A messy home is a stressy home
In this post, organiser Diana Spellman, Founder of Serenely Sorted, shares the results of her fascinating research into the connection between clutter and stress.Distracted. Annoyed. Anxious. Unhappy. Can't relax. Irritated. Stressful.These are just some of the feelings evoked by mess stress.Back in the Summer of 2019, my mess stress had reached a point where I knew something had to change. I resented all the time I was spending tidying at the weekends. Because nothing ever seemed to change – the house would be back to ‘mess town’ in what seemed like minutes.
This mess stress really affected me. I worked from home, so I couldn’t get away from it, either because I could see it while I worked, or the nagging voice in my head was reminding me of all the piles I needed to sort. Because I had a lot of piles! I sometimes felt better if I merged several piles into one mega pile, but the problem was just getting bigger.
It may not affect you, or your clients, in an obvious way as it did me. It may be just a niggle, or something you just can’t put your finger on, but it stops you being able to relax fully at home – the place that should be our haven.
Mess stress affects us all
My recent Kantar survey* found that the feelings I was having back then are not at all uncommon. In fact, 82% of us have experienced ‘mess stress’ at some point in our lives, with nearly half (44%) at least weekly. This figure is higher amongst women, and starkly, 98% of parents of young children have experienced mess stress, with 71% experiencing it at least weekly.  Even 72% of those who define themselves as ‘naturally tidy’ had experienced mess stress. Mess stress gets to us all.“It makes me feel anxious and I can never rest as I am always thinking I need to tidy my home - never feel content fullyâ€