ArticleHow Clutter Affects Our Mental Health

Piles of unworn clothing, unused furniture and other junk can do a lot more to us than just take up space. We live in a materialistic society that tells us we need to collect more and more things. And before you know it, our homes are cluttered, leaving us feeling stagnated and stressed out.

We tend to attach emotions to our belongings due to consumer impulses, emotional attachments, past memories, sentimental keepsakes or fears of getting rid of things. Throwing your things away can actually feel painful, or as if you are losing a piece of yourself. We often hang onto things with the thought that they might be useful later on in life. But this isn’t the case most of the time and they just add onto our mental and emotional stress.

What is Clutter?

Clutter is defined as something untidy or a space overfilled with objects. It can also mean being in a state of confusion. In reality, clutter means much more than just being untidy. Clutter can also refer to emotional and mental baggage. While we can hold onto unnecessary objects, we also tend to hold onto mental and emotional clutter like resentment, old habits or messy relationships.

What are the Impacts of Clutter on Mental Health?

Physical, mental and emotional clutter can add to stress and low energy as well as unclear thinking. Clutter can make it hard for you to get things done, find what you need and live in an orderly manner. When we spend endless amounts of time trying to find everyday objects like our keys or a certain pair of pants, it makes us stressed, and this negative energy builds up over a long period of time. It can potentially take away the time we have to take care of ourselves.

Excessive Clutter

When physical clutter builds up so high that it becomes excessive, this can threaten to mentally and physically entrap a person in dysfunctional homes. This causes personal distress and feelings of displacement and loneliness.

Your home should be a place where you feel safe, where you can unwind and feel relaxed. But when it is filled with clutter, it can make you feel as if your home is your enemy rather than your sanctuary. This can affect your overall well-being.

Removing Clutter from your Life

You might have spent tonnes of money on organizers, to-do lists and organizational items just for things to not improve or find that you still feel cluttered within your mental state. Why does that happen? The reason might be because you are still holding onto emotional baggage.

To start reducing the clutter in your home, start by taking out the trash. Then sort through your wardrobe by season and store away anything you won’t be using. Make sure everything in your home is visible so you can avoid buying two of the same things. To maintain this, do a little bit of cleaning each day.

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