Clutter can also make it harder to fall asleep and can even make us more likely to reach for junk food, according to one study, which found participants using a “chaotic kitchen” ate twice as many cookies as those in an organised kitchen. When our surroundings feel full, it can also make us feel more anxious and stressed, with one study by psychologists Rena Repetti and Darby Saxby at University of California, Los Angeles, finding mothers living in messy houses had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Its sentimental value may make giving the jersey away feel like giving up a piece of your own identity, says Gregory.īut can collecting all these belongings really be making our lives better? Or could we be better off with less stuff? Instead, you’re hanging onto the memories represented by that now-tattered item of clothing you probably won’t wear again. ![]() When you struggle to part with that jersey you wore on the junior varsity basketball team, for example, you are not really clinging to the shirt itself. Most of us may not feel so strongly about our possessions, but things that are tied to emotionally significant memories can nevertheless represent a piece of your identity that is difficult to discard. One study by researchers at Yale University used brain scans to show that for people with the disorder, throwing out objects activates a part of the brain that’s also responsible for processing pain. In the most extreme cases, hoarding is recognised as a medical disorder that can rob people of their quality of life. “For hoarders, objects can represent comfort and security,” says James Gregory, a clinical psychologist and expert on hoarding at the University of Bath. There are dozens of other books and decluttering services to be found with a quick search of the internet. In the UK, Sophie Hinchliffe, better known as Mrs Hinch, has been demonstrating to her Instagram followers and TV viewers how having a cleaner, tidier home can lead to a better life, while in California, professional organiser Beth Penn has written a book and set up her own company to help people sort out their stuff. ![]() Kondo is far from the only one advocating this simpler, tidier lifestyle. ![]()
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