Can A Messy House Affect Your Mood?

by | Last updated on January 24, 2024

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Can a messy house affect your mood?

Clutter can make us feel stressed, anxious and depressed

. Research from the United States in 2009, for instance, found the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were higher in mothers whose home environment was cluttered.

Can a dirty house affect your mental health?


A messy room can be a sign of depression or another mental health issue

. Clutter affects your mood and can cause more anxiety or stress.

Why do I get angry when my house is messy?

Clutter constantly signals to our brains that our work is never done. Clutter makes us anxious

because we’re never sure what it’s going to take to get through to the bottom of the pile

.

Can a cluttered house cause depression?

A neat, tidy house feels inviting, both for the people who live there as well as guests. A cluttered home may feel the opposite. But shutting people out can take a toll on relationships and make you feel sad and lonely. That could be one reason

a hoarding disorder tends to overlap with depression and anxiety disorders

.

Why do I feel stressed when my house is messy?


A cluttered, untidy environment actually generates more of the stress hormone cortisol in the brain

. So, if your home and living spaces are clutter-free, tidy and clean then you can assume you’ll generate less cortisol and reap the rewards mentally.

What does a messy room say about a person?

Psychology says that

messiness can indeed be a sign that a person is having trouble

. Just like someone who is suffering from OCD and has to control everything, being a messy person might show that they are dealing with depression or some other mental illness.

What happens if you don’t clean your house?

If you don’t clean,

your family could develop some serious allergies and breathing issues

. An explosion of dust mites can cause symptoms such as nasal congestion, cough, watery eyes, a runny nose, and sneezing. Ignored symptoms can further lead to more serious conditions such as asthma.

How do I accept a messy house?

  1. Acknowledge that everything is exactly as it’s supposed to be. …
  2. Accept that a perfectly clean house is not your objective. …
  3. Create a basic cleaning standard and let go of the rest. …
  4. Create a clean haven.

Why do I feel overwhelmed by clutter?

It’s about the life you want with the stuff. If you’re overwhelmed by clutter, odds are it’s because

the things that you don’t like, need or use are crowding out the things that you do

. Decluttering is not about getting rid of clutter for the sake of getting rid of clutter.

Can a messy house cause anxiety?


Clutter and mess can create more stress and anxiety

, but by cleaning, organizing, and reducing the clutter, people are able to take control of their environment and create a more relaxing environment that helps them focus better on the more pressing issues in their lives.

How does cleaning help mental health?

According to Dr. Brown, cleaning your space may help

reduce your cortisol levels, turn down the volume on the visual noise, and help you focus on the things you need to, and that could potentially improve your mood

.

How does decluttering help mental health?

If you’re looking for an easy way to reduce stress, decluttering your environment may be a good place to start. Getting rid of excess stuff can benefit your mental health by

making you feel calmer, happier, and more in control

. A tidier space can make for a more relaxed mind.

What is the root cause of clutter?

Behavioral/psychological: Clutter caused by

depression, attention deficit disorder, low self-esteem or lack of personal boundaries

. Time/life management: Clutter caused by the need for better planning. Of these, the behavioral/psychological-driven clutter is the hardest to solve.

How do I stop stressing about a messy house?

  1. Short Sprints Not Marathons. No one wants to think about setting aside 5 hours to clean the whole house. …
  2. Keep Your Eye On the Prize. …
  3. Keep your mind busy. …
  4. Schedule It. …
  5. Do What You Can & Be Realistic.

Why do I have no motivation to clean my house?

Why We Lose Motivation. Sometimes, we lose our motivation to clean the house

for predictable reasons

. Life gets busy with school or work, for instance, and we have a temporary shift in our priorities. Once it’s over, though, we sometimes need help easing back into a cleaning routine.

How cluttered is the average house?

One-quarter of Americans cop to having a “clutter problem.” Hardly surprising then, that the average home contains

300,000 items

. And there’s an emotional cost to that.

How messy are most people’s houses?

Surprisingly, we found that

half of American homes are always clean

, while just 1% of Americans never lift a finger and do the dirty work. In between these extremes, about 1 in 4 respondents clean once a day and another 23% make at least some effort but let their duties slip on occasion.

Is being messy a mental illness?

Extreme messiness – with the emphasis on extreme –

can be a sign of mental health issues

. Excessively cluttered rooms can be a sign that a teen is developing depression, struggling with ADHD, or experiencing other emotional, psychological, or behavioral problems.

What makes a person a slob?

A slob is someone who’s

messy or lazy

. Tuck your shirt in and wash the dishes, you slob! You may think of your sister as a slob if she never cleans up after herself, leaving crumbs all over the house and clothes all over her room. It’s a derogatory term, though, so think twice before you call her a slob out loud.

Is my dirty house making me ill?

A dirty house affects your physical health.

It can cause skin irritations, allergies, and breathing problems

. A messy house can also cause fatigue, headaches, and general irritability.

How often should a house be deep cleaned?

How often should you deep clean your home? Some homeowners perform a deep clean of their homes

once or twice a year

. If you’re not doing a thorough cleaning of your house on a daily or weekly basis, then you’ll want to ensure you deep clean it at least once or twice a year.

How often should clean house?


Some things need to be cleaned every day, while a general clean can be done once a week, and deep clean every few months or annually

. To make cleaning easier, you should: Keep clutter to a minimum. Wash hands regularly and wipe shoes on entry rugs or mats.

Is it OK to live in a messy house?

Does a messy house affect you? Absolutely! While it is not healthy to obsess too much over cleanliness and let even the tiniest mess make you feel anxious,

a consistently poorly maintained home can pose a great risk to all household members

.

Can a tidy person live with a messy person?

If you’re living with housemates the standard rule is that

you can do whatever you want with your own bedroom but you should keep the communal areas clean

. Rather than expecting your housemate to make sure everything is always clean, ask that they just keep the mess to their specific area of the home.

Is it normal to live in a messy house?

Some people simply do not place a high priority on having everything clean, organized, and in its place. In this case,

messiness is simply a normal state of affairs

. If the house is cluttered and it’s just fine with you, then it’s probably more a sign of your personality and preferences.

Are clutter and trauma related?


In most cases, this clutter is directly linked to traumatic events

. Clutter could stem from the fear of letting go. This would be especially the case if a person grew up during or shortly after a time of war when people did not have much and had to use everything they had until it fell apart.

What should I declutter first?


Closet and Clothing

The easiest way to tackle a closet is to first declutter your clothing by type. That means start with shoes, then boots, then dresses, then denim, etc. It’s much easier to decide to toss or keep a pair of jeans if you’re looking at your entire jeans collection at once.

How can you tell if someone is messy?

There are many things to take into consideration when determining if a person is dirty or messy.

Messy is a pile of dishes in the sink

; dirty is food stuck on the counter. Messy is moving things around to “organize them,” while dirty usually involves a sponge and some Clorox.

How can I get energy to clean my house?

Does a clean house make you happier?

Meanwhile, a Clorox study from last year found that

a mere extra hour of cleaning per week can increase reported levels of happiness by 53 percent

—a huge number. The study also found that maintaining a clean space is associated with all kinds of benefits: better sleep, increased productivity, and even better focus.

Can clutter give you anxiety?


Clutter can make us feel stressed, anxious and depressed

. Research from the United States in 2009, for instance, found the levels of the stress hormone cortisol were higher in mothers whose home environment was cluttered.

How your home affects your mood?

What should you not do when decluttering?

  1. Starting a Major Decluttering Project Without a Plan. …
  2. Not Using a Sorting System While Decluttering. …
  3. Hanging On to Donate/Sell Items Too Long. …
  4. Trying to Organize Before Decluttering. …
  5. Trying to Declutter Everything All At Once. …
  6. Getting Wrapped Up In the Sentimental Items.

What does clutter do to your brain?

But research shows disorganisation and clutter have a cumulative effect on our brains. Our brains like order, and constant visual reminders of disorganisation drain our cognitive resources, reducing our ability to focus. The visual distraction of clutter

increases cognitive overload and can reduce our working memory

.

What is high functioning anxiety?

“The term high functioning anxiety describes

an individual who, despite feeling anxious, seems able to effectively manage the demands of day-to-day life

,” says psychologist Adam Borland, PsyD.

How do you know if your house is cluttered?

  1. You think you need to buy more storage. …
  2. You’re constantly misplacing items. …
  3. You have junk drawers. …
  4. You don’t need to unpack. …
  5. You’re embarrassed by your house’s appearance. …
  6. You buy stuff to organize the clutter. …
  7. Laundry is never-ending. …
  8. Drawers, cabinets, and doors won’t close.
Sophia Kim
Author
Sophia Kim
Sophia Kim is a food writer with a passion for cooking and entertaining. She has worked in various restaurants and catering companies, and has written for several food publications. Sophia's expertise in cooking and entertaining will help you create memorable meals and events.