Why You Should Purge: Less Mess, Less Stress

Originally published Feb 5, 2018

You may have seen articles being shared on Facebook to the tune of "My house is messy, but I don't care" or "A messy house doesn't mean I'm a bad mom". While you may not care about your mess and while mess certainly doesn't make you a bad parent, the clutter in your home is affecting you.

Think of it this way: it's not about other people, it's about you.

And, if you are a woman, it's affecting you more than the males in your life.

Researchers affiliated with UCLA's Center on Everyday Lives of Families (CELF) found that "Managing the volume of possessions was such a crushing problem in many homes that it actually elevated levels of stress hormones for mothers". (More HERE)

Here are some of the things clutter does to you, from Psychology Today:

1. Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren't necessary or important.
2. Clutter distracts us by drawing our attention away from what our focus should be on.
3. Clutter makes it more difficult to relax, both physically and mentally.
4. Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done.
5. Clutter makes us anxious because we're never sure what it's going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile.

It seems to me that this could be called the Clutter Catch-22: clutter will stress you out and you'll be distracted and anxious which will make it hard to get around to cleaning the clutter.

So, it'll take some extra effort to purge and declutter but it will be worth it.

1. Tackle de-cluttering as a family.
2. Create designated [closed] spaces for frequently used items and supplies so that you can quickly and easily find what you're looking for when you need it.
3. If you don't use it, don't want it, or don't need it, get rid of it.
4. When you take something out of its designated space to use it, put it back immediately after you're finished with it.
5. Create a pending folder.
6. Don't let papers pile up.
7. De-clutter your primary work space before you leave it.
8. Make it fun!

For more on these tips, go to Psychology Today: Click Here.

Image: Pixabay