De-clutter your mind & world

Clutter is characterized by chaos, confusion, lack of focus and more. In this lesson, we will learn why we hang on to clutter, and why this is unhealthy. We will learn about the connection of clutter to the brain, and will look for ways to rid the clutter in your home and in your mind. And our week's activity will make YOU feel better. This is the week that you will get a handle on your cluttered life!

Clutter, according to the dictionary, is a collection of things lying around in an untidy mess.

How can you tell if it is clutter? Things would not be considered clutter if there is order in the collection. A well-organized collection of refrigerator magnets would not be considered clutter, but several buckets with magnets stuffed inside would.

Clutter are these things that accumulate in our garages and kitchens. They are Tupperware containers (even some with tops) and 7 different tool kits, none of them complete. They are the collection of bags under the counter and shelves of old folders, music collections and random finds. They include the bags that you will be donating, and the several bikes you have, just in case. It can include all of the building materials used when you built that addition, and every photo album you have ever created.

Clutter surrounds us.

For one thing, clutter can cause stress and emotional pain. In one survey, one third of respondents admitted that they avoid spending time at home so they don’t have to deal with their mess. Another survey found 90% of Americans feel that clutter has a negative impact. Not to mention that Americans spend nine million hours each day looking for misplaced items. Nine million hours!

Researchers from UCLA found that clutter had a strong effect on mood and self-esteem. When asked about the clutter in their home, the level of stress hormone shot up (directly proportional to the amount of stuff the family had accumulated).

Researchers at the Princeton University Neuroscience Institute conducted a study on clutter and concluded that the cluttered environment creates chaos that restricts the ability to focus. It also limits the ability to process information. It makes you distracted and unable to process information as well as you do in an uncluttered, organized and serene environment.

Mental clutter is a state of mind where you can’t inhibit irrelevant information, and is speculated to be one of the prime suspects in the cause of age-related memory losses. A theory is that if you can’t get through all the information on your neural network, you will be slower and less efficient in processing information. Streamlining ideas and thoughts can improve the cognitive abilities.

Excessive clutter in the home can create a dysfunctional home. It changes your identification with your home, which should be a retreat from the outside and a place to feel pride. Too many things in a small place will feel intrusive.

Excessive clutter can expand your waistline. An Australian study showed that people will eat more cookies and snacks if the environment in which they are offered a choice of foods is chaotic and they feel stressed. They concluded that people will eat more sweets in a clustered setting when you feel out of control.

Clutter can also affect the interpretation of emotional expressions. Researchers from Cornell looking at the impact of clutter on perception of scenes in movies, found that a cluttered background made it more difficult to interpret the emotional expressions on the faces of the characters. So, you will be less accurate in figuring out how people are feeling if you see them in a clutter-filled room.

What happens in your brain when it is faced with a mess? Here are some of them:

· Overloaded by stimuli: Clutter bombards the brain with excessive stimuli (visual, olfactory, tactile), causing senses to work overtime on stimuli that are not necessary or important.

· Stress Levels Skyrocket: A 2010 study looked at clutter and cortisol (hormone related to the stress response). Found that women tend to have higher cortisol levels than normal during both daytime and night when living in a cluttered environment. There is also a great deal of stress associated with the responsible person for the clutter.

· Weakened sensory responses in the brain: A 1998 NIH study found that when shown a lot of different information at once, the brain’s sensory responses became weaker than if shown one item at a time. Multiple stimuli suppress each other, making decision-making and attention more difficult.

· Overwhelming attachment to possessions: A 2016 study found that while some personal attachments to objects can make us feel at home, too many objects (clutter) can make people feel more negatively about their space, and impact relationships and mental health.

· Perceptual clutter: Too much clutter in the brain was found to lead to judgement errors and a decrease in decision confidence. This meant that the visual stimuli and confusion makes it more difficult to think clearly.

· Impulsive shopping: A 2014 study found that people in a cluttered room were more likely to buy impulsively than those in an organized one. This may be due to confusion breaking down decision making protocols.

· Frontal lobe and hoarding: Researchers on hoarders have shown deficits of sustained attention, spatial planning, memory and organizational strategies. They also have limited mental flexibility. These symptoms are thought to be caused by difficulties in their frontal lobe.

Besides managing the clutter in your homes, you may also have clutter in your minds. This non-essential mental baggage needs to be cleaned up from time to time. Here are some tips to de-clutter your mind:

· Set priorities: Instead of trying to do everything, identify what is most important and then create an action plan to work with these items.

· Keep a journal: This can relax your mind and help you to organize and analyze your thoughts. It can, ultimately, free up your cognitive resources for other mental activities. Journaling can also help manage anxiety and depression, according to a University of Rochester Medical Center report.

· Learn to let go: Accept yourself, love, yourself, and keep moving forward. Replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

· Avoid multitasking: According to a Stanford University study, heavy multi-tasking lowers efficiency and may impair cognitive control. Single-task whenever possible.

· Breathe: Spend a moment several times a day deep breathing. It lowers heart rate and blood pressure and stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system which helps to relax. It can also promote concentration and strengthen the immune system.

· Declutter your workspace: A clean workspace creates a clear mind!

· Be decisive: When you put off decisions, your brain can become overwhelmed by the clutter created by the decisions.

· Share your thoughts: Don’t keep it bottled inside. Talk with others to get a fresh perspective.

· Limit your media: All of this online time can clog your brain, creating stress and anxiety. Set a limit on social media, and be selective about what you follow. Organize your email regularly!

· Unwind: Take a break. Do something that makes you feel good.

Clutter in the home and in the mind can affect us in many ways. It is important to address it as it happens, and try to maintain control. You will see benefits in your cognitive and physical health when you do. Good luck!

Two Hour Clutter Boot Camp:

Everyone has a chaotic collection. It may be small (the junk drawer) or large (the spare bedroom). This activity focuses on one area of clutter, an area that can be tackled in a two-hour session.

On the given day, come prepared to work for the two hours. Stay focused, and as you work, keep in mind that you need to finish in two hours. Set an alarm for every 30 minutes so you can keep track of how much time you have. Take a 2 minute break every 30 minutes. Stop at 2 hours. Spend the entire time on task.

How did you do? Go online to this site to complete the questionairre about your de-cluttering experience. How was your progress? Did you do as much as you thought you could do? Did it help having the reminders every 30 minutes? Did managing your home clutter make you feel any better emotionally? Any other comments? Send us your comments!

Alban, D. (2019, January 31). Remove Clutter to Reduce Stress (+ 5-Step Decluttering System). Retrieved from bebrainfit.com: https://bebrainfit.com/clutter-stress/

Doland, E. (2011, March 29). Scientists find physical clutter negatively affects your ability to focus, process information. Retrieved from unclutterer.com: https://unclutterer.com/2011/03/29/scientists-find-physical-clutter-negatively-affects-your-ability-to-focus-process-information/

Nazish, N. (2017, November 19). How To Declutter Your Mind: 10 Practical Tips You'll Actually Want To Try. Retrieved from forbes.com: https://www.forbes.com/sites/nomanazish/2017/11/19/how-to-declutter-your-mind-10-practical-tips-youll-actually-want-to-try/#24e6975124f1

Small, D. G. (2018, October 9). How Clutter Affects Your Brain. Retrieved from NewsMax.com: https://www.newsmax.com/health/dr-small/hoarding-ocd-frontal-lobe-clutter/2018/10/09/id/885590/

Thorpe, J. (2018, December). 6 Ways Seeing Clutter Changes Your Brain, According to Science. Retrieved from bustle.com: https://www.bustle.com/p/6-ways-seeing-clutter-changes-your-brain-according-to-science-15652194

Whitbourne, D. S. (2017, May 13). 5 Reasons to Clear the Clutter out of Your Life. Retrieved from pschologytoday.com: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201705/5-reasons-clear-the-clutter-out-your-life