Clutter brings out the worst in us.
And even if we don’t really notice it, the presence of clutter not only causes stress, but it also affects creativity, productivity, and even your spending habits!
So if you want to know more, then keep reading! We are going to tackle the negative effects of clutter to your life together.
I hope this motivates you to make the decision to eliminate the mess once and for all!
1. Stress, Stress, Stress
A research by the Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin found that clutter can be a source of physical, mental, and emotional stress as people who have clutter in their homes are more likely to feel tired, fatigued, and depressed.
We already talked about this a bit in a past article (that's how passionate we are about this, folks!!)
And what’s even worse is that it can also lead to heightened levels of cortisol (the stress hormone), which can keep you feeling lousy!
2. It Affects Your Self-Esteem
Your home is a representation of yourself.
Living in clutter can sometimes affect your self-esteem in a bad way because you may feel your friends and neighbors would associate untidiness with your personality.
And as a result, you will feel ashamed every time you’re dealing with other people, constantly thinking they're judging you for your cluttered home.
3. It Affects The Way You Treat Your Living Space
My mom always taught me that it's important to take pride in your home.
You should enjoy "retiring to your abode" at the end of the day, not feel stressed and overwhelmed after taking a step in the door.
Clutter has a way of making your home seem like a low-quality living space. This will in turn make you feel like you have to turn down visitors, fearing that they will judge you after seeing the chaos.
4. Less Efficient Thinking
Clutter can also affect the way you think.
In fact, it affects your decision-making abilities, your short-term memory, as well as your long-term capacity to retain information because you are so distracted with all the disorganized stuff that you have inside your home.
The to-do list feels never-ending and organizing isn't something easy you do at the end of the day -- it takes hard work and dedication.
5. Influences The Way You Spend Your Money
Clutter can also upset your spending habits.
You are likely to spend on things that you think you need only to find out that you already have them.
And you were not able to figure this out just because this thing that you need is covered with a pile of mess!
Everyone has the tendency to buy things they don't really need. There are so many occasions for it.
Stocking stuffers, birthday gifts, and a holiday once a week encourages a lot of accumulation. These items are often not practical either -- which is where the clutter thrives.
Things are seeming to become automatic these days and easier to handle online, but if you aren't keeping up with your mail or monthly billing statements, you could miss payments, incur additional late fees, have services cancelled or lose something sentimentally important!
So deal with the mess today and not only will you get rid of clutter, you will also take a weight off your mind -- that way, you can focus on the truly important things in life, like cookies ;)!
Talk soon,
Clutterless Home Solutions