Good for you! One of the primary ways that clutter affects your mental health is that cluttered spaces make you feel more stressed. The Dangers Of A Messy Desk - Forbes Just like its impossible to multitask, its also impossible to focus on just one thing when you are surrounded by a thousand different objects. What you can do: Clear your computer desktop . The most essential thing is to keep everything in good condition and arrange it properly. Clutter sucks up your time. They think that you must be a slob in your real life." This comes after a report last year by OfficeMax that found that office clutter undermines productivity and. It makes us feel worried, dissatisfied, and unproductive. Having an excessive amount of clutter in your house may be not only unpleasant, but can also be a safety hazard. 2016). FREE list of 100+ things to declutter today! How Clutter Impacts Your Family | Blythe Building Company The Negative Relationship Between a Messy Desk and Productivity Time is the one resource that we cant get any more of no matter what we do. That's so great! And this can happen in the kitchen more than any other room in our homes. Clutter can also affect our general mental health, making us feel stressed, anxious, or depressed. Clutter is something that should never be underestimated. Clutter and mental health. Do regular exercise. Consider the fact that my desk is as clean as a whistle! However, if the threat is unremitting, particularly in older or unhealthy individuals, the long-term effects of stressors can damage health. Difficulty focusing on tasks and relationships. In a culture that celebrates multitasking, think about what we could do if we gave our bottom-up processing a break? If you've ever noticed, this activity is a drain on your energy. They were raised in a small community in the south where they were taught to work and be creative with what was on hand. According to the study Interactions of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Mechanisms in Human Visual Cortex by Stephanie McMains and Sabine Kastner, bottom-up and top-down processes compete with each other when processing visual stimuli. For me Even as a teen I was never a messy person but the older I got the more calm I needed in my life. You are not alone. But before I get into my findings, let me give you a quick refresher on the definition of clutter. Read more: 10 Highly Effective Habits To Create a Distraction-Free Environment When Working. That's a great way to stay motivated and positive as you clear out your teaching supplies. If you have kids, they too can feel the negative effects of a cluttered home. I culled my home, my schedule , my phone apps my wardrobes, my mind and my finances. The Dangers of Hoarding | Address Our Mess the effects and causes of clutter in more traditional settings, coming to the findings that clutter can have significant both affective and cognitive effects on consumers, and that clutter itself is . But it doesnt mean we should continue to accept our current situation. It's not just your physical health that is in trouble; a cluttered house can actually create a negative mood, less activity, anxiety, and depression. Declutter your sentimental items without feeling guilty. There are many negative effects of clutter. Pick the one that best suits your personality and your home. and we can be of help to one another in our home and let go of some old hurts. I mention this as there are bloggers advising to keep items put away out of sight, but if your home doesnt have an office or a garage, for example, you make do. As economies feed off our consumerism, obtaining more things becomes the goal in life. As you begin to see the different ways stuff and clutter are stealing from you, use it to fuel your motivation to clear the clutter. It may result in a decreased quality of life as well as increased stress. Every item in your home takes some of your space. "Clutter is bad for your physical and mental health," Gilberg says. Wow, what incredible intentionality youve applied to your life. I think keeping your "why" at the forefront of your mind and working away at decluttering one small step at a time sound like great things to do. Brilliant article. Health Effects of Clutter - Tara Parker-Pope - The New York Times Not even having your home as a place to retreat to escape the stress of daily life. As a result the four of us have had our own issues with collecting and saving things. One of the major psychological effects of clutter is that it's often mentally debilitating, especially to children and adults with ADD or ADHD. Thank you for helping me get a mental take on things. We occasionally link to goods offered by vendors to help the reader find relevant products. For example, when your body is on high alert, cortisol can alter or shut down digestive and reproductive systems that are getting in the way. Wed rather take care of problems as soon as they arise rather than allow clutter to accumulate around us. Studies have drawn links between procrastination and indecision with clutter. Its a blog post. On a daily basis, we may think our extra stuff is just an annoyance, but on a larger scale, the negative effects of clutter are increasing our stress and anxiety, contributing to unhealthy habits, and ultimately limiting our potential. The dark side of home: Assessing possession 'clutter' on subjective We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. 4. start and finish clearing the clutter from your life! These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. If clutter can have negative effects on our adult brains, its easy to see that our children may also be feeling the effects on a disorganised and messy environment. All of which makes it hard to focus and can interfere with your productivity. And can even lead you to accumulate debt. . I am so happy this post was able to give you some inspiration. Having more things can mean having more stress. This looks bad, I never have the time to tidy everything up, Ill take care of this tomorrow, maybe on Sunday, maybe next week. No one wants to be stolen from. This can lead to raising carbon dioxide levels which can be very dangerous as the hoarder might not notice difficulty breathing until it is too late. This research investigates a "dark side of home," created when the experiential quality of home is compromised by 'clutter,' defined as an overabundance of possessions that collectively create chaotic and disorderly living spaces . Or are they? How Clutter Affects Your Brain (and What You Can Do About It) - Lifehacker Negative effects of clutter are spreading, are you aware of it? This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. In the research paper titled: The dark side of home: Assessing possession clutter on subjective well-being, clutter is defined as an overabundance of possessions that create chaotic and disorderly living spaces. Starting each day with dread or anxiety over the stuff in your home is a terrible feeling. If you want further resources, you can check out the books I recommend here and here. Your home should be a serene sanctuary and not otherwise. I've met people whose lives are being squeezed out by the number of belongings they have. Im making many assumptions, connecting dots and setting goals for each section. Houses should be a sanctuary and feel serene. Clutter isolates you. I can relate to the challenges of competing processes, as my ability to focus is much easier when I have fewer stimuli to distract me. But regardless of our job or lifestyle, we tend to spend a significant amount of time at home, so its important that we dont inhale too many dust particles. In the decluttering process, many people get stuck because they dont want to let go of items they paid too much for. Then we end up spending more time moving it and storing it to end with sorting it and finally decluttering it. Then finally, the clutter stays in your home and your Display clutter can have differential effects based on environmental factors, such as workload, stress, and experiment paradigm. Minimalist tips for decluttering to help you feel lighter, focused and empowered. We would be more reflective creative and set meaningful goals. Without a doubt, clutter can leave you feeling anxious, stressed, and even depressed. This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. Join a community of like-minded people, like Simplify & Declutter, where you can find support and encouragement in your journey to have a decluttered home and life. Hopefully, after seeing the results from these studies, youll finally have the motivation to take action! In other words, we are assessing the content purely as our sensors perceive it. Hi Latreil, I have no doubt the changes youre about the make will create a new canvas for the next phase in your life. If your house looks beautiful, you will feel better about yourself; this is especially true if you work from home or spend a lot of time at home anyway. Before you can begin to declutter, you need to be able to define what clutter is in your home. spend a lot of time managing and taking care of all that stuff. Or notifications are going off on your phone when youre trying to read a novel. How you feel in your home matters. Clutter has shown to be a disadvantage to personal, family, and commercial success. And definitely not peaceful in your home. In the same way, during the colder months, those who are sensitive to respiratory disorders such as asthma should avoid being near mold that has formed as a result of excessive moisture generated by an excessive amount of unventilated clutter. Stress affects us in so many ways, increasing blood pressure, slowing digestion, even interfering with sleep. Its easy to just feel an overarching sense of frustration or overwhelm without considering the specific negative effects of clutter in our lives. If you havent already, consider if its time to quit stuffing your house with clutter. I am encouraged! Reading your articles has really encouraged me tonight to make sure my WHY is front and foremost as I work through one or more projects a day. Your email address will not be published. Feeling unmovable but restricted in your own home should alert you already. The Negative Effects of Clutter and How to Fix It Often, the best things in life are on the other side of your fears. Clutter may be damaging to your productivity, as well as your whole self-image if you live and work in an unorganized environment. Thanks for reading :), Thank you from the bottom of my pile of junk. STRESS AND HEALTH: Psychological, Behavioral, and Biological All of these negative effects of clutter add up to impact your overall well-being and quality of life. People living in cluttered homes are more likely to make less healthy food choices because the clutter causes them to feel stressed and overwhelmed. Clutter makes work much more difficult. There is a constant commotion that never stops, with an out of control banging of thoughts that can leave them feeling nervous, worried, sad, or troubled. Some items we buy are things that we love and use and perhaps even simplify our lives. It has been regarded as an exterior symptom indicating a more serious interior problem. This does not imply that you will treat your valuable possessions any less kindly than you have in the past. Our stuff actively takes from us, all the time. Research Into the Negative Effects of Clutter And good for you! - I'm passionate about helping other people find the same freedom and joy simplifying has brought to my family and I. Decluttering can help you find joy and peace in your space again. What do you want to accomplish? Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Finally, procrastination is also associated with a wide range of other issues that can occur as a result of unnecessary delay, such as increased clutter and increased regret. Among . In extreme cases, the habit of accumulating things can degenerate into hoarding a compulsive disorder in which someone keeps collecting objects and cant get rid of any material possession. Negative Effects Of Clutter Clutter Affects Your Mental Health If you have messy cupboards, piles of paper clutter, and overflowing counter spaces around the home this can have a very negative effect on your mental health. Fear and anxiety can feel paralyzing. 10 Annoying Clutter Problems and Simple Solutions For many people, a cluttered home can negatively impact their mood, leaving them feeling stressed, cranky, anxious and unhappy. It has the potential to do damage to every aspect of your life, including your home and workplace. The impact of clutter on our cortisol levels and focus are just a few of the many adverse effects of clutter. (Cortisol is a stress hormone that has a host of negative long term impacts on human health like insomnia, stomach ulcers, irritability, and lowered immune system function.) Your perception of the coffee you ordered would be dependent on whether youve had coffee from this cafe before, if you intended to order a cup or a mug, and how this coffee will make you feel to start your day. Safety issues as a result of clutter can also lead to other problems including: Lowered Productivity Levels Disorganized placement of pallets, shrink wraps, and other materials in the warehouse aisles are safety hazards, but they also impact the throughput rate of every warehouse worker, which affects the profitability of the site. It is no longer a sanctuary or peaceful place for you to retreat to in order to rest, relax, recharge and find peace. I didnt sit with the regret though. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". I am a retired teacher and haven't been able to let go of a lifetime of teaching treasures.