7 Reasons Decluttering Can Raise Your Family’s Productivity (& How to Do It)

*7 Reasons Decluttering Can Raise Your Family’s Productivity is a guest post. If you are interested in writing for A Modern Mom’s Life, please visit my Guest Posting page. This post also contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase through my link I will earn a small commission. These commissions support my blog and my family.*

Decluttering isn’t the most fun activity, and that’s exactly why clutter builds and builds. Families wait until the last minute to get around to it and spend several days doing all the hard work. Decluttering as you go and maintaining a clutter-free environment can help your family be more productive with fewer cleaning breaks.

Here are 7 reasons decluttering can help you get more done:

1. Kids Get Their Homework Done

If your kids get too distracted to do their homework, try decluttering their rooms. Get rid of broken toys and things they don’t use anymore, and implement a storage solution that will allow you to put all of their belongings out of sight while not in use. Set up a small homework nook.

When all is said and done, your kids will have a proper place to do their homework that’s free from the distraction of all their tempting gadgets and playthings.

2. Meals Get Cooked

A cluttered kitchen makes it hard to cook a meal. When you’re trying to keep everyone on schedule, the kitchen needs to be ready the exact moment you’re ready to start cooking.

Replace broken appliances and toss out small ones you don’t need. A rubbish removal company can come pick them up. Downsize to the things you know you’ll frequently use and free up some counter space.

If you can prep a few meals at the beginning of the week and limit your small appliances to a single slow cooker, you’ll be eating with minimal effort.

3. You Find Activities to Do Together

If your closets are so packed that you’ve completely forgotten about the camping gear hidden in the back, chances are you aren’t planning a camping trip any time soon. Declutter to get rid of the things you aren’t using anymore and cycle the things you’d like to use to the front. Camping, skiing, and roller skating are fun and healthy activities, but you’ll never get around to doing them unless you clean out your closets and organize your equipment.

4. The Bills Get Paid Sooner

Sitting down to pay the bills and make the monthly budget is a huge chore. It’s an even bigger chore when the junk mail piles up and nothing is organized.

Develop an instant mail sorting system. Throw out (or recycle) the junk mail as soon as it comes in. Create a permanent storage box for important mail that needs to be kept but not immediately referenced. Sort the bills as they come in. Dealing with your monthly finances will be much faster and easier.

5. Shopping Takes Less Time

Kids need a lot of stuff, and that means parents have to buy them a lot of stuff. If the parents don’t know what’s lurking in the back of their closet or which shoes fit anymore, it’s difficult to try to shop for their growing kids.

If you declutter the closets and donate clothes, shoes, and accessories that are no longer of use to your children, you’ll know exactly what they need and how much of it. You also eliminate the risk of wasting money on things you don’t need, allowing you to budget productively.

6. You’ll Sleep Better (and Get More Accomplished)

A sleep study concluded that people at risk for hoarding disorders may have trouble sleeping. A cluttered room doesn’t make for comfortable sleeping quarters.

Keeping every room clean and as minimalist as possible can lead to higher quality sleep, making it easier to get things done during the day. It’s hard to be productive when you barely slept a wink.

7. You Spend Less Time Cleaning

The less time you spend cleaning the house, the more time you have to do other things. By doing one big declutter and simply maintaining a new organizational system, cleaning is going to be easier. You can spend a few hours cleaning house on the weekend and get to everything else you’d like to do with your family.

Make sure everyone cancels their plans for the weekend. If you get all the decluttering done with, you’ll have every weekend free thereafter to do whatever you want.

Melanie Saunders is a blogger and content manager at 1300 Rubbish – experts in the field of rubbish and junk removal. Personally, a huge fan of sustainability and green living.

How do you work towards a more clutter-free life?  We whittle away at it bit-by-bit – donating or selling old toys and clothes, creating hand-me-down bags for our younger cousins, and recycling all that junk mail and old art that comes home from school.

I have a few posts about how we try to stay on top of our messes – take a look!

• We Have So Much Stuff (& Tips to Get Kids Organized)
• Getting Organized – What Works For Me

I’d love for you to share what works in your home.  Does decluttering help you get more done?  I always feel better working in a tidy space!  Leave your tips for me in the comments.

~Jess