How Clutter Causes Stress
It’s no secret that clutter causes stress in our lives. Clutter can be both physical and mental, and it can prevent us from feeling organized and productive, leading to stress and anxiety. Disorganization can significantly impact our mental health, whether it’s a cluttered home or a cluttered mind.
Impact of Clutter
Did you know there are scientific connections between clutter and mental health? According to Psychology Today, clutter can significantly impact our mental well-being. Here’s why mess leads to so much stress:
- Excessive Stimuli: Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli, causing our senses to work overtime on unimportant things.
- Distraction: Clutter draws our attention away from where it should be.
- Difficulty Relaxing: Clutter makes it harder to relax, both physically and mentally.
- Unfinished Tasks: Clutter signals our brains that our work is never done.
- Anxiety: Clutter makes us anxious because we’re never sure what it will take to get through the pile.
- Shame and Embarrassment: Clutter creates shame and embarrassment, especially when others unexpectedly visit.
- Inhibited Creativity and Productivity: Clutter invades open spaces that allow us to think, brainstorm, and problem-solve.
- Frustration: Clutter prevents us from quickly locating what we need.
Take Back Control
Organizing our physical and mental environment can help reduce clutter and stress. It can help us feel more in control of our environment and lives. Setting aside time to declutter our minds can also help reduce stress by allowing us to identify and address the worries and anxieties causing us stress.
Practical Tips to Declutter and Reduce Stress
Clutter is one of the most manageable life stressors to fix. Here are some encouraging ideas to get started:
- Get Help: Don’t tackle clutter alone. Get the family involved by starting with a room everyone uses and making each person responsible for a section. If you’re alone, start with one area at a time and finish decluttering that area before moving on to another.
- Designate Spaces: Create designated spaces for frequently used items and supplies to quickly and easily find what you’re looking for when needed.
- Let Go: If you don’t use it, don’t want it, or don’t need it, get rid of it.
- Maintain Order: When you remove something from its designated space, return it immediately after finishing it.
- Make It Fun: Put on some of your favorite tunes as you clean. The more upbeat, the better!
By organizing our physical and mental environment, we can reduce clutter and stress levels. Clutter causes stress, but it doesn’t have to be a permanent part of our lives. Embrace these changes and enjoy the peace and productivity of a clutter-free environment.
Related blog: How Decluttering Can Help Reduce Stress and Improve Your Well-Being
Let Us Help
If you need help and do not know where to begin, consider hiring Purge, LLC, to help declutter and organize your home. Let us implement our proven system to help you declutter and organize. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation to see how we can help you achieve a clutter-free life.