Clothes throughout the room, dishes in the sink, stuff everywhere… Clutter not only makes our rooms look bad and messy, but it also makes us feel bad and stressed too.
And this is scientifically proven. Namely, researchers from UCLA found that there is a definite link between clutter and stress.
Researchers at UCLA looked at the connection between 32 families and the objects they had in their house. It turned out that clutter really does have a deep effect on our self-esteem and our mood in general.
They also found that:
– The more piled up dishes in the sink, the more stressed out the woman feels.
– The more cluttered stuff around, the more anxiety there is in the woman’s heart.
– Those families who wanted to declutter were emotionally paralyzed when it came to sorting out the objects that held an emotional value to them. They just couldn’t break their attachment to them and believed they might have hidden value.
“Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves. Messy homes and workspaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives. Fortunately, unlike other more commonly recognized sources of stress, clutter is one of the easiest life stressors to fix.” – Psychology Today
So, why is clutter so stressful and a trigger of anxiety? Here are 8 reasons for this according to psychologists.
– Clutter takes our focus from things that are important to us.
– It makes us feel anxious and overwhelmed because it exposes us to many insignificant stimuli thus inflicting extra work to our senses.
– It sends a signal to our brain that our work is not finished.
– It makes it very difficult for us to relax physically and mentally.
– It makes us worry about how we are going to tidy up all the mess.
– It obstructs our creativity and productivity.
– It makes us feel guilty for lacking organizational skills, and at the same time embarrassed when someone pays us an unexpected visit.
– It makes us frustrated when we can’t find the thing we are looking for in all that mess.
So, there you go. It seems that the reason for your anxiety might be hidden in the clutter of your home. If you too are going nuts seeing all the mess in your home, it may be time to declutter and save yourself from more stress.
