Here's Why The Clutter In Your Home Could Be Causing You Anxiety

Feb 13, 2018

Coming home to a messy house after a long day at work or school is frustrating. Dishes are sitting in the sink, unopened mail is littering the table, the couch is covered in laundry that still needs to be folded. A home suddenly turns into a mess when you have less time for chores. 

It's enough to drive you crazy. 
 

But there's a reason you're feeling so overwhelmed by the mess in your home. Studies suggest that a cluttered home actually causes anxiety. 

According to Psychology Today: 

"Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves. Messy homes and work spaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives."

 The study was conducted by Sherrie Bourg Carter Psy.D., who shared the following 8 reasons for clutter creating so much stress:

• Clutter overwhelms our minds with stimuli, which causes our senses to work overtime.
• Clutter distracts us from what we should be working on.
• Clutter makes it difficult for people to relax physically and mentally.
• Clutter signals to the brain that work is never done.
• The thought of cleaning the clutter makes us anxious from thinking about how long it could take.
• Clutter creates feelings of guilt.
• It inhibits our creativity and productivity by invading the place where we think critically and problem solve.
• Clutter frustrates us by making it difficult to locate things quickly.

The good news is that there are simple steps you can take to tackle the clutter in your home.

Carter offered several tips for preventing your home from becoming too cluttered again, and how to effectively use your time to clean up the mess.

1. If you have a family and the clutter has taken over your entire house, then get everyone involved to do their part. Start with one room and assign a section to each member of your family. If you live alone, work on one room at a time. You will feel a greater sense of accomplishment.
    
2. Create space for items you need often so they're easy to find when you need it. The best solution is to keep them in a "closed" space so they're not always visible and adding to the clutter.
    
3. Throw out everything you don't need or want anymore. If you use it on rare occasions, store it in the garage or a closet away from the rest of the house.
    
4. When you take something out of its designated place, put it back as soon as you're done with it.
    
5. Create a "pending" folder to keep documents and papers in that you're not sure if you need or not, and be sure to toss the ones that are trash.
    
6. Get into a habit of cleaning your workspace before you leave it. This will not only give you a sense of closure when you leave, but it'll be nice to return to a clean space.
    
7. Make cleaning fun! Put on your favorite upbeat music or an audiobook. No one said cleaning had to be boring!

Of course clutter isn't just limited to your home. Our minds can often feel messy and chaotic, and it's tough sorting through all of our thoughts. Carter's advice for dealing with mental clutter is to focus on one task at a time without any distractions like a cellphone or email. It's amazing what you can achieve if you block out all the noise distracting you from reaching your goals! 

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