5 Ways That Clutter and Junk Cause Stress

There are many reasons why you might call us for junk removal services. It might be that your home feels like it’s overcrowded. It could be because you’ve been meaning to get rid of a bunch of stuff for years, and professional junk removal is the best way. Maybe you’re trying to live a cleaner, organized life. But there’s one reason that’s more common than all the others, and it’s one that a lot of people don’t even consciously recognize: the stress of clutter.

Did you know that clutter has been directly linked to stress and anxiety in a variety of different studies? Research has shown that a cluttered and messy home can have a measurable impact on our well-being. Though you may not realize it, stress could very well be the true reason why you’re here right now, reading online about junk removal. You know that you want it removed, and you can’t explain why. You just know, somehow, that you’ll feel better when all your junk isn’t around taking up space.

There are reasons for this. Let’s take a look at the many ways that clutter can make you stressed out.

Clutter Overloads Our Senses

Every single function of the human body has a price. Everything we do, even the smallest, tiniest things, use up energy in some way, shape, or form. If not in your body, in your mind. That’s what clutter can do to you. When you’re in a space that can only be described as a mish-mashed cacophony of random junk, you may not realize it, but you’re being bombarded by a whole lot more stimuli than you’re used to.

Walk into a room of junk, and your eyes have much more to look at. Your nose has more to smell. There are more things that could cause noise. The list goes on — while you may not consciously realize it, your brain is working a little harder than usual. It’s not much, but over time, it adds up. By cleaning up and creating a more organized, clean space, you’ll likely feel a sense of peace; that could be your brain breathing a sigh of relief.

Clutter is Distracting

There are a lot of subconscious effects that clutter can have on the mind, but some of them aren’t so subtle. When you’re surrounded by junk, it’s much easier to get distracted by things. How many times have you gone through your old stuff with the intention of organizing, only to get distracted by an old book or magazine? How often do you reroute your attention to something more interesting on your desk when you’re trying to work through a tedious task?

The more things you have surrounding you, the easier it is to break from the task at hand. This, in a certain way, causes stress — nobody likes feeling unproductive, especially when they squandered their time and attention on things that don’t matter. Do you have a lot of tasks that demand your undivided attention? Call us for junk removal, because clutter isn’t doing you any favors!

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Clutter Makes It Feel Like Your Work Is Never Done

There’s nothing quite like the feeling of relaxing after a hard day’s work. Isn’t it great lying down on a couch, knowing you’ve taken care of all your obligations for the day? Completed your work? Paid your bills?

Well, unfortunately, clutter and junk can reverse those feelings. Because even if you’re done with your professional obligations, clutter silently screams the message that there’s still work to be done at home.

One of the best things about a clean home is that feeling of completion — the feeling that there is truly nothing fighting for your time and attention. Sure, it’s not like you need to do the dishes right away. You don’t need to clean up the room and do the laundry, but deep down, you know you should, and you also know that these problems are just going to get worse if they’re not taken care of.

There are countless household tasks that will always create that feeling, but junk and clutter can exacerbate them because it’s so much more difficult to have a truly clean and organized space.

Clutter Inhibits Organization

Another obvious side effect of clutter is the potential that it creates for messes and disorganization. When you’re building a puzzle, it’s easier to find the piece you need when there’s only 10 of them. When there are 1,000 pieces, the task is much more difficult for obvious reasons.

Take that logic and apply it to, well, everything else. If you have a home office, it’s going to be easier to lose important paperwork when it has mixed into an ocean of other papers and documents that are lying around all over the place. It’s going to be harder to find the remote when there are socks, dog toys, and dirty dishes lying about. The list goes on, but it suffices to say that it’s easy for items to get lost when there’s a mountain of clutter and junk to hide in.

This can have disastrous consequences, depending on the context. It’s not going to ruin your world if you lose your video game controller for an evening, but it’s a much different story if you’ve lost your medication, legal documents, or anything else that could majorly impact your life. Disorganization causes stress, because it can result in decreased productivity, missed deadlines, and lost/misplaced items.

Clutter Can Create Feelings of Guilt or Embarrassment

For better or for worse, the way you organize your life can say a lot about you, and if you live an extremely messy life, it may end up creating feelings of guilt or embarrassment. Like it or not, having a clean and organized home is “expected” from someone who has their life together. Though most people’s closest friends and family don’t judge for that kind of thing, other people often do, even if it’s unjust. And, even if nobody in the world cares at all about how cluttered you are, your perception that they might could still create stress.

There are other situations where junk and clutter can be embarrassing. Going on a hot date? The man or lady in question might not be thrilled to see that your car is filled with empty fast food containers and the makeshift bed you made for your last camping trip. Want to convince your in-laws that you are, in fact, a mature and responsible adult? They probably won’t be impressed by a pigsty of a home.

Should we not care what others think and not let guilt or embarrassment govern our feelings? Probably, but these feelings are completely natural and human. By getting rid of a lot of your clutter, however, you can make it easier for yourself to live an organized life.

Junk Removal Services in Maryland

One of the best ways to declutter your home is to call Spartan Junk Removal for professional junk removal services. We’ve been helping Maryland homeowners to get rid of their junk for 15 years now, and we’re not about to stop anytime soon. We make junk removal as easy as possible by organizing all the stuff you’re getting rid of, disposing of it in the most responsible way possible (donation, recycling, etc.), and coming straight to you so you don’t need to take any trips.

Ready to de-stress and live a more organized life? We’re here to help you make that happen. If you’re in Greater Baltimore, Laurel, Towson, or any of the other surrounding areas, contact us today to get started.