The Health Effects of Clutter And How To Help
Great information in this recent article in the New York Times. highlights a key concept in our lives:
The things we clutter our lives with can make us sick and otherwise impact our health (physical, emotional, mental). And in many cases, people try to ‘fix’ the clutter by buying storage containers to help store it, rather than taking the better course of action:
Clearing out the clutter. Keeping only those possessions which are important.
Some simple outcomes of filling our lives with clutter:
* unable to find important things among the mess
* lives that feel empty, in spite of (or really, because of) the mass of possessions and things
* at times, clutter becomes an insulation which is mirrored by a person’s weight. Some people who have cleared their house of excessive clutter have also lost weight as a result.
One of the more interesting segments of the article deals with hoarding which many experts feel is actually a mental illness.
Compulsive hoarding is defined, in part, by:
clutter that so overtakes living, dining and sleeping spaces that it harms the person’s quality of life. A compulsive hoarder finds it impossible, even painful, to part with possessions. It’s not clear how many people suffer from compulsive hoarding, but estimates start at about 1.5 million Americans.
There are a number of ways to help those who are affected.
1. The National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization offers a scale to help people gauge the seriousness of their clutter problem. They also provide a referral tool for finding a professional organizer.
2. Buried in Treasures: Help for Compulsive Acquiring, Saving, and Hoarding
3. Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui
I’ll get more into Karen Kingston’s approach in the coming weeks. Needless to say, everyone can probably learn something from this article and these resources.
