Women’s Health
omething is happening behind closed
doors. Decluttering is sweeping the
nation. Then folding the nation,
colour-coding the nation and taking
five bags of the nation to the charity
shop. Spreadsheets are being created,
Oliver Bonas storage boxes bought and invoices neatly
filed away. We’re editing in micro (do you really need all
those apps on your phone?) and in macro (do you really
need all those friends in your life?). And enthusiasts
report buzzing highs and contented lulls alongside
existences more regimented and streamlined than
ever before. Life editing is so cool it’s earned its own
millennial moniker (#organisationporn), sparked by
a new taste for conscious consumption. It’s minimalism
2.0 – this time, it’s got succulents. Happily, this trend
delivers more than the sparking of joy; it’s primed to
quell your mental overstimulation.
It starts with the small stuff. Like your sock drawer,
according to professional organiser (CV goals) Vicky
Silverthorn, who named her book, Start With Your Sock
Drawer, after that very idea. Similar tasks that leaders
of the trend advocate aren’t rocket science, but day-to-
day basics within the reach of anyone with the time and
inclination. Marie Kondo, having risen to fame in 2014
when her now cult-status book The Life-Changing
Magic Of Tidying was published, promotes the method
of decluttering the home room by room by asking
whether belongings spark joy, and rerouting them
to your nearest charity shop if the answer is no. More
recently, her social media-born comrades are inspiring
far and wide. Take Sophie Hinchcliffe, aka Mrs Hinch,
who’s amassed some two million followers by sharing
videos and tips on how to really get tile grout clean
and the best products to use to disinfect your toilet.
Blogger Anna Newton has been on YouTube since 2010,
but it was the release of her book, An Edited Life*, that
elevated her to guru status. Like the practice business
leaders adopt when they wear the same clothes and
eat the same lunch every day to save energy for more
important decisions, Newton’s method is as much
about reducing ‘cognitive overheads’ as it is about
clearing out cupboards, with hand-holding advice on
everything from formulating a budget to maintaining
a social calendar. What sounds like a recipe to lengthen
your to-do list is in fact offering an escape from stress,
something intrinsically linked to your state of mind.
MENTAL SHELF
Multiple studies have confirmed
what your responsible adult
always told you about mess: it
matters. Brave researchers from
DePaul University in Chicago
analysed the habitats (read:
disarray) of university students,
alongside those of millennials
and baby boomers, to examine
the link between clutter and
life satisfaction. As well as
confirming that frustration
with clutter increases with age
(so stressing about mess is only
going to get worse as time goes
on), the scientists found a link
between clutter and lower life
satisfaction overall. It’s enough
to prove that a floor-drobe, a
fit-to-burst bathroom cabinet
or spare room that resembles
a scene from an apocalypse film
all have the power to trigger
a negative physical response
in the body, a link confirmed by
previous research. A study of
dual-income couples found thatwomen who reported that they
had a cluttered home, or a home
that needed work doing to it,
had higher levels of cortisol
throughout the working day.
Interestingly, the amount by
which you’re affected by clutter
seems to depend on your
benchmark for tidiness; those
who have let things slide during
a busy week at work will be
more susceptible to clutter-
based stress than those who are
used to a bedroom that looks
like it could belong to a teenage
boy. ‘Neuroscientists at
Princeton University found that
clutter divides your attention,
like a trick of the mind,’ explains
Dr Jessamy Hibberd, clinical
psychologist and co-author of
This Book Will Make You Calm.
‘The visual cortex of the brain
becomes overwhelmed by task-
irrelevant objects, making it
harder to allocate your attention
effectively.’ It means that clutter
actually makes it harder to get
shit done. ‘Every single item you
own, you are responsible for,’
adds Silverthorn. ‘So whetherit’s something tiny or something big, it takes
up space in your brain.’ Apply that theory to
your junk drawer (you know the one), and
so the beads of sweat begin to surface.
On the flipside, taking control of any kind
of disarray in your life can act as a restorative
antidote, even if it requires a little work at
the time. It’s the reason why Kondo, Newton
et al are being held up as gurus, despite only
telling us what we should already know.
Beyond the instant appeal of a tidy room,
studies have found clutter-free spaces to
improve creativity, boost mood and elevate
performance in tasks (remember: mess is
distracting). Indeed, a survey by the National
Sleep Foundation found that people who
made their bed every day were 19% more
likely to report getting a good night’s sleep
than those who left the duvet in a heap.CLEAN UP YOUR ACT
Then there’s the stuff that’s a little harder
to quantify. ‘I’m telling you, when you wake
up in the morning and go to get your socks
out, you will buzz,’ says Silverthorn, who
chose the sock drawer reference for the title
of her book because she believes that small,
simple changes are the most positive way
to overhaul your life. It’s the feeling that
comes from getting your shit together, and
it applies to mental clutter, too. The hen do
of a friend of a friend that you agreed to go
on months ago that’s now costing you half
a month’s rent; the ‘sort out your ISA’ Post-
it that’s been stuck to your computer for six
months; the crack in the bathroom ceiling
you’re reminded of every time you shower.
‘When the balance tips too far towards work
or social life, to the point where everyday
admin isn’t getting done and that causes
stress, sometimes you need to press the
pause button on your life, take a breath
and work on one area,’ Newton explains.
‘You’ll find it has a ripple effect that
continues across other areas of your life,
at home, at work and elsewhere. I know
that the more organised I am with my diary,
the more organised I’ll be with my food
shop, holiday planning, social events, meal
prep, fitness routines – the lot.’ And with
that comes a sense of calm.
WH Deputy Editor Victoria Joy discovered
Newton’s book at a time when she was
feeling overwhelmed. ‘I’d reached the point
of messaging my close friends to say that
I was putting a blanket ban on socialising
because I felt that frazzled,’ she says. Now,JULY 2019 | 55
Clutter triggers a negative
physical response in the body
S T R O N G
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