Clutter and How It Affects Your Mental Health

Do you ever go to find something and become frustrated because you have to sift through a drawer of things to locate the one item you need? Most of us have a "junk" drawer in the kitchen filled with fast food straws, batteries and birthday candles. But how do you know if the clutter in your home is affecting your mental health? In this episode, we will look at the psychology of clutter, how it manifests with mental health issues, what type of treatment works and signs and symptoms that you might have a problem. We'll also talk about tips and tricks for clearing out some of your clutter and organizing your home. If you have any feedback, questions or comments please reach out to us at [email protected]   Show notes: Saxbe DE, Repetti R. No place like home: Home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Pers Soc Psychol Bull. 2009;36(1):71-81. doi:10.1177/0146167209352864 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/0146167209352864 Bodrij FF, Andeweg SM, Prevoo MJL, Rippe RCA, Alink LRA. The causal effect of household chaos on stress and caregiving: An experimental study. Compr Psychoneuroendocrinol. 2021;8:100090. doi:10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100090 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2666497621000643?via%3Dihub Cutting JE, Armstrong KL. Facial expression, size, and clutter: Inferences from movie structure to emotion judgments and back. Atten Percept Psychophys. 2016;78(3):891-901. doi:10.3758/s13414-015-1003-5 https://link.springer.com/article/10.3758/s13414-015-1003-5 Vartanian LR, Kernan KM, Wansink B. Clutter, chaos, and overconsumption. Environment and Behavior. 2016;49(2):215-223. doi:10.1177/0013916516628178 https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916516628178 Sorrell JM. Tidying up: Good for the aging brain. J Psychosoc Nurs Ment Health Serv. 2020;58(4):16-18. doi:10.3928/02793695-20200316-02 https://journals.healio.com/doi/10.3928/02793695-20200316-02   Archadhaa, S., & Basu Arnabh. (2021). A Case of Clutter and Chaos. The Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 209(7), 481–483. https://doi.org/10.1097/NMD.0000000000001319