After the birth of her third child, Japanese organizing consultant and author of “The Magic of Tidying,” Marie Kondo, announced that her strict approach to tidying was no longer a priority for her, and she said, “I realized that using time with my children guarantees me a greater degree of happiness, and that there is no objection to “Putting all their toys in one box instead of arranging them according to a very precise classification.”
Kondo – who is one of the most prominent celebrities in the trend of getting rid of clutter and a completely organized life – is a global trend that has been spreading since 2019 until it became popular and achieved more than 110.4 billion views on the “Tik Tok” platform, reinforcing the so-called “cleaning obsession” among people.
This trend may seem positive, but mental health experts warn that these trends may cause more harm than good. But how does the decluttering trend affect our mental health? How do we deal with cleaning trends more consciously?
A false sense of self
“The constant pressure to keep up with these organizing trends takes a toll on our mental and physical health and reinforces the constant desire for perfection and the aspiration for those perfect homes,” Sian Pleske, president of the Professional Organizing Society, tells The Guardian.
Belsky added that such trends may cause fatigue and a feeling of despair, especially with the inability to distinguish between the deceptive nature of social media and useful or appropriate methods. To avoid the dangers of these organizational trends, she advised returning to the basics of cleaning instead of focusing on aesthetic appeal with its exaggerated costs.
For her part, psychiatrist Cassandra Jay points out that both hoarding (difficulty giving away possessions) and excessive or professional cleaning share a negative impact on mental health and are linked to feelings of anxiety and exhaustion.
She explains that getting rid of things to this extent is not a conscious behavior, as striving to reduce belongings and reduce them into one color-coordinated box not only causes exhaustion, but may lead to a false sense of self and accomplishment, and this in turn leads to more tension and alienation, and enhances the feeling of Depletion due to the constant need to get rid of clutter and keep the house organized in a way that strips it of any traces of life.
Detachment from memories and relationships
Although living in an untidy place may negatively affect many areas of our lives, and reduce our ability to focus and achieve, Dr. Sophie Scott, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, does not agree with excessive disposal of everything, as some… Objects may express memories that are emotionally significant, or connect to part of our identity, so we should not rush to get rid of things that may be irreplaceable.
Scott adds that, in addition to remorse, there is a danger that a person who adopts a strict approach to decluttering may apply this harsh approach to other areas of his life, such as social relationships, without realizing that even “fickle” friends may be invaluable at a time Need. Marie Kondo’s book quotes one of her clients as saying: “I learned to see what I really need and what I don’t need, so I succeeded in deciding my divorce and separated from my husband.” According to what was reported by the BBC website.
Here are some of the negative effects of excessive cleaning and organization, according to what was published by the “Health and Me” website:
Anxiety and stress: Constant decluttering and organizing can lead to increased anxiety and stress in order to maintain a perfect home all the time.
Failure to make decisions: Excessive decluttering requires making many decisions about what to keep or get rid of, and this may lead to what is known as “decision fatigue,” which reduces your ability to make effective choices in other areas of your life, and may affect your cognitive function. in general.
Cognitive load: An overemphasis on order and organization can lead to cognitive overload, where your mind becomes overloaded with the constant need to manage and categorize items, affecting your focus and mental clarity.
Emotional impact: Striving for perfection in eliminating clutter may lead to frustration and disappointment, especially with an inability to meet expectations. This emotional stress may negatively affect mental health, reinforcing feelings of inadequacy and low self-esteem.
How to approach organization in a more conscious way
Keeping the house clean and tidy is usually an expression of emotional health, and in order not to confuse cleaning as a necessary measure to enhance one’s mood with excessive cleaning practices that require devoting most of one’s waking hours to cleaning, experts offer a set of tips, including:
- Balance and moderation: Social media enhances the feeling of badness about our homes, so everyone should keep their home clean in a way that suits their circumstances and life. In this regard, Columbia University professor of epidemiology, Elaine Larson, tells the Washington Post that some household tasks are very necessary. For example, any surface or item used to prepare food, such as sponges, worktops, and cutting boards, must be cleaned well after each use. Of course, toilets and bathroom sinks need frequent cleaning as well, but many other tasks are really for the sake of beauty and can be done in intervals.
- Reducing holdings: We should know that everything we bring into our home consumes some of our time, energy, and space, and the fewer things, the easier it is to organize.
- Stress-free cleaning: Don’t pressure yourself to clean your house all at once or adhere to standards set by influencers.
- Achievable goals: You can create a plan for organizing your home based on basic daily tasks, and another plan for larger tasks, with each task having to be completed before moving on to the next task.