5 REASONS WHY CLUTTER is BAD FOR YOUr health!

Ever feel like things are weighing you down?
And no matter how hard you try, you just can't seem to shake it?
In this months blog I share 5 reasons why clutter can hinder your health and

the effects it can really have in your everyday life.

There's a fair chance you've probably heard about the hype of clutter free living by now and rightly so...

There are so many benefits that living a clutter free life can bring to our mental, physical and emotional health that can leave us with more time in our day, less stress and of course less mess 🏠  

So what exactly is this thing called clutter?

Clutter is to cover or fill (something) with an untidy collection of things.
It’s a collection of things lying about in an untidy state!

Clutter itself can cost you time, energy, diminish your health, productivity and efficiency.

In fact a messy home can make you more susceptible to colds and flus as well as stress and anxiety, just to name a few…

By having cupboards bursting with papers, to the kitchen sink overflowing with dirty dishes, can be the very distractions that can lead us to the constant visual reminders that stimulate cognitive overload which can reduce our working memory and impede our ability to focus.

It’s proven that clutter can have numerous negative effects on our health and here are 5 reasons why;

#1 It can leave you feeling anxious
Clutter can make it difficult to relax both physically and mentally.
​It constantly signals our brains that our work is never done which can make you feel anxious because your left living in a state of uncertainty of what it might take to get through to the bottom of the pile, day in day out.


#2 It causes stress
Clutter bombards our minds with excessive stimuli causing our senses to work overtime on stimuli that aren't necessary or important.
​Having these constant signals to the brain can lead to stress.
​
According to a study in the Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, people with cluttered homes were found to be more depressed, fatigued, and had higher ‘cortisol - stress hormone’ levels than those who described their homes as ‘restful’ and ‘restorative.

Clutter is nothing more than postponed decisions
- Barbara Hemphill

#3 It can effect sleep quality
Whether it’s your never ending to do list running around in your head, or those unmade decisions still to be made. 
Clutter can create overwhelm which can have an impact on your mental health and quality of sleep.
This can present in symptoms such as not being able to switch off at night before you go to bed, to  restless sleep patterns.

#4 It triggers allergies
Yep all that dust doesn’t do wonders for your respiratory system 🤧 
Having dust, mould, and debris that can gather over time in a cluttered space can have all sorts if effects on asthmatics and allergy sufferers in the home.
It can effect their ability to breathe and function at ease.

#5 It can cause weight gain
Having clutter everywhere can diminish your energy stores leaving you feeling tired, burnt out, and unmotivated.
It can trigger coping and avoiding strategies that make us more likely to snack on junk food or binge watch the next Netflix series which inevitably, can lead to weight gain.

All the more reasons to live a clutter free life, wouldn't you agree?

Creating the space to live a healthy life is important because it allows and assists you in making a clearer path to take action.

Here at The Organised Life Project I help busy working women that want to lose weight and create more time and space in their day to live a fitter, healthier life by setting up systems of success in their homes via in home and online decluttering and organisation services and products.

So if your feeling a little bogged down, and if this is something that interests you then click the link below to get in touch, and let's get underway to more time and space in your day 😊 

​Nicole x

CLICK HERE