How a Clutter-free Home Contributes to Your Well-being

We’re all familiar with clutter and messiness one way or another. It’s that thing that happens when you lose control and you wind up with a disorderly heap of things all around the house.

What you may not know is that clutter actually affects your well-being, your health, and even your productivity a lot more than you know.

Various different studies done on both clutter and hoarding have shown that they do have negative effects on our psyche.

Today I want to discuss most of those negative effects so that you are aware of what you’re risking when you allow your physical possessions to get out of control.

Stress

The very first bad thing clutter does for us is that it increases our stress levels. People with cluttered homes are more depressed, fatigued, and more stressed than people who keep their home clean, organized and restful.

This is because messiness is a sign of an equally messy mind. If organization is truly not your forte, you really do need to make a habit of it if you want to keep both your mind and your home straight.

Diet

Clutter can also affect the way you eat, which means that if you’re following a diet, messiness can lead you towards more unhealthy food than an orderly environment. This according to a study done by Psychological Science.

This is because clutter is stressful, which means that you’re more likely to turn to unhealthy coping mechanisms such as overeating, and even smoking or binge drinking.

Relationships

If you don’t live alone, clutter won’t only affect you, it will also affect your relationship with others, whether that’s friends, family, or significant others. It won’t only affect your relationship with them, it will also affect them personally, the same way it affects your well-being.

Clutter will have a negative effect on your romantic relationship because partners can express their frustration in unhealthy ways, such as anger, irritability, and judgment, creating a toll on the relationship.

Clutter also affects your children, and it can be isolating as well. It’s highly likely that you feel ashamed of your home, which means you’re less likely to invite people over. This reduces all those incredible opportunities for bonding that contribute so much to our happiness.

Productivity

If one of the main focus in your life is your work, clutter can affect that as well. Clutter can happen in the workplace as well, which means it can easily affect your productivity, your creativity, and clutter at home can affect your punctuality, your mood, and increase your anxiety.

Chaos won’t allow you to focus the way you need to in order to get your work done, so a desk littered with things will definitely affect your productivity and your ability to reach your goals for the day.

These are only a few ways clutter can affect your life, so if you feel that your spaces are getting out of control, it might be time for a de-cluttering session!