I have seen the psychological effects of clutter on people’s lives; The Hidden Cost of Clutter : And How to Break Free it gets hold of you like an addiction. Clutter can significantly impact our mental health, making us feel anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed, as psychology suggests. However, clutter is often overlooked as a source of stress in our homes and workplaces.
Its mental effects cannot be overemphasised. I witness the suffering of people whose stress can often get out of hand, which may lead to a more serious form of hoarding. I experienced this when we were approached by the London council borough. They were looking after a client who was keeping almost everything, and the house had become very cluttered.
While we acknowledge the emotional attachment to our belongings, there are times when we must let go to avoid falling into the pitfall of a cluttered life. The situation had become so severe that the council was concerned the client was at risk of injury due to the clutter.
From Chaos to Calm: How a Tidy Environment Fuels Inner Peace
We devise a plan on behalf of the council to help the client slowly get back on track
To get started, choose a place and divide items into three piles: keep, donate or sell, and discard – like expired products. You might come across things that can be repurposed, but save that DIY for another weekend.
Decluttering is not just about throwing things away; it’s about finding ways to organise everything you want to keep. As you move from one room to the next, think about useful things that bring you joy and trigger happy memories.
If you struggle to decide which items to keep or let go of, ask yourself whether they bring you joy or happy memories. If the answer is no, it’s time to bid them farewell.
However, if the answer is yes, and you need assistance in relocating them from one place to another, it’s time to consider storage to bring order into your life, at least for a time, while you deal with the emotional and psychological aspects of the transition.
We successfully implemented the strategy by working with the council representative to determine what to store, donate, and dispose of. This has helped the client gradually refocus and learn how to live a stress-free life. The Hidden Cost of Clutter : And How to Break Free is a rewarding transformation that anyone can achieve by taking one step and dedicating time and effort to see it through.
Clutter overwhelms our senses with excessive stimuli, such as visual, olfactory and tactile stimuli, causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren’t necessary or important and making it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
Fortunately, clutter is one of the easiest stressors to fix, unlike other commonly recognised sources of stress, such as jobs and relationships. Here are some ideas:
Finally, I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out that clutter doesn’t only apply to our physical environment. Mental clutter can be just as stressful, if not more stressful, than physical clutter
You’ll be amazed at how much more you’ll accomplish when focusing on a project without allowing anything else to get in the way. While I recognise that’s hard to accomplish today, it’s doable—and I think you’ll agree, well worth the effort once you see how much you get done and how great you feel about it once the task is complete
