Put That Clutter in Storage and Get on With Your Life
Is your home so cluttered that you don’t even notice the mess anymore? Is your social life suffering because you can’t open the front door? Does your environment look like a contender for “Hoarding: Buried Alive”? If you answered “yes” to any of these questions, it’s time to take action. This is not good for you or your family. Do you know that uncontrolled clutter can cause stress, overeating, and, yes, even jeopardize relationships.
As hard as it may be to believe, excessive clutter can actually produce tangible effects on your mental and physical health. It’s time to get this situation under control. Read below to see how too much clutter can affect your health and destroy relationships.
The Ugly Truth About Clutter
Clutter Elevates Stress Levels
According to the The Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, people who live in cluttered homes have higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, than those who live in restful, uncluttered environments. Cortisol has been associated with greater chronic stress, disease progression, weight gain, and even mortality risk.
Clutter Encourages Overeating
Dr. Eva Shalhoub explains that because clutter is stressful for the brain, you’re more likely to resort to coping mechanisms such as choosing comfort foods or overeating. You’ll grab anything just to make more room in the fridge. If your refrigerator isn’t stuffed with spoiled, unappetizing leftovers, you’ll be able to find those healthy snacks.
Clutter Can Cause or Worsen Allergy/Respiratory Issues
Cluttered homes are frequently dustier than orderly living spaces, especially when messiness levels make it difficult to keep your home clean. As things accumulate, more dust is generated, creating the ideal living environment for pests like dust mites. Excessive moisture, the cause of mold and mildew, promotes the growth of bacteria and viruses and impacts respiratory health. Anyone in the house, with or without allergies, can experience eye, skin, nose, throat, and lung irritation. The longer the space is unclean, the more serious these respiratory issues can become.
Clutter Can be Isolating for the Entire Family
According to Susan Krauss Whitbourne, Ph.D., “Living in clutter impedes your identification with your home, which should be a retreat from the outside world and a place to feel pride.” A cluttered home can inhibit your desire to entertain. You will eventually begin to avoid social gatherings because your house is a mess. Sadly, children can also feel the negative effects of a cluttered home. They can be prone to elevated levels of distress and have difficulty making friends because they are embarrassed by the condition of their home. This, alone, should encourage you to clean up.
Clutter Can Threaten Relationships
Clutter in the home can can undermine relationships because of the negative impact on one partner. We all have certain mementos that we just can’t throw away: that high school letter jacket or that well-loved stuffed animal that your child carried everywhere. That’s understandable and acceptable. But when you multiply that by hundreds, it becomes obsessive and unmanageable. To some people, the idea of parting with any of their belongings is psychologically distressing. Spouses or partners who are bothered by this clutter tend to be judgmental, angry, and irritable. They may resort to name calling and negative comments, the end result being a shattered relationship.
Clutter can Torpedo Your Budget and Create Debt
A cluttered environment makes it easy to misplace things, like a particular kitchen implement or a child’s favorite toy. If you lose something, it’s easier to buy a duplicate. If this becomes a habit, you could end up with accumulated debt and multiples of the same item. If you aren’t a fan of paperless billing and online banking, a cluttered home can also make it challenging to locate bills and bank statements. They’re probably in the sofa cushions or under a pile of clothing. This can lead to late payments, additional fees, higher interest rates, and ultimately, collection calls.
Clutter Can Interfere with Your Career Goals
People’s messy tendencies can also creep into their professional life and impact job performance. A disorganized desk, filing system, or briefcase can inhibit your ability to focus and decrease productivity, keeping you from moving forward with your career and probably ending your employment.
The Self Storage Solution
One way to save your health and sanity and get this situation under control is with a safe, secure self storage unit. The bottom line is that everything has its place. Getting rid of physical clutter can be emotionally devastating to certain individuals, but there is a strategy. Don’t just relocate your possessions to another area of your living space. Store them.
Self storage is your practical solution. Locating a secure, affordable, convenient storage facility will resolve this problem. The clutter is gone—not gone forever—but removed to a secure self-storage facility where it will no longer negatively affect you and the people close to you. You can visit your belongings any time, but you don’t have to live with the mess and chaos.
Give us a call today. A professional, knowledgeable staff member will be happy to help you develop a customized plan for your belongings.
