People With Way Too Much Stuff In Their House Usually Deal With These 11 Specific Struggles
Clutter is often the result of a person going through difficult times.
ronstik / Shutterstock Some people accumulate way too many things over the course of their lives. While it may not seem like a big deal to some, having a cluttered home can be a direct result of becoming overwhelmed by difficulties. And unfortunately, this leads to a vicious cycle that only causes more stress and exhaustion.
People who have way too much stuff in their house are usually dealing with specific struggles that have left them too exhausted and distracted to let go of anything. Not only can this negatively impact their mental state further, but it can also make it difficult for them to live safely or efficiently.
People with way too much stuff in their house usually deal with these 11 specific struggles
1. Procrastination on daily tasks
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A person who has way too much stuff in their house may find that they have a hard time starting tasks. They may struggle with procrastination due to the mental toll that a cluttered environment can cause.
If the person’s environment is not only filled with too many things but is also disorganized, they may feel overwhelmed and unmotivated. Kristen Fuller, MD, a physician, explains that “people with cluttered homes tend to procrastinate on important tasks. You might have to dig through stacks of papers to pay the bills, or maybe you have so many piles of dirty clothes that it feels overwhelming to start the laundry.”
If a person finds themselves feeling this way due to clutter, they might want to consider finding a way to organize their things or donating some things that they no longer need. Decluttering can do a lot of good for their mental health.
2. Difficulty focusing
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Clutter can lead to a person experiencing a constant state of distraction. This may lead to them struggling with staying focused, which makes it difficult for them to complete tasks.
“Your brain’s attention system must constantly decide what to tune out and what to concentrate on, and the more clutter in the visual field or in your mind, the harder that job becomes. Over time, this can lead to reduced productivity and feeling you 'just can’t concentrate’,” according to Nuvance Health.
3. Difficulty sleeping
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When a person lives in a home that is cluttered and has too much stuff, it may be difficult for their brain to truly relax. This can cause them to experience impaired sleep quality.
In a cluttered environment, their brain will consider it a place of unfinished work that is filled with stress and distractions. The brain is constantly associating the environment a person is in with their behavior. Therefore, if a person wants to get better sleep, their bedroom needs to be calming and not cause overstimulation or stress, according to Dr. Chelsie Rohrscheib, a sleep expert and neuroscientist.
4. Social isolation
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A person who has too much stuff in their home may struggle with social isolation. Many times, they do wish to be more social, but the shame and embarrassment they feel about their cluttered space cause them to lack social engagement.
An extremely cluttered space can cause several issues with a person’s mental health. They may start feeling overwhelmed and anxious, which contributes to worsening their well-being and their willingness to be around others.
“Feeling anxious and overwhelmed by clutter can also lead to avoidance behavior. You may start spending less time at home, or isolate yourself from visitors due to shame or discomfort. These patterns worsen over time, feeding into a cycle where emotional well-being continues to decline the longer clutter goes unaddressed,” according to Spotless Cleaning Services.
5. Financial problems
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When a person accumulates too much stuff in their home, they may be struggling financially. Not only does the cost of so many items start to add up, but the stress that being in a cluttered environment causes makes it difficult to make sound financial decisions moving forward.
First United Bank mentions that, “When you are under stress, you tend to make poor decisions. As a result, your finances could suffer. At the basis of your clutter are a bunch of items you paid money for. Perpetuating a cycle of disorganization affects your financial life in several ways.”
It is hard to properly manage one's finances when a person lives in an environment where it is hard to find things, and essential things, like bills, get lost in all of the mess. Difficulty keeping up with bills and possibly spending money on things a person already has, all because they cannot find the item, heavily impacts a person’s financial situation.
6. Difficulty finding needed items
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A home filled with too many things makes it hard for a person to be organized, and it can cause them a lot of mental stress. This ultimately makes it very difficult for them to find items that they need.
Physically, there may be so much stuff that some things block other things, making it easy to misplace items and making it that much harder to find things. Mentally, the overload of stress and anxiety that a messy environment causes can make it hard to focus and successfully determine where a person put the item the last time they used it.
7. Low self-esteem
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Many individuals who hoard too many items in their home find their worth in the items that they possess. Due to this, these people may struggle with low self-esteem, which is driving them to remain living in the clutter, despite the negative effects it can have on their overall well-being.
A 2011 study found that there are many people who link their possessions to their identity. They fear that if they lost these items, they would experience grief, which explains why they end up having too many things within their home.
8. Constantly feeling overwhelmed
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Living in a home that has too much stuff causes a person to constantly experience a state of cognitive overload. The amount of stress that they experience due to this can lead them to always feel overwhelmed.
When their home is too cluttered with things, their brain is constantly having to take in too many visual cues. It wants to pay attention to one thing at a time, but it is not able to. This distraction can cause a person to feel frustrated and exhausted every time they are in their space, which keeps their brain from ever relaxing and not feeling overwhelmed.
9. Feelings of guilt
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An environment that is taken over by too many things can become a mental burden for some people. This space becomes a place that constantly reminds a person of all the unfinished tasks they need to complete and all the financial regrets they have, but it also makes it feel impossible for them to actually take control and make changes within this environment.
This leads them to feel more and more guilt. Kendra Cherry, MSEd, a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, said, “A guilt complex refers to a persistent belief that you have done something wrong or that you will do something wrong. In addition to constant feelings of guilt and worry, a guilt complex can also lead to feelings of shame and anxiety.”
This becomes an endless cycle of these emotions and guilt because of how difficult a cluttered environment makes it for a person to focus on their mental and emotional well-being.
10. Strained relationships
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A person who lives in a home with too many things may struggle with strained relationships. Living in a cluttered environment can cause conflicts with others, and it makes it difficult for a person to feel comfortable hosting their friends and family.
If others are constantly telling them to get rid of things, but they feel emotionally attached to certain items, a conflict arises that can cause the relationship to suffer substantially. A person may also feel too ashamed and embarrassed to ever invite others over to their home, which can hinder intimacy and the ability to deepen connections with others.
11. Safety hazards
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Many people who have too many things in their homes will struggle with safety hazards. When exits are blocked and there are too many things blocking walkways, real safety concerns arise.
In the case of a house fire, if exits are blocked, it is hard for individuals to safely make it out of their home without too much struggle. In day-to-day life, if walkways are always blocked, individuals are more likely to injure themselves by tripping over objects.
There are many negative impacts of living in a cluttered home. In order to combat these, individuals have to decide whether it is better to have several items or to improve their overall well-being.
Kamryn Idol is a writer with a bachelor's degree in media and journalism who covers lifestyle, relationship, family, and wellness topics.
