How Clutter Can Affect Your Relationships With Those You Live With

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How Clutter Can Affect Your Relationships With Those You Live With

For many Australians, Christmas means spending time with friends and family, swapping gifts, and being grateful. For thousands of others, this isn’t the case, with many people not being able to afford the basic things we often take for granted. A simple dinner, warm clothes, or a roof over our head. This year, it’s time to do something about it. The good news? Not only will giving back help those in need, it can also help you de-clutter your home and life. Let’s take a look at how clutter can affect your relationships with those you live with.

How to really give back this Christmas

According to the Choosi Clutter Report 2017, 19.5% of Australians say instead of buying presents for Christmas, they prefer to give to charity. While it might seem unthinkable to have a gift-free Christmas, the difference you can make will more than make up for it. So rather than turning your clutter into money this Christmas, why not donate it to charities instead?

Turn your house upside down and collect all the items you don’t need anymore. This can be anything from furniture, electricals, and old clothes, to computers, mobile phones, old gadgets and books. Then, research some local charities (see below) to find out which ones are happy to take your donations.  

Aside from giving away old items around the house, you can also donate money to those in need. You might be astonished at the difference just $50 can make for a family in a third-world country, or even in Australia. But while money and donations make a huge difference, there are some creative ways of giving back this Christmas too – particularly if you can’t afford to be as generous as you would like.

Why not use your English skills to teach newly settled migrants or refugees? There are many volunteer programs dedicated to helping people gain the skills they need to feel comfortable in Australia. You could also visit sick children in a hospital, spend some time talking to the elderly at your nearest nursing home and volunteer at a local soup kitchen or food shelter.

The benefits of decluttering your home and life

The Clutter Report also found that 32% of Australians find giving things to charity as the best way to declutter their home rather than sell old items or throw things away.

From a health perspective, decluttering your home is incredibly beneficial. In fact, it’s been proven that living in a space that is overrun with clutter can have a negative effect on a person’s mind, which in turn can affect the way they live their life.

Either way, you look at it, it’s clear that charitable acts are a simple and effective way of decluttering your home – and by extension – your life. It helps you feel organised and positive, both physically and emotionally. Sometimes old, broken or unwanted objects can stir negative feelings, which is why letting them go can be the answer. Plus, if you’re giving things away to charity, it will give you a deep sense of joy that you’re helping people in need.  

Local charities to donate to or volunteer with

Don’t know where to start? Here’s a list of local charities to get involved with this Christmas:

The Smith Family


This year the Smith Family has set up a Stocking Exchange. Basically, this gives you the chance to invest in the futures of disadvantaged children by purchasing shares in Joy, Knowledge, Belonging, Reading or Maths, all converted into tangible support.

 

Australian Red Cross


By donating to or volunteering with the Red Cross, you can help people feel like they belong – through phone calls and visits to isolated and elderly folk, and offering one-to-one support to people struggling with mental illness or seeking safety.

 

Mission Australia  


By donating to Mission Australia this Christmas, you can help thousands of families and individuals struggling with homelessness, mental illness, addiction and employment.

 

Barnados Australia


Barnados’ Gift for Kids Christmas appeal gives you the opportunity to offer disadvantaged children what they truly want on Christmas – a gift.

 

Ozchild  


Ozchild’s Wishing Tree Gift Appeal teams up with schools, clubs, individuals and local businesses to collect Christmas gifts for vulnerable and disadvantaged kids.

So, in between all the celebrating and running around this Christmas, it’s worth sparing more than just a thought for the less privileged. Make this holiday season one of giving.

Shayen de Silva

Since I’ve been able to put crayon to paper, there’s nothing I’ve loved more than telling a good story.

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