The Danger of Clutter and How to Fix it

It seems like everywhere we look there is clutter and confusion.  Our homes, garages, desks, closets even our technology seems to be one mass of disorder and mess. 

Now, it would seem that other than being an eye sore, clutter is harmless and to be ignored or tolerated until the day that we decide to tidy it up.  Unfortunately, many studies have shown that having a cluttered life has many detriments, both physical and psychological.

It starts with paralysis either by too many choices or disorganization.

Choice Paralysis

Studies have shown that it is possible to have too many choices when you need to do or buy something.  Stores that have 5-7 choices of an item report that they sell substantially more of that item than when there are 20 choices.  How can that be; you need to buy something.  The reason is something called choice paralysis kicks in and we are more comfortable walking away than having to pick from so many choices.  We are literally paralyzed by all of the choices and cannot decide at all.

We have all had this happen to us when we are buying something unfamiliar.  In that case, hopefully there is a sales associate that can guide us to what we best need by using questions to determine our requirements. Online, companies make suggestions based on popularity or customer ratings to help you choose. The other way that is popular is to search online and see what reviews and opinions others have given for the product in the hopes that it will narrow our choice down.

The Psychological Toll of Clutter

The psychological toll of clutter is just as serious as the physical one.  If your desk at work is cluttered, you will have a much harder time efficiently working on your tasks. It will be much harder to find whatever you need to work and even if you do, your concentration will suffer.

Even for people who “know where everything is” in a messy workspace or more often a garage or workshop, brain scans have shown that the presence of all the clutter causes stress on the person trying to work in that environment.  The exact opposite happens in the brains of people who completely clear off their desks or workbenches.  They have a clarity of purpose and are able to get into “flow” much more quickly and deeply.

So, how do we de-clutter and maintain clean areas to work and live in?

Clean Desk Clean Mind

The easiest place to start is probably your desk at work (or your home office).  By clearing it off completely, we symbolically clear our minds of clutter and can work on one task at a time.  This is a good place to start because typically our desks are not massively piled up with material, though some are!  Either way, rather than spend hours clearing it out, choose the task you are going to work on and remove EVERYTHING from the desk that will not be of use.  If need be, pile it on the floor or in a closet, and watch how much easier it is to work with a totally clean desk.

You can schedule time every day to take care of the clutter than you have moved off of the desk, but do not let the task of clearing and organizing take you away from the work you want to do.  This is very important.  The idea is to create a better working/thinking/studying area first, then organize the mess later.  That way you will have a sense of accomplishment after having worked on and completed some of your tasks, rather than thinking about the huge task of cleaning you have ahead of you.

Once you have taken on the easier task of your desk you can begin to tackle clutter in other areas.

Phone Clutter

How about your phone?  The average person looks at their phone 160 times per day!  Do you really need all of those apps showing up on the home page?  Or all of the notifications that are constantly beeping at you?  To de-clutter, you should keep only the few apps you use the most on the home page and move the rest further back.  This will make it less likely that you will look at all of them and your productivity will increase.  Same for the notifications.  Turn them all off and watch how much calmer and more focused you will be. 

Email Clutter

Also have a look at all of the emails you get.  If you do not read them and are no longer interested in them, unsubscribe.  A simple and effective way to reduce email clutter. 

This phone clean up will also help you purge the amount of information you consume.  As you receive less information you can choose the type of things you want to know about and not be inundated with things you do not need or want to know.  This will de-clutter your mind.

Mail Clutter

Rather than pile up the mail at home, check it while standing right over the recycle bin every day.  Bills can be scheduled to pay, or you can register them to be paid automatically and not even touch them.  Statements can be filed, or you can register for e-statements and have an electronic file on your computer or in the cloud.  Any junk mail goes directly in the bin and the mail is done in under 5 minutes!

If you have all of your bills and statements sent electronically you will have no paper clutter at all and when you want to get rid of old documents, you just delete them.

Daily Preparation to Reduce Clutter

During your workday you can reduce choice paralysis by some simple preparation. You can lay out your clothes for the next day, set the coffee maker, prepare your work bag and lunch, all the night before.  That way in the morning you are making less choices and your mind is clear when you arrive at work.  You have chosen your clothes and your lunch and do not need to think about them again.

You will begin to de-clutter more and more of your life once you realize how freeing it is and your productivity will soar.