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Did you know that studies prove that Clutter & Depression go hand in hand?
When clutter is weighing you down with the toys in the living room, beds unmade, and dishes left in the sink… these things make us feel mentally cluttered. It makes our homes look messy and it makes our emotions feel messy.
This newly updated post was originally published in 2017.
Clutter & Depression are linked
In the book Life at Home in The Twenty-First Century (This book was based on a rigorous, nine-year project at UCLA where middle-aged Americans are studied, watching how they use the space & things in their home), it states that clutter affects our mood.
I couldn’t agree more.
It affects our mood and how we feel about ourselves. This clutter, which is mostly things that we don’t even use, is weighing us down.
In the book, they found that there is a connection between the objects in the house & the stress hormone levels. More Clutter = More Stress. (Women were far more stressed by it than men).
Why? Women are judging themselves and others on the cleanliness of their homes. In their minds, a clean home meant a happy home. It made them feel accomplished and put together to have a well-maintained clean home.
When we start to have too much stuff, it can really put a weight on us. An emotional weight, but still a weight. It makes us feel like we have a never-ending list of things to do.
It makes us feel frazzled and in disarray. It makes our tempers high and our patience low.
Do you find yourself reprimanding your kids for not cleaning up? Or for no reason at all?
It is because you are overwhelmed by the mess of it all, but having too much stuff.
Do you know who feels our stress the most? Our kids. (It’s proven)
Why Does Clutter Make Us Stressed?
If you are thinking about how your house is cluttered… this is the time that you aren’t spending LIVING YOUR LIFE. Once you are able to free yourself from the burden of these extra physical things, the ones that seem to tie us down, we can let them go and have more time to spend enjoying life.
Your home is where you should go to relax. You can walk into a clean, fresh, sunlit home. You can walk into a home that welcomes you and invites you to feel joyful, renewed, and calm.
We are going to get there.
You can start by decluttering your home.
What Can You Do About Clutter & Stress?
If you feel like your clutter is causing you stress, what are you going to do about it?
You need to get organized. I have a declutter course that talks about how to declutter, clean & organize your home because I wholeheartedly believe that being organized saves my sanity. I’ve realized that you can not organize clutter. You have got to just get rid of it.
Did you know that over the course of our lives, we will spend an average of 3,680 hours (153 days) searching for misplaced items? This study found we lose around nine items every day (which ends up being 198,743 items over the course of our lives.)
The items on the top of the list are keys, phones, glasses, and papers. – Research & numbers come from The Daily Mail
You probably have too much stuff. Most of us do.
You can take a Declutter Course (clear your home of clutter with the support of others!) It’s the best thing I’ve ever done and thankfully it’s a way that others are able to declutter their homes, as well.
Why do people have SO much stuff in their homes? There are usually four reasons:
1- Sentiment: We don’t want to get rid of it and risk hurting someone’s feelings.
2- Fear Of Needing It: What if we want it ONE day? Will it come back into style? What if I want to make that fancy meal with that fancy appliance?
3- We have ‘backups’. I literally had two crock-pots for about three years. I had five cookie sheets… which was more than was even able to fit into the oven at one time. Why? It was my backup.
4. Aesthetics: We keep things to make our house look “beautiful” but we end up keeping more than we actually want (and it makes us feel worse because it clutters our homes.)
ARE YOU READY TO DECLUTTER?
Here are three options to get you started…
1- Join Our Free the 30-day Declutter Challenge. (Print the calendar to help you stay on track!) 
2- Print these Two Free Cleaning Schedule sheets.
3. Jump in with both feet & declutter the entire house with the Whole-House Declutter Course. You will declutter & organize your ENTIRE whole home with my help. It starts today, so join soon!
You Can’t Organize Clutter
No matter which option you pick, remember that you can’t just push your clutter under the rug. You’ve got to get rid of that clutter and there is no time like the present!
Don’t be afraid to let go of things in your home… they are just things. The people in your life matter more and when you get rid of the things in your home, you gain time.
You will stop looking for things, stop spending hours cleaning things and stop organizing by just moving things around, only to have to look for them later. Decluttering & organizing will save you so much time and you can finally spend that time on the things that really matter to you.
GET INSPIRED WITH THESE ORGANIZING TIPS!
1). This is how you can learn to LET GO of Clutter.
You may have written this some time ago now, but I’ve just found this post today. When I read your comment about having two crock pots for three years I smiled and nodded, knowing the feeling. We recently packed and moved and while my mother-in-law was helping me pack the kitchen I got down my crock pot box from the top of my cabinets (bc why throw away a perfectly good box? *rolls eyes since box went in the recycler after the move*) and it was heavy. I was like, “what on earth is in here?” I broke down in tears when I saw that my old crock pot was in there! Why had I kept it?! I didn’t even remember keeping it but knew immediately that I 100% must have thought, “oh, it might be good to have a back up one day…”
I come from a long line of clutter keepers. My husband and I spent many, many months cleaning out my grandparents house. The things they kept were unbelievable. And I see it in my dad too. My brother and I fight hard to not do the same thing.
Happy to have stumbled upon your site today. I have enjoyed reading some of your tips!
We have to be disciplined to free from clutter… If we can make the changes with us then the results will be surprising…
The moment I am reading this post, my son’s toys are decorating my room’s carpet. Huh! I need to get serious about my mental health.
I need help
Hello
I just was looking for someone to help my mother. She lives in Orlando, FL and I’m in Texas. She has cancer and other health issues. She lives alone and it makes me so sad I can’t help her. I visit a couple years at a time and try to help her clean up her mess, but she fights with me about it. She has tripped and fallen over things and although it’s not as bad as some I’ve seen before, she just can’t seem to throw simple things away. She really doesn’t have the energy to clean up alot either. I know she needs help and she wants to declutter but I think it’s gonna take some professional help. Thank you for your time.
Mrs. Lain
Oh, you are so right about clutter! I started a business helping young families decluttering as their children grow. We give our community a chance twice a year to bring their items to us and we sell them to other families. It allows us to reuse and recycle what was clutter to them and sell it at a fraction of the cost to a family who needs the items. I think it make sure to easier to part with things if you feel like you are getting them to someone who needs them. It is called Just Between Friends for more reference.
Since becoming disabled 6 yrs ago, my house has gotten “beyond my control.” I have always kept a very clean, organized home so this clutter is new to me and it totally weighs me down every single day. I moved a lot in my life so there were plenty of opportunities to reduce the load. I have lived in THIS house for 18 years, the longest I have ever lived in one place and every corner is full! I’m not a hoarder and my kitchen is always clean but every nook or cranny has something stuffed in it. I hope this program works. I’m desperate!!
Understand that it’s depression that causes the clutter in most cases. Depression comes first, followed unfortunately by low mood, low energy, and clutter. Then comes a vicious cycle. So if you are depressed, get help! Then your mood will improve and your energy will soar, and suddenly, no more clutter. Blessings!
How do you break yourself of being attached to items of your children? I can not physically or emotionally part with anything my little boys have used, worn, or made (ages 9 and 8). My stuff, I could probably get rid of most everything, but theirs is a different story. I’m a nervous type, a worrier unfortunately, and I know I have irrational fears at times. We’ve had 2 suicides in our family (very close to both) and both were male and each left behind a devastated (but strong) mother. I’ve never spoken to anyone about it, but I’m almost certain at least some of my issues stems from this because I was never like this before the first death. I know it’s not healthy for me, my little boys, or any of my family, but I have no idea how to overcome it…. I can assure you we don’t live in a “hoarder’s situation” because of limiting the stuff that makes its way into our home to begin with, but the holding on to everything once here is the problem….
I’m sorry- that is hard. I also struggle with getting rid of things. If it is meaningful, I just keep it, but if I have to really think about why we have it or when we got it, I get rid of it. For certain things, I’ve kept “memories” of them in a book: I have a book that is filled with pictures and notes. The picture is of the object that I want to remember and then the note beside it explains everything about it.
That might be helpful?
I used to be the girl who had a super neat and super organised apartment, work-space and life.
That was in my 20s. Fast forward to career growth (increasing responsibilities), starting and growing a business, extensive travel, marriage and 3 children (2 teens and an 8 year old) and I have built up a mountain of clutter that I have been ‘to busy’ to attend to (read procrastination and a level of indiscipline!).
I can relate to the overwhelm, depression and God speaking to me (so many times!) to tend my home.
I am finally listening and starting (again!) to declutter TODAY for at least an hour a day.
The goal is minimalism where I keep only what I need, put things away daily and declutter every 6 months.
Looking to have gone through every item and every room by November or earlier.
Can’t wait to regain order, beauty and freedom in my work and living spaces!
It’s true, every time I clean my house I am surrounded by peace and feel much more content than in an overwhelming mess