Recent studies have shown that the average person has 3,370 cubic feet of their home packed with items that they rarely or never use. Blinds Hut have conducted a survey to find out how clutter is affecting people and how they deal with it. They found that over 82% of people’s mood is affected by clutter in some way.
We contacted 3 clutter experts including Ben Edwards as seen on ITV’s This Morning, explain how clutter’s impact on our senses makes it difficult to focus on important or difficult tasks, invading both our physical and mental space, stopping us from thinking creatively and productively.
According to Cath Hiddle, an organiser and decluttering expert from Clear the Clutter, “clutter isn’t often recognised as a source of stress, but it can make a major impact on our health and wellbeing:
- As well as overtaking our physical space, clutter can overtake our minds as it causes our senses to work overtime to try to process what needs to be done.
- Following on from this, it is then difficult to focus on tasks as clutter is distracting.
- It can cause frustration when items can’t be located quickly or easily.
- Clutter creates anxiety when people feel that they are unable to get on top of it or get to the bottom of the pile.”
You can tell a lot about a person from their home; if they have a minimalist, clean house, this often means that they like to keep their thoughts organised too. However, it could mean the opposite! This could mean they have a lot going on in their head, and this is a way of counterbalancing that. Meanwhile, people who may feel they haven’t got a lot going on in their lives might hoard as a distraction technique”.
One of the reasons that clutter builds is because it can be hard to let go of an object. As well as the exercise you get from cleaning your home regularly, a study at Indiana University recently found that cleaning your home lowers stress and fatigue levels as when you live in a messy home, you are subconsciously reminded of work that needs to be finished.
Clutter’s impact on our senses makes it difficult for us to focus on important or difficult tasks and can invade both our physical and mental space, which stops us thinking creatively and productively.”
Your wardrobe is perhaps the best example of the kind of life you lead when it comes to clutter. Clothes tick all the boxes when it comes for reasons to keep hold of them: they can be sentimental, you might be able to fit back into them in the future, the item is barely worn and is seen as a waste of money, they suit a certain event or occasion, you’re keeping the item “just in case” or an item was a gift and you feel guilty about throwing it away.
If you’re thinking about beginning to declutter, Cath Hiddle of Clear the Clutter suggests “As with most projects, it’s probably a good idea to start off small. Pick a drawer or cupboard and start with that to ascertain how easy you find it to sort through your belongings and decide what is important and whether you can sort and organise them in a logical way that works for you.”
Help someone to declutter by sharing this visual:
<img class="wp-image-10365 size-full" title="How does Clutter affect your Health? [Infographic] | ecogreenlove" src="https://ecogreenlove.files.wordpress.com/2018/10/10262018_clutterhealth.png" alt="How does Clutter affect your Health? [Infographic] | ecogreenlove" width="760" height="5970" /> Visuals by <a href="https://www.blinds-hut.co.uk/blogs/main/how-does-clutter-affect-your-health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Blinds Hut</a>
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