Outer Order, Inner Calm

Spring is certainly in the air here in Montana. Green grass is slowly being uncovered by layers of white as the snow begins to thaw; the runoff creating little rushing rivers meandering through pastures and over roads. Color is returning, from pastel pink door decorations to brilliant red and yellow tulips sold in local grocery stores. Something about the sunshine even feels nostalgic and fresh. There’s an unspoken energy that comes with the changing of the season. And while talk of Spring cleaning seems to be popular at this time of year, we at Sageborn want to encourage you to really lean into it and embrace a decluttering mindset.

There’s an unspoken energy that comes with the changing of the season. And while talk of Spring cleaning seems to be popular at this time of year, we at Sageborn want to encourage you to really lean into it and embrace a decluttering mindset.

Research has proven there is a direct correlation between our environments and our minds. This means that the spaces we spend the most time in have the potential to affect the way we think, for better or for worse. Living and working in spaces that feel minimal and clean verses places with a lot of clutter makes a big difference in not only productivity and creativity, but our inner peace as well.

As a result of successfully cleaning and organizing the space around us, there comes a sense of accomplishment that makes us want to do it again.

According to an article published by Psychology Today, decluttering the space around you actually has the power to boost confidence and energy. The reason is because decluttering makes us engage in mental processes that help with decision making and therefore strengthen that part of the brain. As a result of successfully cleaning and organizing the space around us, there comes a sense of accomplishment that makes us want to do it again. That’s where the familiar “cleaning mood” comes into play.

Another incredible benefit of decluttering the spaces around us is that it will significantly increase productivity and creativity. As many of us may have experienced before, it’s challenging to focus when there’s a lot in front of us. Working and living in spaces that are cluttered makes it hard for our brains to concentrate on one thing because there's too much stimuli. Multitasking, even at our best, means we’re still not giving our full attention and thus not as productive as we would like to be. When we declutter the spaces where we work and live in, we’re able to be intentional about what we’re choosing to focus on and thus our highest priorities are getting done. This also allows for more creative juices to flow because other distractions are not taking up our mental energy. In a sense, decluttering is like giving your mind a breath of fresh air; outer order, inner calm is a way of thinking about it.

When there’s clutter around us, our minds don’t get a chance to rest and we become subject to stress which makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

Along those same lines, mental stimulation caused by clutter can also have a major effect on our sleep. Whether it’s conscious or unconscious, cluttered spaces make the mind work a little harder through the mental stimulation we discussed earlier. Similarly to how we prepare our bodies for sleeping (brushing our teeth, reading or relaxing), our minds need that same rest before falling asleep. When there’s clutter around us, our minds don’t get a chance to rest and we become subject to stress which makes it harder to fall asleep and stay asleep.

So where do we begin?

While we know decluttering can certainly be overwhelming at times and hard to know where to start, we want to give you some tangible ways that will begin the process of decluttering, knowing it’s perfectly okay to take it slow.

1. Think about the spaces in your life that you spend the most time in and start there.
2. As you enter that space, pay attention to the things that are necessary to achieving your goals in that space.
3. If they don’t serve a purpose, try relocating them somewhere where they do. If you can’t find a place, consider donating the item or throwing it away.