Admit It: Your Clutter Is Making You Miserable
Decluttering appears to remain fashionable these days, even as the Marie Kondo craze appears to be cooling off a bit. Last December, her website was touting holiday merch you can buy to, you know, help you deal with the clutter you already have.
The average U.S. household holds over 300,000 items. A lot of this stuff spills into garages and rented storage spaces. About 25 percent of individuals with two-car garages can’t even park in them, and only a third can park in one of the two spaces.
Decluttering has been an issue I’ve been tackling for the past two years. Unfortunately, clutter afflicts many of us negatively. It’s made me miserable, and I know I’m not alone.
Clutter creates a vicious cycle. When we’re depressed or anxious, we neglect chores and household routines. That’s when the junk builds up. The pile-ups make us feel guilty, depressed, and anxious. When we feel this way, the last thing we want to do is clean. As the clutter gathers, we feel increasingly worse about ourselves and our living situation.
This vicious cycle manifesting as clutter is like water in a slow-boiling pot. Clutter accumulates so gradually that we’re not aware of it until the stuff gets in our way, takes up valuable space, and makes us feel awful about ourselves. Here’s more about what this vicious cycle might look and feel like.
Overstimulation
Extra things sitting around the house become added stimuli for our senses — through sight, touch, maybe even smell and taste. Excess clutter means overstimulation, which causes our senses to work overtime to take in the things lying around. This can make us feel mentally exhausted — too exhausted to pick up after ourselves.
Lack of Focus
The overstimulation from clutter can make us feel unfocused. With all these visual stimuli vying for our attention, it’s hard to concentrate on what’s important. Some people swear up and down that a cluttered desk is a sign of intelligence. I don’t buy it. Smarts are overrated if you can’t attend to one thing long enough to get it done or do it well.
Productivity Loss
Clutter can inhibit productivity, leaving one feeling sluggish and inactive. When there’s a mess on my desk, I’m less able to brainstorm, create, or think. Moreover, clutter can contribute to financial loss. For instance, cluttered workspaces can cause a company to lose the monetary equivalent of 10 percent of a manager’s salary.
Frustration
I often feel frustrated when I can’t find something I need like my keys, phone, or glasses. These items can get lost in other clutter. There might be a link between experiencing frustration and having the tendency to be messy. Furthermore, clutter-related frustration tends to increase with age . Among older adults, clutter problems might be connected to life dissatisfaction.
Stress and Anxiety
It can be more difficult to relax when there’s stuff piled up. I get stressed because I’m reminded of the cleaning and picking up I’m not doing. People who have cluttered homes tend to have heightened levels of cortisol, the stress hormone. Too much cortisol puts us in a fight-or-flight response, which is exhausting and contributes to unwanted weight gain.
Guilt and Embarrassment
For the first six months of dating my boyfriend, we never hung out at my place. He never brought it up, but when we would decide whose place to hang out at for the weekend, I never offered mine.
Here’s the ugly truth: My home was usually a wreck. I was too embarrassed for my boyfriend to see it.
I’m hardly unique in how mortified I’ve felt about my messiness. Twenty-four percent of homeowners are too embarrassed to leave their garage doors open. I bet you can figure out why . . . perhaps from personal experience? Don’t worry — I’m not judging.
Clutter can rouse some awful emotions, including guilt. Feeling bad about our clutter serves to isolate us from others. It’s like a dirty little secret. These negative feelings can spiral into some harmful thoughts: “I’m such a slob.” “I can’t have anyone over.” “I’m so unorganized!” “No one would ever want to visit me.”
Clutter can take its physical, mental, and financial toll. But we can do something about our clutter funk. And yes, you actually need to get off the couch and do something about it. But instead of pouting and acting like I’m asking you to clean your room, just try one of these suggestions.
The More the Merrier
Who says you have to declutter alone? If you have family or at least one roommate, get them involved in the pick-up. It doesn’t have to be the whole house. Just start with the room that everyone uses the most. When you finish, you can stop there for the day or keep going. Either way, it’ll feel like a small win.
Everything in Its Place
Clutter happens because the stuff we leave out doesn’t have a designated spot. Take a few minutes and focus your attention on just one pile. Assign a box, drawer, or surface where each item in that pile needs to go — permanently. It’s best to have “out-of-sight” spots like drawers and cabinets you can close, so you reduce the amount of stuff you leave in plain sight.
Get Rid of It
If you don’t use it, toss it or give it away. You know that sandwich holder with the snap-on lid you bought on Amazon that you haven’t used in 6 months? Make it disappear. Or regift it.
But you might ask, “What if I throw it out and all of a sudden I need it because I’m now bringing more sack lunches to work?” Well, just grab an old whipped cream tub and lid from the cabinet where you keep all those recycled plastic containers and lids, most of which don’t match.
Avoid the Paper Pile-up
Be mindful of every piece of paper you bring into the house. Junk mail, notes, and magazines can pile up quickly. Never set aside a document or piece of mail with the intent that you’ll deal with it later. You won’t.
As you’re going through a pile, decide immediately what you’ll do with each item you touch. Will you:
a) Throw it out?
b) Act on it?
c) Tuck it away in a labeled folder for your records?
Only allow yourself these three options. Again, never toss something aside without deciding right away what to do about it.
Clear Off the Workspace
Create an end-of-day ritual by clearing off your desk or work area. This habit can be especially effective if you work from home. After you’ve pulled out and used your notepads, pens, and paper clips throughout the day, the daily shutdown is the time to put it all back. It’ll only take a few minutes, and you’ll return to a cleaner, less chaotic work area the next day.
Have Fun with It
Maybe your mom tried to fool you into cleaning your room by saying, “It’ll be fun!” Mine knew better. However, you can take the sting out of cleaning up by putting on some lively music. Maybe have the TV on in the background. Listening to Ear Hustle, one of my favorite podcasts, makes clean-up time zip by quickly.
Decluttering should be a lifelong habit, not just the latest lifestyle fad. A few minutes a day can make a difference in removing the harmful effects of clutter in your home or workspace. See which of these strategies works for you. At least you’ll be less miserable.
Juliann Scholl, PhD, is a former professor and public health researcher who is now a freelance writer. She enjoys writing about wellness, travel, and making life changes.
Read more of her work at www.unsettledessence.com.
