Don't Miss Out on these 23 Health Benefits of Decluttering

Need a little extra motivation to reduce your clutter? These health benefits may be just what the doctor ordered:

Build muscle. Squatting down to find more junk to purge and lifting those donation boxes are sure to increase strength and build up those muscles.

Maintain a healthy body weight. Running up and down the stairs to find more stuff to chuck and digging through those bins of junk can burn a lot of calories.

Improve circulation. Reaching up into those cupboards and collecting items from all over the house to take to the donate box can really get you moving.

Calm your nerves. With less visual distraction and no longer looking for lost items you'll probably feel a lot more calm.

Skin. With all this removing junk you'll probably even break a sweat, which will help cleanse your pores and give you that healthy glow.

Brain benefits. By spending some time focusing on decluttering you may be able to turn the rest of the world off for a while and find yourself in a meditative state that can help to manage stress.

Vitamin intake. If you can actually find what's in the back of your fridge or freezer, you may have a better chance of actually remembering to cut up those fruit and veggies you picked up before they spoil. And if you also happen to have outdoor clutter you can even reap the benefits of vitamin D while you're clearing up your yard.

Increased agility. After you've removed a lot of junk you'll probably want to dance the jig. Dancing is a great way to increase your agility, flexibility and coordination.

Sinus relief. Less stuff means less dust collectors.

Lung protection. By reducing your clutter you'll help to reduce the likeliness of mold growth in your home, especially in basements or on porous surfaces, like, cardboard boxes. And, hey, you might even draw the curtains and open some windows now that you are no longer trying to hide your cluttered space.

Save your gut. You can help prevent food-borne illnesses by keeping your cooking area clear and therefore easier to sanitize. And if you get rid of those past-due products or really old leftovers hanging around in your refrigerator you may reduce the chance of someone accidentally eating them.

Vision. With less clutter there should be less irritants and allergens floating around that could potentially irritate your eyes. Plus, you won't need to strain them so much with less papers to sort through.

Germ reduction. You'll have less things to keep clean and therefore have more time clean what you do keep. And, as a bonus, there will be less cluttered places for any disease-carrying vermin to hide.

Heart. We get more by giving than by receiving. If you have something just sitting around collecting dust you could pass it on to someone in need and it will be sure to make your heart happy.

Blood pressure. By having less junk around you'll reduce the likeliness of your blood pressure increasing as soon as your friends or family drop by unexpectedly.

Increased social interaction. With a less cluttered space you'll probably be more likely to invite friends over and, heck, you may even want to throw a party to celebrate and show off your accomplishment.

Hormones. There's something about cardboard boxes filled with clutter that spiders seem to be attracted to. Reduce your chances of experiencing the fight or flight response, which can send your hormones into a tailspin, by eliminating those places that creepy crawlies love to reside in.

Better sleep. After all this exercise and having less stuff to worry about you'll probably enjoy a more restful sleep. And you may not have to wake up quite as early because you'll actually be able to find what you need in the morning.

Hearing. You'll give you ears a break from all the arguing about who put what where.

Ease your throat. You'll have less nagging to do if family members actually have the space to put things away.

Reduced injuries. By having less clutter, you'll remove all those trip hazards, prevent accidents and maybe even save yourself a trip to the emergency room.

Back strength. With all you've accomplished you will hold your head high, your back straight and no longer slouch in embarrassment.

Positive outlook. After you've seen that you can actually do this and the world won't come to an end without that thing you might need one day, you may experience an increase in confidence and readiness to repeat this process. Appreciating those items that you do really want to keep can be a reminder of how fortunate you just might be.

So what are you waiting for? The sooner you start decluttering the sooner you can enjoy a healthier you.

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(This is not actually meant to be real health advice but more of a funny spin on decluttering motivation, although I must say that I actually have experienced many of these benefits throughout the purging process. If you have existing health issues you may need to consult a physician before embarking on any activities that would be outside of the norm for you.)

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