When you shouldn't declutter, and why?
Decluttering is good but not good for certain people at certain times. This applies to those of us with depression or suffering other illness that drain your body of energy.
- It’s a good thing to declutter and clean up around your home. Clean surroundings can help with depression.
Having said that.
We must be careful when we want to declutter.
Often when we’re depressed, everything turns to a mountain when it’s just a pile to someone without depression.
Take my experience, for example.
If I declutter when I am too tired, but forced to do so, because I just can’t stand the mess. Or I declutter during my pms while depressed, many things can go wrong.
- I throw out things without thinking. I care not if it’s something important and I will not waste a minute to check the item. If I see it sitting in the wrong place and seem to be just another useless item, I’ll waste no time looking at it but just throw it in the bin.
I’m still angry with myself for throwing out some kids’ work that were supposed to go in their memory boxes and some of my vintage clothes and accessories.
My adrenaline is rushing, my head is bounding, my mind is clouded and I am in tears while cleaning and decluttering. All these put together are sad and not a condition for any decluttering, cleaning or any chores, including cooking.Â
- By the time I am finally done. I am exhausted. My body is weak and I feel horrible inside out.
- I’m emotionally destroyed and all negative non sense invades my head.
- I will be at the lowest bottom of darkness that I can’t explain.
- The emotional and physical turmoil is unbearable.
- I’ll take refuge in the shower for an hour or even longer, just crying.
- I’ll isolate from everyone and worst of all, I blame everyone for my break-down.
- The endless blame is satisfying and seems all justifiable. Until my mind is calm, and I am in a better state, to understand what really went down. It’s only then I realised how much I have wronged others. There’s a sense of deep guilt. But no sorry or any kind of apology I give will satisfy my conscious.
After all this. The next time I do decluttering or cleaning under the same condition. I will repeat the same thing again.
It’s not because we never learned. Or because we like to do that to our loved ones, but it’s because we have no control over these episodes. When they attack and we get caught unaware and unprepared, we have no protection.
It’s okay to feel the need to clean and declutter, but know it has its own time, and its own weather.
There’s no shame in leaving things for a better time. The world will not end if you delay things. But your family might end if you continue to do things when you are not mentally fit to do them.