How Clutter Impairs Our Lives and Cognitive Abilities

Most of us have lived through the following scenario or something like it.

?The morning light filters through dusty blinds, casting accusatory shadows across your bedroom floor. It's 7:43 AM – already thirteen minutes behind schedule. Your heart pounds as you wade through a sea of discarded clothing, searching for that one black blazer you desperately need for today's presentation. Somewhere in this textile typhoon lies the perfect outfit, but time is slipping away like sand through your fingers.

?In the kitchen, last night's dishes tower precariously in the sink while your keys and wallet play hide-and-seek beneath a scatter of unopened mail, takeout menus, and your children's art projects. Every surface tells a story of postponed decisions, of "I'll deal with this later" promises piled up like the papers themselves. The morning's chaos is a symphony of frustration – your daughter can't find her favorite cereal bowl among the overcrowded cabinets. At the same time, your son's homework has vanished into the black hole of the living room coffee table.

?The garage has become a museum of good intentions. Exercise equipment purchased during New Year's resolution fervor stands guard over boxes of holiday decorations from three seasons ago. Your car sits in the driveway, exposed to the elements, because its rightful shelter has become a storage unit for "someday" projects and "maybe we'll need this" items. Catherine Roster, professor of marketing, University of New Mexico, has spent almost two decades researching clutter - or "excessive acquisition" - and people's difficulty discarding things. Her research shows that more than half of all garages in the country are not being used to park cars - instead, to store the residents' clutter. If you live in an apartment, your designated storage space resembles a game of Tetris gone wrong – bins stacked upon bins, each containing memories and necessities alike, now inaccessible behind a wall of forgotten possessions.

?Racing through breakfast, you snap at your children to hurry up, immediately regretting the sharp edge in your voice. Their morning dawdles aren't the real problem – it's the suffocating weight of disorganization that's really making you break out in cold sweats. As they slowly chew their cereal, you spot your daughter's permission slip for tomorrow's field trip somewhere in the paper jungle. Another item for your mental load.

?The real gut punch comes at 9:15 AM when you sit in the conference room. Your presentation materials—meticulously prepared over the weekend—are still on your home office desk, buried under a landslide of documents, sticky notes, and good intentions. Your laptop, containing the backup copy, is likewise entombed beneath the archaeological layers of your domestic paper trail.

?This isn't just about missing keys or misplaced documents anymore. It's about the invisible tax that clutter levies on our minds and souls. As our world spins faster, demanding ever-increasing productivity, social engagement, and digital connectivity, we respond by accumulating more—more stuff, more commitments, and more digital clutter in our inboxes and phones. Each item carries its own gravitational pull of deferred decisions and actions postponed.

"I'll sort through it this weekend" becomes the mantra of the modern age, whispered in homes across the globe as piles grow taller and spaces grow smaller. But what seems like simple procrastination is actually a complex web of psychological weights. Every item we keep "just in case" or "to deal with later" isn't just taking up physical space – it's occupying mental bandwidth, draining our cognitive resources like a thousand tiny vampires feeding on our attention and peace of mind.

?The truth lurking beneath our clutter is both simple and profound: Our physical chaos often mirrors our internal state. Each postponed decision to organize, each delayed choice to simplify, compounds our material disorder and mental turbulence. The cost isn't measured just in lost items or late arrivals—it's calculated in stress hormones, strained relationships, and the quiet erosion of our well-being.

?Why Do People Have Clutter??

While some blame laziness, the underlying psychology of clutter and disorganization keeps people from tidying up.

Potential reasons people hold onto clutter include:

• They feel overwhelmed: It's often a huge job to get rid of things, which can be physically and mentally exhausting. In the short term, it feels easier to keep things the same.
• Objects remind them of important things: People keep clothes that don't fit anymore because they hope to lose weight. They hang on to old brochures for cruises because they want to travel. However, keeping objects that remind you of your goals doesn't make you closer to achieving what you want.
• Objects have sentimental value. People keep objects from childhood that they associate with fond memories.9?If a loved one dies, throwing away their possessions is often difficult.
• They're afraid to let things go: People often fear?feeling guilty?about throwing things away (especially, as mentioned, if the object has sentimental value). Also, being unable to get something back once they get rid of it can be scary. What if they need it later on?
• They find comfort in their possessions: It wouldn't be so hard to get rid of things if material items didn't benefit people somehow. People's possessions, even if they don't use them, often bring a sense of safety and security that can be painful to let go of.9

?The Physiological Response to Clutter

?Clutter can negatively affect our physical well-being. One of the most significant physiological responses to clutter is increased cortisol levels. Cortisol, often called the stress hormone, plays a crucial role in our body’s stress response. Elevated cortisol levels over extended periods can lead to various health issues, including weight gain, sleep disturbances, and weakened immune function.

?Clutter can significantly disrupt our sleep patterns. A cluttered bedroom can create a sense of unrest and make it difficult to relax and unwind before bed. The visual stimuli of a messy room can keep our minds active when we should be winding down, leading to difficulties in falling asleep or supporting quality sleep throughout the night.

?Clutter can also impact our eating habits and weight management. Studies have shown that individuals working in cluttered spaces are likelier to choose unhealthy snacks and overeat than those in organized environments. This may be due to the increased stress levels associated with clutter, as stress often leads to emotional eating and poor food choices.

?Living in a cluttered environment can also lead to physical fatigue. The constant visual and mental stimulation from clutter can be draining, leaving us feeling physically exhausted even when we haven’t engaged in strenuous activity. This fatigue can further contribute to a cycle of clutter, as we may lack the energy to tackle the mess, which leads to more accumulation and additional stress.

?Living a Minimalist Lifestyle

?Greg McKeown, in his book, Essentialism: The Disciplined Pursuit of Less , argues “Essentialism is more than a time-management technique. It is a?systematic discipline?for discerning what is absolutely essential, then eliminating everything that is not, so we can make the highest possible contribution toward the things that really matter. By forcing us to apply more selective criteria for where to spend our precious time and energy, the disciplined pursuit of less empowers us to reclaim control of our own choices, instead of giving others the implicit permission to choose for us.Essentialism is not one more thing to do. It’s a whole new way of doing less, but better, in every area of our lives.”

His book was followed by scores of other books and programs such as Goodbye, Things: The New Japanese Minimalism, ? Minimalism: Live a Meaningful Life and Digital Minimalism: Choosing a Focused Life in a Noisy World. And the famous The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing? by Marie Kondo.

?In an article by Kristen Fuller, MD, she argues that clutter “goes beyond mere messiness. It's the accumulation of disorganized items that you keep but rarely (if ever) use. It can manifest physically in your home or digitally on your devices.” She says:

?"Signs You Might Have a Clutter Problem:

• You own items you never use (like ill-fitting clothes or outdated electronics).
• You maintain a "junk drawer" filled with items you think you'll need someday.
• You buy replacements for items lost in your house.
• Certain spaces in your home are inaccessible due to accumulated items.
• You avoid having guests over due to messiness.”
• Your digital space is overwhelming (endless unread emails or chaotic computer files).”

?Albert Einstein once joked, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, then what does an empty desk signify?" While this quote might be humorous, modern research suggests that the impact of clutter on our brains is no laughing matter. Neuroscience reveals that environmental chaos may be one of the most underestimated factors affecting our cognitive performance and mental well-being.

?Clutter is not just a physical disorder—it encompasses:

·????? Physical clutter: Visible disorder in your environment.

·????? Digital clutter: Overwhelming information and disordered digital spaces.

·????? Mental clutter: Accumulated thoughts, worries, and incomplete tasks.

·????? Temporal clutter: Overbooked schedules and poor time management.

·????? Social clutter: Overwhelming social commitments and digital connections.

?In a 2016 study published in the?Journal of Environmental Psychology excessive clutter was found to harm?subjective well-being .

?As shown in recent research, what is not as evident is the negative impact of clutter on our brain’s cognitive functioning.

?How Clutter Affects Your Brain

?Clutter Competes for Your Attention

Our brains are hardwired to notice everything in our environment, so when a space is cluttered, each object vies for a slice of attention. Even if you think you’re ignoring the mess, your brain still processes it in the background. Researchers from Cornell University discovered that clutter creates a “crowded brain.” This crowding increases cognitive overload and decreases working memory. Divided focus can lead to exhaustion, irritability, and mistakes in chaotic spaces.

?Brain imaging studies have provided fascinating insights into how our brains process and respond to cluttered environments. Functional MRI scans have shown increased activity in the visual cortex when participants are exposed to cluttered images, showing that our brains work harder to process these complex visual stimuli.

?Clutter affects the brain’s processing of visual stimuli in several ways. In cluttered environments, our visual system becomes overwhelmed, decreasing our ability to focus on specific tasks. This visual overload can contribute to feelings of stress and anxiety as our brains struggle to filter out irrelevant information and focus on what’s important.

?Clutter Leads to Decision Fatigue

?Elizabeth Sander and colleagues published a study which shows that clutter contributes to decision fatigue. Each item you encounter requires a choice: should you read, file, or toss it? When there’s a mess, this decision-making process repeats with every item in sight, overwhelming your brain with tiny choices. By lunchtime, you may already feel mentally drained. This fatigue can affect work and other areas of life, affecting relationships and financial decisions.

?Clutter Causes Stress

Clutter isn’t just tiring; it’s stressful. A study by Darby E. Saxby and colleagues has shown that cortisol levels are higher in mothers with cluttered homes, suggesting that clutter can trigger a mild but constant fight-or-flight response. When too many things surround people, stress levels rise. A mess sends a subconscious message to your brain that something needs attention.

Each pile of papers or stack of dishes reminds us of unfinished tasks, building subtle anxiety over time. This low-level stress can gradually increase, leading to burnout. Chronic stress isn’t just mentally exhausting; it takes a serious toll on our health.

?Clutter Hurts Productivity

?Many believe we “thrive in chaos,” but studies suggest otherwise. The National Association of Professional Organizers estimates people spend a year searching for lost items. Time spent looking for things in a mess detracts from energy better used elsewhere. Clutter creates a frustrating cycle in which work piles up, delaying projects and contributing to physical and mental clutter.

?Clutter Impairs Our Memory Systems

?Research has also shown that clutter can reduce our working memory, which is crucial for holding information in our minds for short periods while we process or manipulate it. In cluttered environments, our working memory is partially occupied with processing the excess stimuli around us, leaving less ability for essential tasks or problem-solving.

?The cumulative effect is cognitive overload. When our brains are constantly bombarded with excess information and stimuli, it can lead to mental exhaustion, reduced productivity, and increased errors in our work. This overload can also contribute to the development of?brain fog , a state of mental confusion, forgetfulness, and lack of focus.

?Strategies for Decluttering and Improving Brain Health

Given the significant impact of clutter on our brain health and overall well-being, it’s crucial to develop strategies for decluttering and maintaining an organized environment. Here are some practical tips for reducing physical clutter:

• ? Start small: Begin with one room or even one drawer to avoid feeling overwhelmed.
• Use the “one in, one out” rule: For every new item you bring into your space, remove an old one.
• Implement a daily 10-minute tidy-up routine to prevent clutter from accumulating.
• Create designated spaces for items and stick to them.
• Regularly reassess your belongings and donate or discard items you no longer need or use.
• Unsubscribe from unnecessary email lists.
• Organize your digital files into a logical folder structure.
• Regularly clear your desktop and downloads folder.
• Use productivity apps to streamline your digital workflow.
• Set aside time for a regular digital declutter, just as you would for physical spaces.
• Titling up and decluttering can be used as a way of stress cleaning and anxiety reduction.

?Mindfulness techniques can be powerful tools for maintaining a clutter-free space and reducing the stress associated with clutter. Practices such as mindful cleaning, where you focus your full attention on the task, can turn decluttering into meditation. This approach can help you develop a more positive relationship with your space and make maintaining order less like a chore.

?Final Thoughts

?Decluttering can be a great way to reevaluate your priorities—possessions, work, home life, and relationships. An added benefit is a positive environmental contribution: less waste and disposables, better nutritional choices, and sustainability.

Be sure to pick up a copy of my new book, "Shadow of the Dragon," a fiction novel, now available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble in paperback, hardcover, and ebook formats.

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