Is Clutter Affecting Your Health?

[SAHMmy Says]

I posted some links today on the main site to articles about the health effects of clutter.
Does the clutter in your home make you feel depressed, stressed, anxious?
Do you feel like you could get on board with organizing if only you could lose a little weight?--I was actually talking with my grandma about that one today. She swears there's a connection between the disorder in her closets and her inability to lose the 15 lbs that would allow her to toss tons of clothes.
For me, I know that when I put off cleaning/decluttering, I feel so weighed down. If the house is messy, I get out (shop--hello, more clutter!) or ignore it (TV).
I've heard that forward-thinking doctors are actually prescribing organizing homework--or even professional organizing services--to help "cure" patients of physical and mental ailments caused by clutter/hoarding. Good luck getting insurance to pay for that ;)
Has too much clutter--or too little cleaning--ever affected your health? How did you turn it around?

[Darla]

If my house is cluttered, I literally cannot function. It's actually quite ridiculous.

[Lalena]

Clutter gives me anxiety. I try to clear something everyday, a drawer, a cabinet or closet. I just feel lighter when I'm not surrounded by stuff. I'm in the process of clearing out. I need simple and relaxed...Less is more!

[Christina]

I wouldn't say it's affected my physical health but mental health... YES. My goodness, when my house is messy or cluttered, I stress until it's clean. Usually when I get that stressed feeling, I run out of the house and try to stay gone a little while. A day or two later, I reorganize every room in the house, one day at a time. Knowing that I've cleaned under and around everything always lifts my mood. That's really odd too, how that works. My husband gets scared when I'm in the reorganize/rearrange mood. HA! And actually, I'm in that mood right now. I just did my boys room, the girls room and the bathroom. Today I'll do my bedroom.

[SAHMmy Says]

Yes!--thoroughly clean feels so good! I've spent the last few days detailing my entry and bathroom, and spent an hour today rubbing lemon oil into the bone-dry piano. I smile every time I walk by it--and it's even clean behind because we just painted that wall!

[DevilishSouthernBelle]

I, too, am sure there is a direct correlation between clutter and how we feel. I absolutely LOVE organizing...but here's my problem: I want all my canisters/containers/organizers to match! I have no idea why, since it doesn't bother me that my dishes don't match (and I prefer it that way). My ex husband used to make fun of me because it would make me so happy to tear everything out of a closet or cabinet and organize that rather than cleaning what the rest of the world could see when our door was open! But it really bothers me to think that things are just 'put away' in closets and cabinets where nothing is organized.

Also, your Grandma's closet theory could be correct, too. I have lots of stuff in my closet that I am hanging on to just so I can repurpose it once I lose weight. AND....anyone who knows me knows that I have all these ideas that I never put into place, so there is that adding to the burden of my clutter as well.

I'm a mess (but a mess whose closets and cabinets are well organized, at least!); help!

[SAHMmy Says]

No help here--I'm a "can't see the forest for the trees" girl myself. I get that from my other grandma! I organize from the inside out too--closets and shelves are neat as a pin, but I often let toys hang out where they fall for a day or 2 :)