What is clutter and how to learn to deal with the "mess" in the apartment? Quite often we see the mess in the house as a lack of character. But, do the features of our character affect the order in the room? In fact, the source of any disorder is the force of habit. It is habits that make us make the same mistakes, for example, scattering things, not hanging blouses on hangers, etc.
In most cases, it is not our character that is to blame, since we are just used to making a mess on the table, buying things in discount sections, not putting papers into folders. So, what to do if the diagnosis of "brothel" is confirmed? How to get rid of the habit of being sloppy?
In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to understand what the force of habit is. A habit is certain actions that we perform regularly, absolutely not noticing the process itself. Remember: breaking a habit is very difficult, almost impossible. The only solution is to replace it with a new one. For this, you need 21 days. This is enough time for a new habit to fully enter our lives.
So, how to deal with the diagnosis of "mess" quickly and effectively?
1. Always finish what you started. This is a very important rule. Unfinished business negatively affects the daily routine, as well as our emotional state. For example, you decided to read an interesting article in the newspaper, but suddenly got distracted by a phone call. As a result, the article was not finished, and in the soul and in the mind there was a feeling of incompleteness. Always try to finish what you have already begun.
2. Before buying important and expensive things, do a "test run". Have you decided to buy a new phone of the latest model, but you are not sure about the appropriateness of your purchase? Borrow a phone of this model from a friend and "test" it. Just one day is enough to understand whether a future purchase is right for you or not. This habit will allow you not only to save a significant amount of money, but also to understand what things you really need.
3. If you have unnecessary things, give them to friends or acquaintances. In every house there are always things that are absolutely useless, but it is a pity to throw them away. Throw a "junk swap" party and gift a cute trinket to your friend or acquaintance.
4. Forget about spring cleaning. Clean up every day, not on a large scale, but in the smallest quantities. Make a list of household chores that you need to do. For example, on Monday you wash the curtains, on Tuesday you sort out your wardrobe, on Wednesday you get rid of unnecessary things, etc. This method of cleaning will significantly reduce the loss of time and effort.
5. Say No to Impulse Buying! Learn to make conscious purchases. You should not buy the fifth boots, the tenth tube of cream, etc. In order not to make rash purchases, carry a limited amount of money with you.
In one house, T-shirts and shirts are stacked and sorted by color; in another, a wrench accidentally ends up in a toy box. In one apartment, things hang neatly on hangers, in another they fall out of the closet. So why do some people have perfect cleanliness at home, while others have eternal chaos and chaos? What do the former know and what do the latter lack? Knowrealty talked to professional space organizers and found out the top 7 causes of clutter in our apartments.
1. Bad habits
Father from time to time was too lazy to hang clothes in the closet, leaving them on the backs of chairs and beds? Or did mom collect unnecessary, but for some reason terribly dear knick-knacks, placing them on the shelves, where over time they took up more and more space and brought less and less use? In this case, you probably won’t have a craving for minimalism and the habit of putting everything away. “If parents lived and raised their children in chaos and confusion, then the same attitude towards their home can be passed on to their children,” says Yuliana Myznikova, a professional space organizer and author of the Stopbardac blog. Of course, you can’t go back to the past, but it’s quite possible to work on your new habits. “Think in advance where you use this or that thing, a place where it will be not only convenient for you to take it, but also where to return it. Tell the family where everything is stored, and even better - sign it. If you do not return things to their place, this will cross out all your efforts to organize the space, ”says Yuliana.
Photo: Ella's Kitchen Company Limited
Another organizer of the space and the author of the project "Everything in its place" Ekaterina Pushkareva also calls for starting to develop simple but useful habits in the name of order: washing dishes immediately after eating, sending dirty clothes to the laundry, and clean clothes on the shelf, wiping the sink or faucet after brushing your teeth. Little things like this can save you a lot of cleaning time.
Photo: Wicker Paradise
2. Internal disharmony
Why is this happening? Yuliana Myznikova says that lovers of disorder often insist that a thing will come in handy someday. As a result, more and more rubbish accumulates in the house, which literally clogs the living space. And the only way to change something is to resolutely fight the “Plyushkin syndrome” and study. Anna, for example, advises to play the game The Burning House. What would you save first thing when running out of a burning house, except, of course, your passport, phone and laptop? The game will help you understand what is really valuable to you, and parting in contrast with everything else is much easier. Ekaterina Pushkareva advises using the “input-output” rule for the same purposes: when you buy a new thing, the same old one or give it away.
4. Cleaning "once and for all"
Many mistakenly believe that it is enough with a certain regularity to enjoy cleanliness the rest of the time. Not at all: the cleanliness of the apartment depends, first of all, on our habits. Mess does not happen overnight, so even the largest cleaning once a month will not give you any guarantees of cleanliness. Anna Chernykh is sure: you should not hope for a general cleaning, something else is more important here - gradually form a look at things that would reflect the values that are significant to you. Then the habits will change by themselves: many things simply will not get into the house, while others will gradually leave it - to a separate collection, to charitable organizations, to friends or to a landfill.
5. Overloaded surfaces
We all noticed that if you remove boring pictures and old posters from the walls, scattered small things from the coffee table, and everything that happened to be there by chance, the room immediately seems cleaner, more spacious and freer. It seems simple, but in reality it turns out quite differently. The problem is that on free surfaces in the house there are always those things that do not have a suitable place in the house. And obviously they just need to find it.
6. Lack of a systematic approach
If you get all the summer things in the spring, and don’t prepare the winter clothes for storage and don’t remove them, then scarves, hats, ski boots, fur coats and down jackets will constantly fall out of the closet, says Ekaterina Pushkareva. And yet, if there is no clear idea of what exactly is needed for the house, it is easy to buy a bunch of extra, useless things that will then gather dust unnecessarily. So making shopping lists and cleaning schedules, putting winter and summer things on the shelves in time for the next season will help to cope with household anarchy in the house. “For example, divide housing into zones and plan dates and times in your calendar when you will study in different parts of the apartment,” Yuliana Myznikova advises.
Photo: Rubbermaid Products
7. Keep different things in one place
There is a term "categorization". According to Yuliana, it just reveals the essence of the principle of organized space, when things of one category are together and do not mix with objects of another purpose. That is, a first-aid kit in a drawer for documents and a box with wires in a sideboard do not contribute to the competent organization of space, even if, as it seems to you, there is simply no other place in the apartment. Yes, you just need to think carefully about where and how it is most convenient to store items of the same purpose in one place, since this will not only make the apartment cleaner, but also allow you to quickly find the right things.
Daria Golovina
Ecology of life. Society is constantly striving to maintain order in everything and everywhere at all costs. No more templates!
We live in a very formulaic and predictable world. Almost everything in it is neatly packaged and systematized. Society is constantly striving to maintain order in everything and everywhere at all costs.But all this is nothing more than an illusion.
We have been taught superficial notions of symmetry.Life is indeed unpredictable and chaotic, although it seems to us that if everything is "organized", then it will be much better.
But in reality it's the other way around. For example, you think that you need to buy a few more pants in order to have enough "for all time". You buy. And then it turns out that all things no longer fit in the closet. And he's just doomed to mess. Thus, having created "order" in one place, you immediately create it in another.
You decide to throw everything you don't have in the trash can. At home, it seems like “order” turned out, but the world as a whole has become dirtier.
Here is what the physicist Adam Frank has to say about this:"This is the law of physics. The harsh truth of life is that the universe itself is chaos. How can you put things in order at home or in your life if it is contrary to the nature of the universe?"
In fact, no matter how hard we try to keep our lives in order, and the house in order, nothing comes of it. Disorder is always here and there.
What to do? To say yes to the chaotic nature of this world. Humble yourself.
People who always have a mess at home are stigmatized. To those around them, they seem apathetic and leading a "wrong" life. But that's just not true!
Disorganized people are better than everyone else. If only because they do not allow the false illusion of order to dictate their daily routine.
Jim Morrison spoke well on this subject:"I'm interested in rebellion, in chaos, in chaos. It seems to me that this is the path to freedom."
This does not mean that every aspect of your life needs to be plunged into chaos. Being organized is sometimes important and even helpful. But you have no right to judge people who live in disorder. Believe me: order is greatly overrated.
People who have a constant mess at home are not lazy. They are creative and bold.
Common sense tells us that cleanliness is the key to efficiency and productivity, but this is not the case.
Eric Abrahamson and David Friedman, authors of the scientific bestseller A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder, write:"Clutter is not necessarily a sign of lack of system. You can work more efficiently at a table on which everything is scattered than at a clean one. When a person has a mess on his desk, this does not mean that he does not work well. It means that he works so well, that he just has no time to get out."
In other words, clutter may actually be a sign of efficiency, not carelessness.
PhD from the University of Minnesota, Kathleen Vohs, conducted a study and proved that people who are prone to throwing things around and accumulating garbage are actually more creative than everyone else.
As part of this scientific work, Vohs conducted one curious experiment. She divided 48 volunteers into two groups and asked them to find creative ways to use a ping-pong ball. Half of the participants in the experiment were placed in a clean, tidy room, the other half in a dirty one. In the end, both groups came up with an equal number of ideas, but the latter, as judged independently by other students, were more innovative and creative.
Vohs concludes:"We all want to be more creative, have more insights. My advice to you is if you're stuck, move to a dirty room. This will allow you to go beyond your usual perception and produce fresh ideas faster. Order is the result of our desire for security, chaos - our desire for a creative rethinking of the world."
Clutter, of course, has long been closely associated with creative genius. Disorganization and messiness are condemned in society, but most of the great minds have lived in such conditions all their lives: Albert Einstein, Alan Turing, Ronald Dahl. Even JK Rowling can't clean her apartment!
They all achieved greatness, despite the fact that their whole life was full of chaos.
In general, if your parents punished you for not wanting to clean your room, then they made a mistake.
Society ignores the hidden benefits of chaos.
It takes courage to break the rules and live in your creative mess.
Albert Einstein once remarked:"If a mess on the table means a mess in the head, then what does an empty table mean?"
Creative people see the whole picture of their life, and do not get hung up on its individual details. They go with the flow, not against the current. They easily adapt to changes. They know that the time resource is too limited to spend it on boring things like cleaning.
The simplicity and beauty of life is more important than visible "success" and artificial "discipline". Passion is better than boredom.
If you are one of those who find it difficult to maintain order in the house, you must have wondered at least once how those who are remarkably neat do it. Well, more cleanliness in such apartments will not cause you bewilderment. People who always manage to keep order shared their secrets.
Learn to find a place
Even if you don't think you're hoarding a lot of stuff, you probably have plenty of variety on every surface. Start following the rule - one new item in the house, it's time to throw out the old one. Whenever you bring something new, make room for it by getting rid of the old and unnecessary. This will help you not to accumulate useless things.
Keep surfaces clean
Often there is not enough space in the drawer for small items, and the mess begins to spread to other surfaces that should be kept clean. Envelopes, checks and other little things instantly accumulate on the table. People who have perfect order in the house immediately begin to solve the problem. If you maintain a space in perfect order, it is not only more aesthetically pleasing, it is also easier to clean. Just don't leave anything extra on the surfaces.
Plan your cleaning schedule
A clean house doesn't just happen by magic - tidy people have a set schedule to keep everything in perfect order. They are distinguished by thoughtful rituals that allow not to accumulate dust and dirt. For example, such a person probably has a habit of vacuuming or doing laundry every Monday. As a result, the most important tasks are never left unattended.
Think about the order right away
Sometimes it’s enough to pay attention to the little things to make your home shine. Start by taking your shoes off right away. Leaving your shoes right at your doorstep prevents toxins, soil, leaves, and other contaminants from staining your floor and spreading throughout the space.
Keep things in their place
If you have too many things that don't have their place, the clutter will simply be impossible to beat. Try to come up with a special corner for each item and always send it there.
Organize step by step
People who keep their house always clean don't wait for clutter to reach a critical limit. They take a holistic approach. For example, before leaving the living room, they straighten the pillows and fold the blanket. They teach children to put toys in a box before going to bed, hang things on hangers, fold dried clothes as soon as they remove them from the dryer.
Think of interesting storage solutions
Neat people are smart about using products that help them stay organized. For example, they use a variety of organizers and containers. The transparent organizer allows you to immediately see where everything is, and makes it much easier to find the right item.
Don't be afraid to ask for help
Of course, not everyone has the budget to hire professional cleaners on a regular basis. Those who still have such means have a higher motivation to maintain cleanliness - the cleaning lady will not put all things in their places, she will simply put things in order around. If you clean everything, the house will be much cleaner.
Learn to Delegate
If you do not live alone, you should understand that clutter is the result of a collective effort. Cleaning should also be a team effort. Everyone should have responsibilities, and this applies not only to adults, but also to children.
Make cleaning fun
If you don't like cleaning, you might think that it just can't be fun. However, there are always ways to get things done without focusing on them. Make cleaning more enjoyable by listening to an interesting podcast or your favorite music.
Make storage aesthetic
If you consider organization and storage as part of your interior design, you'll want to make sure everything is aesthetically pleasing. For example, you can organize a closet so that the dresses are together, jeans, sweaters, tops lie separately. Each category can be sorted by color. It looks nice, and it's much more convenient to search for things.
Wash dishes right away
If you wake up and your sink is full of dishes, your mood immediately spoils. Try to wash dishes or load the dishwasher right away. This will make you feel more productive, and the plates will not dry out on greasy deposits, which are so difficult to wash off afterwards.
Use household items for cleaning
Don't put off cleaning just because you don't have all the items you need. You can clean the windows with a regular coffee filter. You can use an old T-shirt to remove lint from clothes or remove dust. There are many similar convenient solutions that will help you.
Clutter limits the brain's ability to process information and causes constant distractions. A study conducted at Princeton University found that clutter limits the brain's ability to process visual information. Still, after all, even finding some thing among the trash is a real test. But there are ways.
2. Makes us nervous
Clutter causes stress. A University of California study in Los Angeles families found that cortisol levels rose when mothers watched their children's piles of unwashed clothes and toys scattered around the house, and, conversely, decreased when they went to work or shopping.
3. Makes you procrastinate
Clutter, in fact, provokes procrastination. You think: “Yeah, I need to fix the chair,” and then you try to find the right tool, get angry and put off the repair, which would have taken 3 minutes, on the back burner. If the mess is also in the workplace, then do not expect record productivity from yourself.
4. Eats money
Clutter eats up time, and therefore money. Think for yourself how much time you spend at work looking for the right file or document - and this is only part of the unproductive waste of time. According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, Americans collectively spend 9 million hours a day on these unproductive processes.
5. Deteriorating health
Accumulations of things provoke the appearance of dust mites, which cause allergies and asthma attacks. So, in addition to the above, the disorder also harms your health and the health of your loved ones.
6. Turns us into fat people
Clutter causes stress, which in turn encourages weight gain and bad habits. Peter Walsh, author of Does This Clutter Make My Butt Look Fat, notes that the constant desire to eat more is also a kind of mess, and it's hard to argue with it. Promiscuity in nutrition and harmful snacks are the consequences of chaos in the head.
7. Does not allow you to live "here and now"
Feng Shui philosophy says that clutter is a negative energy that provokes negative emotions. Order, on the contrary, brings harmony and a positive stream into life. Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, says that the true purpose of cleaning is to return to your natural, calm state.
Cleaning is a way to surround yourself with items that you really needed. Marie advises to give up all unnecessary things: in her opinion, this will help to start a new life. Here's another reason.