Clutter & Mental health

Exploring the effects of clutter & mental health

Jun 05, 2023

Dear hermit,

When we think about the priorities we hold within our lives, cleaning out clutter would probably not rank top among all the other things that revolve around our lives. Yet when we find clutter everywhere within our homes, our workspace, & also our phones; we would feel a sense of anxiety, chaos, unhappiness, sadness, and depression which may domino and spill into the other important aspects of our lives.

Why do we feel this way? What is clutter and how do we get rid of it? In this newsletter, we’ll be exploring some of the hidden link between the clutter we own and how it may affect our mental health.

What exactly is "clutter"?

The word "Clutter" is often defined as items that are strewn about in an unorganized manner. Clutter, in general, is a collection of items that people accumulate in their homes that they don't necessarily use but keep anyway.

What could be clutter to you?

We could use the Four D’s strategy whenever we’re trying to decide whether something is cluttered or if it actually does belong in a space.1

Don't use
The first D stands for “Don’t Use.” Items in your home that you don't wear, use, or enjoy in some way is a potential clutter. What your clutter may tell you is that it may be time to get rid of an item if the particular item no longer adds value or meaning to our lives and had served its purpose.
Duplicate
The second D that helps you learn how to get rid of clutter fast stands for “Duplicates.” If you own more than one of something, you can easily let go of a duplicate item without feeling any emotional need to keep it.
Dislike
The third D stands for “Dislike.” It is when you own something you dislike, you tend to not use it anymore or less of it, so you may as well get rid of it as it holds little attachment or value to you. An example may be if you don’t like a particular item because it doesn’t function well.
Damaged
Lastly, while learning how to declutter your home, look for anything that falls under the fourth D which stands for “Damaged.” You should never hold onto things that are broken, chipped, or otherwise damaged to the point where they’re no longer functional. When the item is no longer functional, it is no longer able to serve its purpose anymore and would eventually become a dead weight that's lying around within our living spaces.

assorted-type hand tool lot — Photo by Ashim D’Silva on Unsplash

Clutter & Mental Health

While clutter impacts your physical space in the most obvious way; some people don't realize that while accumulating a few extra possessions may not seem like a big deal, having clutter in our lives can hurt our mental health if kept unchecked. Clutter can increase stress levels, hinders our ability to focus, take a toll on relationships, and more.

Although not everyone is affected by clutter in the same way. For instance, someone with perfectionist tendencies is likely to be more stressed out by clutter. But, by becoming aware of how much clutter you have and whether you experience any stress as a result, you'll be better able to discern if there's an opportunity for you to modify your physical space and improve your mental health.

Increased in stress levels

A home is ideally a place where we can unwind and relax; however, having clutter around could make it hard for us to relax especially if there's a constant stream of things to pick up around inside of your home. Often, it would leave us feeling stressed and anxious about it. Objects have the power to influence us into feeling a certain way.

One study found that women who reported more clutter in their homes had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol throughout the day compared to women who had less clutter. 2 In fact, when working couples gave tours of their homes, women who used more words describing clutter and disorganization also tended to show levels of the stress hormone cortisol, suggesting chronic stress. On the flip side, those who described their homes as being restful or talked about their beautiful outdoor spaces were less stressed and reported less sad feelings as the day went on.

Difficulty Focusing

Having clutter in our homes can be distracting as our brains are designed to only focus on a limited amount of stimuli at a time. Clutter can also make it harder for us to think clearly and be effective at processing information. A study by Princeton University researchers discovered that clutter can make it difficult to focus on a particular task. More specifically, they discovered that a person's visual cortex can be overwhelmed by objects not related to a particular task, making it harder to focus and complete projects efficiently.3

Procrastination

Research shows that people with cluttered homes tend to procrastinate on important tasks.4 To the brain, clutter represents unfinished business and this lack of completeness can be highly stressful for some people. This fact is especially true when people have significant concerns pressing in on their lives. You might have to start digging through the stacks of papers to pay the bills, or maybe you have so many piles of dirty clothes that it feels overwhelming to start the laundry.

Lower Quality of Life

Clutter can easily lead to a nearly constant feeling of frustration as you struggle to complete daily tasks. The time we spend looking for the objects we need or attempting to organize the items we owned could be time spent with loved ones, doing some self-care, or even just relaxing.

woman lying on bed — Photo by Kinga Howard on Unsplash

Why do people have clutter?

While some of us may chalk it up to laziness, there's an underlying psychology behind the clutter and disorganization that keeps people from tidying up.

Potential reasons people hold onto clutter include:

Feeling overwhelmed
It's often a huge chore to get rid of things, which can be both mentally taxing and physically exhausting. In the short term, it feels easier to just keep the things around us as status quo as it requires minimal to no effort to just maintain things the way it is.
Object that reminds us of important things
People keep clothes that don't fit anymore because they're hoping to lose weight. They hang on to old brochures for cruises because they want to travel. However, keeping objects that remind you of your goals doesn't make you any closer to achieving what you want.
Objects have sentimental value
People keep objects from childhood that they associate with fond memories.5 If a loved one passed away, it's often hard to throw away their possessions.
Fear of letting things go
People are often afraid of feeling guilty about throwing away items that may hold a sentimental value to them. Also, the thought of not being able to get something back once they've gotten rid of it can be frightening. What if they need it later on?
Finding comfort with possessions
It wouldn't be so hard to get rid of things if material items didn't benefit people in some way. People's possessions, even if they don't use them, often bring a sense of safety and security that can be painful to let go of.

How do we declutter?

assorted-color apparels — Photo by Sarah Brown on Unsplash

Getting started on your decluttering journey can feel overwhelming, especially when there are many possessions that you owned. Your entire home doesn’t need to be decluttered within a day, or even a week. Fret not as skyscrapers aren't built overnight either.

Dedicate the time

No doubt, decluttering your entire home is a daunting task. But what if you tried breaking up your time into manageable blocks? Maybe it's better to dedicate a little bit of time, be it just 15 to 20 mins or an hour if you could afford the time, every weekday evening to decluttering a single section of your home. Remember, the little things we do matter though they may seem insignificant initially, little things eventually add up to great things. Similarly, you probably didn't accumulate all of your possessions overnight either, so chances are you're not going to declutter everything in one day either.

Reduce items

It can be overwhelming to decide which items to get rid of, what I could recommend is that we use the 4Ds method as mentioned to decide if the items are to be considered clutter or aren't. Alternatively, you can try to sort the items into four different piles. The first pile is the things that you keep, the second that you would give away or donate, the third would be the items that you want to get rid of, and lastly, the fourth pile is items that you aren't certain about on what to do with it which you can decide on a later time.

It is often easiest to start with items that can be thrown away such as food that is expired, old cosmetics, or any items that are broken and beyond repair. You might want to look up some recycling facilities near you to ensure items are properly disposed of too.

We could also ask ourselves whether the item has been used within the last year. If the answer is no, we can safely donate it without missing it. Donating items away can help ease the anxiety you may be feeling as you part ways with your preloved items to realize that you are giving them away to someone else who would value them better.

There's also the option of selling items that are in good condition or brand new in a box. You could try to organize a garage sale, listing them up on an online marketplace, or bring items to pawn shops or thrift stores to be able to earn back some money from selling your items, which can be the extra motivator you need for tidying up.

Organize

Try to organize items based on what is essential and what you would use every day. At the same time, you'll want those items to be easily accessible to you, for example in the top drawer of your kitchen cabinet that you use often. Take small steps as you organize and while doing so, you can consider buying storage containers and organizers where it's needed. However, do be careful not to buy too many as it would bring us back to where we started in our journey with clutter. The idea here is to be organized while reducing the number of clutter in our living spaces.

Maintain a clutter-free space

It's just as important to maintain your decluttered home as it is to declutter it in the first place. The key is consistency. Once again, you may find it helpful to dedicate regular time to tidying up. For instance, you might spend 10 minutes at the end of each day putting things back where they belong.

Before you make future purchases, you might want to be mindful to double-check that you don't have a duplicate or a similar item that you've owned. Also, consider how often you would utilize the item if you were to have purchased it.

A clean, decluttered room can help you feel more at ease and in control of your environment. By being mindful of what we decide to bring into our living spaces and also the items that we have let go of, you are honoring your space and benefitting your mental health.

Final thoughts

To sum it up, let us be kinder to ourselves by taking care of the living spaces that we spend time with. Decluttering and tidying are a type of self-care practice that you can do for yourself and to honor the living spaces around you. As decluttering can be quite a chore at times and it might seem like a lot to do and may feel overwhelming, let's try to be kind to ourselves too while at it. Do remember to practice some self-compassion too. You can only achieve your decluttering goals with much time and patience. Do reward yourself too after each cleaning session, for it may help you to persist over time to achieve the long-term goal that you may have set.

Do share with us more about your decluttering adventures. Perhaps you may have a long checklist of items to clear. Or perhaps a before-and-after comparison makeover. The sky is the limit & get creative with the process! :)

The Hermit Collective

Discussion about this post