow it to happen semi-regularly.

4. Clutter is clutter no matter where it occurs and wears on your mind.

When my brain seems messy, cleaning my car or closet seems to clear my brain, and vice versa. Does that happen to you? I now know that if I am confused about something, I can simply clean out a cupboard and clarity is quickly within my reach.

5. Clutter slows you down like wading through deep water and leaves no room for growth and new life.

Clutter Having things around you that you no longer need or want takes up valuable space in your brain; space that could be used to move forward in your life or learn new things. When a box is full, we get rid of something to make more space or get an extra box. So you have to find space for the new box. In our brain, organization is vital and getting “a new box” is less beneficial than clearing out the clutter to make room for new life and growth.

6. I have a halfway house for clutter.

I have a box of clothes that mean a lot to me that I don’t wear. I’m not ready to drop them yet, but every season when I check the box I find that I’m ready to drop more items. I attribute this to personal growth and it feels good when I let go of things I once held dear that now mean less to me than they might to the person who gets them next.

Clutter is normal and affects us a lot. Procrastination causes disorder. Fear causes clutter and feeling overwhelmed causes clutter, and ironically, clutter contributes to feeling overwhelmed! So look at what you’re standing for because it’s probably something that’s keeping you in your past.