Have you heard the term “mental clutter”? It is a term that professional organizers and mental health professionals use often. Now why would professional organizers and mental health professionals use the same term to describe something? Because mental clutter is something that can affect you in so many ways. Your mental health and your physical space can both be affected by this form of clutter. So we are going to cover 5 tips for clearing mental clutter that anyone can do!

What Is Mental Clutter?

Mental clutter includes thoughts or overstimulation from outside sources that keep you from thinking clearly or making decisions quickly. Mental clutter can look like information overload. That means you have too much information to process which leads to feeling mentally drained.

Expectations of others is another form of mental clutter. We all have family members who we wish would do something or a work call that didn’t exactly go the way we want. This feeling of discouragement or disappointment is a form of mental clutter. It goes hand in hand with negative feelings like stress, anxiety, worry, fear, shame, or frustration. If those feelings are addressed, the aftermath of that is mental clutter.

And when we procrastinate on tasks that take up space in the back of our minds, that is also mental clutter.

How Can You Clear Mental Clutter?

Tip 1

My first tips is to sit with your emotions. We have to start by noticing our thoughts. I know, sounds crazy. But when you declutter a physical space in your house, you find things you didn’t know where there. Same goes for your thoughts. You have to remove those thoughts from your head before you can clear that clutter. Resolve those conflicts. Listen to your feelings. Set boundaries. And forgive yourself.

Tip 2

Journaling and brain dumps are another helpful tool to clearing mental clutter.

A brain dump is a process where you just write down all your thoughts onto paper. To do a brain dump, set a timer for 10 minutes. And use a pen and paper (not a keyboard) and write all you have in your head. No judgement. Just write. The first few times you do this, it feels weird. But push through that feeling and just start writing. Sometimes I end up doodling which leads to more things coming out. But keep your pen moving.

When you use pen and paper (not a keyboard) your brain is able to process what is being written down which will allow that to leave your head if your brain doesn’t feel it is needed anymore. It is like your brain is checking off a box on a checklist once you write down what you are thinking.

Neuroscientists have done extensive brain research on typing vs. handwriting, and your brain processes better through pen to paper. There is more activity in the sensorimotor parts of the brain which opens up the brain to declutter your mind easier than typing.

You can also do journal daily. Write thoughts, feelings, goals, anything you are thinking in a journal daily. You can ask yourself which of your thoughts have served you today, and which you can let go of at the end of every day so you get a good nights’ rest.

So by writing out things using pen and paper, your brain is able to declutter itself because you are writing everything down and it can be processed by your brain.

Tip 3

Another way to clear mental clutter is using some alternative therapies. There are a lot of options out there, but my favorite is something called Emotional Freedom Techniques or “tapping”. It is where you tap on points on your face and body to regulate your nervous system. There is also a process called shadow work which focuses on accepting your past self. Reiki is a form of Japanese medical healing that using energy from the Reiki practitioners. There is also meditation. Pick something that you feel comfortable doing and can do continuously.

Tip 4

Limit over-stimulation. This means putting your phone away before bed. Setting time limits on your social media. And creating plans for how you are going to research a topic. When you reduce over-stimulation, your brain is able to process things. It can decide what is important and what isn’t. What you need to remember and what you can let go of. 

Tip 5

Finally, you need to clear physical clutter to clear mental clutter. I know this is a crazy tip. But when you start to declutter your physical space, your mental space opens up as well. These two go hand-in-hand. So try to keep your physical clutter to a minimum so your mental clutter can stay in check.

Other articles you may enjoy on clearing physical clutter:

Where To Start Decluttering When Overwhelmed?

Best Way To Get Your Entire Home Decluttered

Think Like A Professional To Declutter Your Home

How Can You Prevent Mental Clutter?

Start filtering the thoughts that are coming into your mind. If something comes into your head and doesn’t feel right, stop and ask yourself if this though will serve you today.

Another tool to prevent mental clutter from piling up is to keep information overload to a minimum. I like to give myself a deadline for answering a question. Maybe I spend 15 minutes searching then I stop. Or maybe I set the screen time controls for social media to 30 minutes a day. This way I can prevent information overload before it even happens.

Pay attention to negative self-talk. That is totally unnecessary mental clutter. So if you notice yourself saying negative things, replace that thought with 5 positive things. Stop letting negative thoughts create clutter in your brain.

Set boundaries for yourself. Remove yourself from toxic environments. Block people on social media who are making you not feel like a fantastic parent. I do this all the time. It is my feed so I control the content I get to see.

Schedule in downtime to recharge. It will help with the mental clutter because your brain can process things when you don’t have distractions constantly coming at you.

And just know that mental clutter isn’t something that will just magically go away. It is something you have to work on daily.