"Psychological Clutter" is Not an Old Wives Tale

Mothers used to routinely nag their children and teens: "Did you make your bed?!"-- occasionally hinting that there was more to the practice than simple neatness, but usually unsure of what it was. The fact behind the making-a-bed issue is that a consistent state of disarray in one's surroundings actually does result in a negative impact on the mind; and, consequently, can affect behavior and lifestyle.

While whether or not a person makes his or her bed is a personal issue, if your home is in a general state of clutter, it impairs the mind's ability to relax and to function properly. If your environment contains piles of "stuff" everywhere, you will have less ability to keep your mind organized also.

However, it also goes in the opposite direction-- the preference of living in an environment of endless clutter and messes without feeling any compelling need to "straighten it up" is generally a sign that there are more serious complications present. Allowing one's home environment to "go to hell" without much concern about it is one of the most prominent symptoms of depression. The inability to focus on tending to the matter-at-hand of putting and keeping one's home in livable condition is said to be a symptom of the bipolar condition, as a person has too much difficulty correlating the decision to do something and actually doing it. People who currently have, or have never fully resolved, substance-abuse issues also have problems with this subject, as even the basics of keeping a home fit is not a priority. In other words, those who are not the slightest bit uncomfortable co-existing amongst quantities of dishes which never get washed, garbage that never gets thrown out, laundry which does not get put away, piles of entertainment trappings which may or may not be used, have serious problems; if this way of life persists on an ongoing basis, such a person needs professional help. This is different, of course, from the consideration that all people are sometimes too busy or too tired to put their home in order; the keys to knowing if it is a real problem are if such "slobdom" is consistent, and if the person does not see it as a problem. If he or she lives in such a state of chaotic disarray for months or longer, and if he or she is perfectly comfortable with it being the way it is, the person has deeper problems which must be addressed.

The term "psychological clutter" may sound like a ridiculous concept, and the idea of tucking in one's sheets every morning may be an outdated notion to many; but for the many whose home environment is not fit for human habitation it is often like the story of "the Emporer who had no clothes"-- they do not see anything wrong with or unusual about it, and therefore cannot conclude the very obvious fact that an environment where one's physical surroundings are chaotic is not only unhealthy but potentially damaging.