Many people have experienced being in a cluttered environment. An environment where it seems like there aren’t any designated places for things.

You’ll find items on the floor, strewn about a desk, and papers clamored on a table. It’s a room in complete disarray. You might not have noticed it but the feeling of being in such a space can cause anxiety. And if you stay in it long enough, it can become an obstacle to reaching peace of mind.

Living in a cluttered space, or working in one, becomes overwhelming because the thought of having to rearrange and organize it seems impossible. You might feel like you don’t know where to start.

Psychologist, Sherrie Bourg Carter, penned in article in Psychology Today giving eight reasons how cluttered environments are able to affect our stress levels:

• Clutter overwhelms us because it causes excessive stimuli so our senses go into overdrive
• It distracts us from other things we’d like to focus on
• It makes it harder to mentally and physically relax
• It signals to our minds that our work is never done
• It also causes anxiety because we have to think about how we are going to clean everything up
• It can impede productivity and creativity
• It makes it harder for us to find what we need and takes up space for doing other necessary things on our list

If you lived amongst clutter, you’re likely to find these statements to be eerily accurate.

“Clutter can play a significant role in how we feel about our homes, our workplaces, and ourselves. Messy homes and workspaces leave us feeling anxious, helpless, and overwhelmed. Yet, rarely is clutter recognized as a significant source of stress in our lives,” Carter wrote.

Science also reveals that women are more likely to respond to clutter than their male counterparts. According to research at UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives and Families, women’s cortisol levels spiked when confronted with clutter.

Cortisol is a stress hormone.

Men, however, don’t have the same cortisol levels as women and are generally not as affected by the mess as women were.

But don’t panic anymore than you probably have been. There are some tips to help rid your environment of clutter that will set you on the path to a less stressed life!

• Get your family involved in cleaning. Have each member begin in a room, making everyone responsible for a section of the house. If you’re on your own, start in one space at a time before you move on to another so that you don’t get overwhelmed. You’ll feel more accomplished as you progress.
• Create a specific space for your items, specifically those that you use often. You’ll be more likely to keep the item in its designated space. It’s also best to keep items in closed spaces, such as in desks and drawers, so you don’t have to look at it. Looking at it only increases the visual stimuli that cause stress.
• Throw away things that you don’t use or that you don’t need. If you don’t use the item often, store it in a box and mark it. If you haven’t opened something or used it in a year, toss it!
• Put things back where you found them! Though it sounds easy, it takes time to get used to this.
• Clean up your mess after you make it. It will give you a nice sense of closure and will be clean when you return to it.
• Make it fun! Put on some music and get the job done!

Good luck, de-clutterers!

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Sources: Psychology Today, Scary Mommy, Parenting Isn’t Easy