What Is Clutter?
Clutter is:
- What would be regarded as messy
- Creates difficulty with movement
- Causes a sensory overload
- Is chaotic in nature
- Makes it difficult to find what you are looking for
- Overfilling of a space
Clutter can be physical, mental, emotional, or spiritual. It can also cross through multiple of these things. With physical clutter often leading to mental and emotional clutter, hence why decluttering has become a bigger thing in the modern world.
How Does Clutter Create Anxiety And Negative Mental Health Effects?
Clutter can seem OK to some people, though cause greater offence to others. How it creates anxiety and negative mental health effects lies in the thoughts that go through people’s minds when they observe it, or live in it.
Clutter forces you to expend more energy, and greater focus when looking for things, moving around a cluttered environment. As such it increases stress levels. With anxiety also coming from concerns about being able to move through a place safely, without breaking things. Whilst also creating anxiety over concerns about finding things that you are looking for.
When living in clutter, a background level of stress can become constant, depending on personality. For most people, living in clutter causes stress even when they are just sitting with clutter around them. Rather than their mind being able to relax, focus is drawn to what surrounds them, and where different things are.
Clutter has the effect of increasing stress for those around it, plus increasing anxiety levels for those moving or searching through it.
Why Are Clutter And Higher Levels Of Stress And Anxiety So Common Now?
One of the things which has happened with modern architecture is the decrease of storage space within homes and work environments. Of course, many have moved into paperless working, with most invoices and correspondence being done electronically now.
However, there are still numerous files, children’s toys, memorabilia, household items, and other things that still need storage. Even clothing can contribute to clutter as we place jackets on sofas or chairs having arrived home from work.
Reductions in dedicated storage space within homes and work environments have led to increased clutter. With other life pressures causing us to be less inclined to tidy up, largely as we just want to stop and relax most of the time.
As such, doing a proper tidy up, and decluttering our environment becomes something that is put off. Thus leading to increased stress and anxiety as a result.
Reducing Stress And Anxiety With Ease Through Having Enough Storage
The simple answer for how to reduce anxiety and stress in your life therefore becomes about having enough storage.
When you are able to clear out of your home or office the thing that you rarely use, you naturally gain more control over those environments. Items that were rarely used cease to take up space, giving you better freedom of movement, and the option for easier storage of things you do use commonly, but just wish to have out of sight.
By clearing out, thus creating a less cluttered environment, your level of background stress can reduce. The level of anxiety coming from your environment also reduces as you have less causing concern from moment to moment, even on an unconscious level. helping deal with anxiety and stress in a great way.
What Should Go Into Storage To Reduce Stress And Anxiety?
First on the list for anyone wanting to reduce the level of stress and anxiety they are experiencing, are things which they rarely, if ever, need but wish to keep.
This can include furniture, clothing, mementos, books, records, toys, electronics.
Furniture and old clothes can be especially good to go into storage units. Items like arm chairs, or other furniture which make rooms more cramped, are good to place in storage. The reality is, people hold onto a lot of things which they do not really have room for at home, placing themselves under greater stress as a result.
The more you can put into self storage, that you don’t regularly need, the more relaxed you will be in the environment that you are clearing. Be that home or office.
Packing materials are readily accessible that enable you to keep your things in the condition they are in prior to going into storage. Plus, with self storage units being easily accessible, you can easily drop them around to your unit and collect what you need again, or conversely, switch items with something else you feel you don’t need now.
The sooner you clear your environment and put things into storage, the sooner you can relax.
One wonderful thing about modern self storage facilities is that they have various storage unit sizes available. So whether you have a 4 bedroom house or a studio flat which is in serious need of decluttering, there is an appropriate level of storage available for what you need. Both in terms of storage space, and budget.
Have a good look around your environment, think carefully about what you need, what you will never need, and what would be best to put into storage so you can release stress and anxiety, and relax more.
While throwing things away can be good, even if upsetting. Putting things into storage can be equally good, and also far less stressful emotionally. With self storage you get to keep cherished items, and you also get to keep those things out of sight. Self storage creates a balance which is easier for you to live with.
So, have a look at the storage options available, check out your ease of access to various storage facility locations. Then take action and create a life with lower stress and anxiety, you will be glad that you did.
