We spend our lives collecting. We receive gifts, we love to shop, and we inherit junk from friends and family. Our shopping doesn’t stop at malls and flea markets. We have the luxury of sitting in front of our computer, eyes glazed over, while we place Amazon orders. Everything from yoga pants to vacuum cleaners to bug spray shows up at the front door. Remember those kitchen implements that end up in the back of the drawer after one use?
Even grocery stores provide us with a place to find more clutter. They don’t just sell food anymore. You can buy small appliances, toys, and clothing. Yes, I said clothing – not Versace or Travis Mathew but still wearable.
The point is that we accumulate things 24/7, 365 days a year. It never stops. We buy and receive items that we don’t really need, and these objects are our eventual clutter. Don’t get me wrong. This is not a lecture; finding happiness in a new dress or a child’s toy is not strange or shocking. The trick is keeping it under control because clutter can produce tangible effects on your mental and physical health. That is why you need a place to store your clutter, and that place is a safe, secure, affordable self-storage facility.
Negative Physical Effects Produced by Clutter
Clutter increases your stress.
According to a study in The Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, people who live in cluttered homes full of unfinished projects have higher levels of the stress hormone, cortisol. Cortisol has been associated with greater chronic stress, disease progression, weight gain, and even mortality risk.
Clutter promotes 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, especially in a messy kitchen. You’ll grab anything just to make more room in the fridge. If your kitchen is tidy, you’ll be able to find healthy snacks.
Clutter triggers respiratory issues.
Cluttered homes are frequently dustier than orderly living spaces, especially when messiness makes it difficult to access certain areas. As things accumulate, more dust is generated, creating the ideal living environment for pests like dust mites. The harder it gets to clean, the more serious these respiratory issues can become.
Clutter jeopardizes relationships.
Clutter in the home can negatively impact the life of your significant other. To some people, the idea of parting with their belongings is distressing, and this can take a toll on
relationships. When you live with a person who values organization, this can get ugly. Spouses or partners who are bothered by clutter tend to be judgmental, angry, and irritable. They may resort to name-calling and hateful comments. Needless to say, this can create a toxic environment and an end to the relationship.
Clutter is isolating.
The condition of your home can inhibit your desire to entertain. You will eventually avoid making friends and begin to steer clear of social gatherings. Sadly, if you have children, they will react in the same way because they are embarrassed for the same reasons. They also feel the negative effects of a cluttered home.
Clutter threatens career goals.
People’s messy tendencies can also creep into their professional lives and impact job performance. A disorganized desk, filing system, or briefcase can inhibit your ability to focus thereby decreasing productivity and keeping you from moving forward with your career.
Clutter can encourage bad spending habits and create debt.
A cluttered environment makes it easy to misplace things like your child’s favorite toy or
your hairbrush. If you lose something, it can be easier to merely purchase a duplicate. If
this becomes a habit, you could end up with accumulated debt (and seven hairbrushes). 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. This can lead to late payments, additional fees, higher interest rates, and finally, collection agencies.
A Practical Solution is Self-Storage
You need to find a way to get this situation under control. 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. Use self-storage to solve the problem. The clutter is gone—not gone forever—but removed to a secure self-storage facility. 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. Our professional, caring staff will assist you in making a plan and discussing your options. Your mental and physical health depends on it.