How Clutter Affects Your Mental Health: What Science Says About Stress, Sleep, and Focus.
Ever feel overwhelmed by your home or that it isn’t quite the peaceful sanctuary it should be? You’re not imagining things, your environment might be playing a bigger role in your mental health than you think. In particular, clutter has a sneaky way of chipping away at your well-being in ways that go far beyond what you can see on the surface.
The Emotional Cost of Too Much Stuff
Back in 2016, a study uncovered just how deeply clutter can affect the way we feel about our homes. It turns out that when your space is overloaded, it doesn’t just look chaotic, it also weakens your emotional connection to the place that’s supposed to be your safe haven. Researchers found that clutter increases stress, makes people feel less in control, and ultimately reduces overall satisfaction with their living space. [1]
And the ripple effect is real. A 2009 study found that women who described their homes using negative terms like “cluttered” or “chaotic” had higher levels of cortisol, the primary stress hormone, even if they didn’t feel stressed. On the flip side, women who viewed their homes as peaceful and restorative showed healthier stress patterns and better moods throughout the day. Men didn’t experience the same level of impact, which suggests that the mental load, often carried more by women, is a factor in how clutter and disorganisation influence well-being at home. In short, the way your space feels can impact you on a physiological level, even if you're not consciously aware of it. [2]
Your "Psychological Home" Matters More Than You Think
What really stood out in a 2021 study was that it’s not just the amount of clutter that matters, but how cluttered your home feels. In my experience how a person views their clutter or “feels” about it is very subjective and based on a range of personal values, sensory needs and social pressures. In the study this perception ties into a concept called “psychological home,” or how strongly your living space feels like a reflection of who you are. When clutter interferes with that sense of identity, overall well-being takes a hit. [3]
A separate UK study from 2020–2021 backed this up. It found that people who felt their homes didn’t reflect their identity, often because of clutter, reported more stress, lower moods, and less life satisfaction. But here’s the upside: those who planned to declutter and spent more time tending to their homes saw noticeable improvements in their mental health. Turns out, just taking steps to reconnect with and organise your space can help you feel better. [4]
Clutter Affects More Than Just Mood
It might sound like a stretch, but clutter can even impact your eating habits. A 2016 study discovered that chaotic environments, like a messy kitchen, can lead to overeating, especially sweets and snacks. But there's a twist: people who felt more in control, even in the same space, were less likely to overindulge. So again, it’s not just about the disorganisation, it’s how it makes you feel. [5]
The same principle applies to sleep. A 2017 study showed that tidying up your bedroom can lead to better sleep quality. Participants who kept their bedrooms clean over just five days reported falling asleep faster and sleeping more soundly. [6]
The Procrastination-Clutter Cycle
Two studies from 2018 dug into a major culprit behind persistent clutter: procrastination. Whether it’s putting off decisions about what to keep or simply not getting around to tidying up, avoidance can lead to serious build-up over time. And this pattern was noted across all age groups in the study. In my experience a tricky cycle can develop where procrastination leads to clutter and the clutter then leads to more procrastination, no wonder people are feeling stuck and overwhelmed when they reach out for help. Tackling procrastination could be one of the most effective ways to reduce clutter, and the stress that comes with it. [7], [8]
The Battle for Your Brain
Visual clutter isn’t just a distraction; it’s a cognitive drain. A 2016 study found that environments full of competing visual stimuli can overload your brain, reducing your ability to focus and remember things. Similarly, research shows that clutter bombards your attention with distractions, forcing your brain to work overtime to stay on task. When clutter builds up, it’s harder to maintain your focus and concentrate. [9], [10]
Even our emotional intelligence is impacted. A 2016 study showed that cluttered backgrounds, like a busy scene behind someone’s face in a movie, make it harder to read emotions. So, clutter doesn't just mess with your concentration; it interferes with your ability to connect and empathise, with potential consequences on your relationships. [11]
The impact on relationships doesn’t end there, a 2021 study highlighted how clutter and noise at home can raise stress and interfere with caregiving. In households with children, elderly family members, or anyone who needs support, a chaotic environment can make caregiving feel overwhelming. Keeping the home calm and organised isn't just helpful, it's essential for maintaining emotional balance and fulfilling caregiving roles effectively. [12]
Reclaiming Calm, One Space at a Time
Dealing with clutter isn’t just about being tidy, it’s about mental health. From raising stress levels and disrupting sleep to sabotaging focus and emotional connection, the evidence is clear: our living spaces shape our inner worlds. The good news? Taking even small steps to declutter, organise, and create a space you feel comfortable in can lead to real improvements in how you feel every day.
So, if your home has been leaving you feeling overwhelmed lately, it might be time to take stock, not just of your belongings, but of how your space supports or hinders your peace of mind.
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References
[1] Roster, C. A., Ferrari, J. R., & Jurkat, M. P. (2016). The dark side of home: Assessing possession ‘clutter’ on subjective well-being. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 46, 32–41. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2016.03.003
[2] Saxbe, D. E., & Repetti, R. L. (2009). No place like home: Home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 36(1), 71–81. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167209352864
[3] Rogers, C. J., & Hart, R. (2021). Home and the extended-self: Exploring associations between clutter and wellbeing. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 73, 101553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvp.2021.101553
[4] Quinn, F. (2024). Relationships Between Home Clutter and Psychological Home With Stress, Mood and Well-being: An Exploratory Study, 2020–2021 [Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex: UK Data Service. https://doi.org/10.5255/UKDA-SN-857279
[5] Vartanian, L. R., Kernan, K. M., & Wansink, B. (2016). Clutter, chaos, and overconsumption: The role of mind-set in stressful and chaotic food environments. Environment and Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013916516628178
[6] Thacher, P. V., Onyper, S. V., & Tuthill, J. (2017). De-cluttering the bedroom as a possible sleep hygiene step to improve sleep quality. Sleep, 40(suppl_1), A138–A139. https://doi.org/10.1093/sleepj/zsx050.372
[7] Ferrari, J. R., & Roster, C. A. (2018). Delaying disposing: Examining the relationship between procrastination and clutter across generations. Current Psychology, 37, 426–431. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9679-4
[8] Ferrari, J. R., Roster, C. A., Crum, K. P., et al. (2018). Procrastinators and clutter: An ecological view of living with excessive “stuff”. Current Psychology, 37, 441–444. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-017-9682-9
[9] Gaspar, J. M., Christie, G. J., Prime, D. J., Jolicœur, P., & McDonald, J. J. (2016). Inability to suppress salient distractors predicts low visual working memory capacity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(13), https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1523471113
[10] McMains, S., & Kastner, S. (2011). Interactions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in human visual cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(2), 587–597. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.3766-10.2011
[11] Cutting, J. E., & Armstrong, K. L. (2016). Facial expression, size, and clutter: Inferences from movie structure to emotion judgments and back. Attention, Perception, & Psychophysics, 78(3), 891–901. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13414-015-1003-5
[12] Bodrij, F. F., Andeweg, S. M., Prevoo, M. J. L., Rippe, R. C. A., & Alink, L. R. A. (2021). The causal effect of household chaos on stress and caregiving: An experimental study. Comprehensive Psychoneuroendocrinology, 8, 100090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpnec.2021.100090
