Sponsored content
If you’ve ever done a deep clean or taken time to sort through your belongings, you’ll know that decluttering can bring a welcome sense of order and relief. Decluttering isn’t just about creating a tidy home; it can also have significant health benefits.
As well as keeping you physically active, research has linked decluttering with reduced stress and anxiety, as well as improved focus, creativity, and confidence.
That’s why we’ve partnered with Vintage Cash Cow to explore eight powerful health benefits of decluttering. Vintage Cash Cow’s enthusiastic team of over 150 vintage and antique experts are passionate about delivering free, convenient, and straightforward decluttering service to make the process as smooth as possible.
With Vintage Cash Cow, you won’t have to worry about dealing with buyers or listing individual items to sell. Their easy-to-use service helps you find new homes for your belongings and makes sure nothing goes to landfill.
Offering free, no-obligation valuations, with no hidden fees, simply order your free postage labels, pack your own box, send your items, and receive your valuation within a few days. If you’re not happy with Vintage Cash Cow’s offer, they’ll return your items for free.
You can find a full list of items Vintage Cash Cow buys on their website, including vintage watches, toys, and cameras.
Note: Vintage Cash Cow doesn’t accept certain items, including clothes, furniture, and breakables. You can find a full list of items they don’t accept on their website.
1. Decluttering can reduce stress, anxiety and boost self-esteem
Have you ever walked into a messy room and felt overwhelmed or anxious? There is, in fact, much truth to the saying: “messy home, messy mind”, as studies have found a close link between living in cluttered spaces and higher stress levels.
Being surrounded by stacks of paper, piles of laundry, and other clutter signals to your brain that work isn’t complete, making it easy to feel stressed, anxious, and overwhelmed.
Meanwhile, neat, organised spaces help to create a sense of calm, order, and general wellbeing – with studies linking decluttering with less fatigue, better mood, a greater sense of calm, and higher self-esteem. For example, experts have also found that tidying up serves as a reward, triggering the release of dopamine, the brain’s ‘pleasure chemical’.
Give unwanteds a better next chapter
Your once-loved items are just waiting to be useful again. Pop them in a box, send them to Vintage Cash Cow for free, and they’ll make you an offer to rehome them all.
2. It’s linked with better focus and productivity
There’s evidence that decluttering can improve focus and productivity.
Researchers note that working in a cluttered environment may affect our ability to focus, partly because it subconsciously takes up some of our brain’s attention. More clutter means more distractions, which can negatively affect productivity. In fact, studies show it can take over 20 minutes to recover full attention following a distraction.
This study revealed that clutter affected people’s ability to focus on particular tasks – specifically by overwhelming the visual cortex (the area of the brain responsible for processing visual information), making it difficult to complete projects efficiently. Other research suggests that people with a tendency to procrastinate may work in messier environments.
In contrast, organised environments may have the opposite effect. This study, for example, revealed that people made fewer mistakes when inputting data in a neat environment than in a messy one.
More generally, you’re also less likely to spend time searching for items when everything has a designated place, saving time and improving efficiency. Plus, many people find that having an organised, functional space makes it easier to foster and maintain healthy routines, such as following a regular bedtime and preparing nutritious meals.
3. Decluttering can help you let go of negative feelings
It’s natural to want to hold onto items that tie us to memories, identities, or even unresolved feelings. However, research shows that, among other things, these physical reminders can keep us stuck in old patterns.
In fact, experts say physical items act as environmental cues that prevent your brain from updating its emotional reality, meaning you continue to treat the memories associated with them as present rather than past.
As a result, letting go can signal to the brain that a chapter has closed, making it feel easier to move on. For example, research suggests that removing physical reminders may reduce the frequency of memory reactivation, allowing your brain the space it needs to form new neural patterns.
This process of letting go can be particularly beneficial if you’re going through a significant life change, such as moving home, starting a new job, ending a relationship, or travelling. That said, it’s no secret that, while some items are easy to get rid of, such as unwanted toiletries and old clothes, others can be more difficult to part with.
For example, you may be parting with high-value items that you’d prefer to sell rather than donate, such as jewellery or antiques, or those that you want to ensure are well taken care of. But listing items for sale and liaising with multiple buyers can feel daunting – particularly if the items hold sentimental value.
However, Vintage Cash Cow allows you to sell items in bulk. Their dedicated team is also passionate about finding new homes for your belongings while supporting the circular economy.
Their guarantee means all items received are given a new lease of life and never end up in landfill. Through their impressive trading network, your items could end up anywhere – including museums, auction houses, or into the hands of independent makers.
4. You might sleep better
We know that stress and anxiety (a common byproduct of cluttered spaces) can negatively impact sleep.
Among other things, high stress levels increase alertness by activating the body’s ‘fight or flight’ response, making it difficult to fall and stay asleep. Studies have consistently linked stress with disrupted sleep and poor sleep quality.
Meanwhile, a clutter-free bedroom can reflect peace and create a calming space to unwind in after a busy day, potentially leading to more restorative sleep. In this study, over 67% of participants reported getting better sleep when their bedrooms were neat and tidy, and 27% said that having an organised bedroom where everything has a proper place helped them to feel more relaxed.
Give unwanteds a better next chapter
Your once-loved items are just waiting to be useful again. Pop them in a box, send them to Vintage Cash Cow for free, and they’ll make you an offer to rehome them all.
5. Decluttering may ease financial stress
It’s no secret that the current cost-of-living crisis can have significant effects on mental wellbeing. In a recent survey, almost one-third of adults reported feeling anxious in the last month due to their financial situation, and more than one-quarter felt stressed.
Many people find decluttering to be a simple yet effective way to help negate financial stress by earning a bit of extra cash and giving new life to items you no longer need. It’s true that “one man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, and there’s nearly always someone willing to pay to take items off your hands.
With over £60 million paid out so far, Vintage Cash Cow’s enthusiastic team of vintage and antique experts has helped nearly one million people unlock the value of items hidden away in their homes, from gold and silver to vintage cameras and toys.
Offering free, no-obligation valuations, with no hidden fees, all you need to do is order your free postage labels, pack your box, send your items, and you’ll receive a valuation within a few days. If you choose to accept, the money will reach your bank account within two working days. Equally, if you’re not satisfied with the offer, Vintage Cash Cow will return your items for free.
6. Your physical health may improve
The mental benefits of living in organised environments are clear, and there’s evidence that decluttering may affect our physical health, too.
According to research, people with clean homes tend to be healthier than those with messy or cluttered homes. Cleanliness was even found to be a greater predictor of good health than the walkability of a neighbourhood.
Among other things, this may be linked to the effects of decluttering on factors like stress and sleep. For example, research has consistently linked chronic stress with an increased risk of several health conditions, including heart disease, digestive disorders, certain cancers, and cognitive decline.
There’s also evidence that decluttering may lead to healthier lifestyle choices. For example, one study found that clutter can make us more likely to reach for junk food. Participants using a messy, chaotic kitchen ate twice as many cookies as those with an organised kitchen.
Final thoughts…
Research has linked decluttering with several health benefits, including lower stress levels, and boosted confidence, focus, and happiness. And the good news is that, with the help of online platforms like Vintage Cash Cow, the UK’s number one online platform for selling preloved vintage items, it’s simpler to get started than ever before.
With Vintage Cash Cow’s simple process, you can refresh your space in just three simple steps, with peace of mind knowing that your belongings find a new home and nothing goes to waste or landfill. You can find a full list of items Vintage Cash Cow buys on their website.
For further reading, head over to our home and garden section.