How to Know When You Should Be Concerned About Clutter

Do You Have a Clutter Problem? After reading this article you’ll be able to determine whether you should be concerned about clutter in your home.

Unless you are a hard-core minimalist, the truth is most of us have some level of clutter in our homes. So the question is how much is too much? How do you determine whether the clutter in your home is a serious problem? How do you know whether you should be concerned about your clutter, or if it’s a normal amount that is easily kept under control?

Today, you will learn the answer to these questions.

When You Should Be Concerned About Clutter In Your Home

With busy schedules and too much stuff in our homes and on our calendars is it any wonder life starts feeling out of control and stressful. The reality of our overstuffed lives has more and more of us searching for ways to simplify.

Our homes should be a place to relax and escape the stresses of the outside world. However, for far too many of us, clutter has taken over our homes making it impossible to find that refuge and peaceful retreat we so desperately long for.

To determine whether clutter is creating high levels of stress and frustration, or if it’s something you just need to take a few steps to get under control, let’s look at some areas of your home that will help you determine whether clutter is a concern.

Clutter Becomes a Concern When it Creates Saftey Issues

There are cluttered homes, and then there are houses that are dangerously cluttered.  As I said above, most of us have some level of clutter. However, clutter becomes a problem when it creeps in over years of buying things and rarely if ever, getting rid of other things owned. When this happens clutter creates an unsafe environment without even realizing it’s happening.

Here are some things to look for if you’re unsure whether your clutter has risen to the point of being a safety issue:

Clutter is creating a fire hazard

If the clutter in a home is blocking exit points of your home it is a fire hazard. This arises in situations where boxes and items are piled in front of windows or doors that could otherwise be used to escape in the event of a fire.

Fire hazards also arise when there is so much clutter that it’s obstructing a hallway or walkway. This has the potential to prevent someone from escaping during a fire.

Another area to watch for is stacks of old newspapers and magazines that have dried out over the years. These things are just building up fuel for a potential fire. Boxes, papers, and clothing are all extremely flammable just waiting for a single spark to ignite.

Clutter is preventing free movement

If the clutter in a home is preventing anyone from moving freely throughout the house, it is a safety issue.

When clutter has accumulated to the point that you need to climb over or zig-zag around it just to walk through your home, that creates a serious safety issue. It’s just a matter of time until someone takes a major fall and injures themselves. 

The same is true with things scattered across the floor. If you’re tripping over things or you need to turn on a light to get out of bed in the middle of the night, just so you can go to the bathroom without stepping on things, that is a safety issue.

Clutter is inviting pests

It doesn’t take much clutter for it to be a welcoming invitation to all sorts of pests. This includes ants, silverfish, fleas, spiders, and even rats or mice. Each of these pests can carry diseases of all sorts and are incredibly annoying to deal with. 

Clutter is a breeding ground for mold

Mold grows very rapidly in moist areas. When you have a lot of clutter, it traps moisture by cutting off air circulation. This makes a cluttered home far more likely to develop mold issues. Of course, mold growth has been linked to a variety of health issues, including respiratory illnesses.

Finding any type of mold in your home is a clear indication that clutter is creating a safety issue.

You Should be Concerned About Clutter When Cleanliness is an Issue

Did you know there is research that shows cleaning, has a direct impact on your mental health?  Keeping a clean home is actually good for your mental health!

If you are struggling to keep up with basic cleanliness in your home, there is a reason to be concerned about your clutter level. If you are feeling like your home is never clean, or like you’ve just spent hours cleaning, and 5 minutes later it feels like a mess again, clutter is the culprit.

Clutter Becomes a Concern When it Complicates Life

Having too much stuff in your home will actually complicate your life. Every single thing you own takes some amount of your time to deal with. Obviously, this means the more stuff you have the more time you have to spend on your stuff. The result of spending so much time on your stuff is that it impacts many areas of your life and makes life feel complicated.

Here are a few ways clutter complicates life in a way that should cause concern:

It takes over your time and space

When there are more things in your home and on your mind than you have time and you energy to take care of, organize, or use, it unquestionably complicates your life. Constantly trying to find space to keep things and spending countless hours dealing with it all is exhausting.

Clutter should become a concern when you have neither the time nor space to deal with it all. It means it’s time to start letting some of it go.

You have trouble making decisions

Getting and staying clutter-free involves a ton of decision-making. You must decide what to keep, where to store it, what to get rid of, how to get rid of it, where to sell, or donate things. The more clutter you have the more decisions you must make.

All of this can feel very overwhelming. To avoid the overwhelm, you may be putting off decisions, and the result is more and more clutter builds up.

If you are feeling this, you just have to start decluttering your home. Start small, start anywhere, just start. Even 5 to 10 minutes a day will make a difference. 

You have trouble with organizing your home

There is a common saying, “You Can’t Organize Clutter”. When you have too much clutter in your home, no organizing skills or organization systems work.

An abundance of clutter requires serious decluttering before you will have success in finding systems that will fit your own life.

So if you find you’re having trouble keeping on top of organizing, clutter is something to be concerned with.

You have the urge to buy more and more

Everywhere we turn we are bombarded with advertising messages trying to convince us of all the things we need. Because the stuff we buy never really satisfies us, we are susceptible to all of these advertising messages.

In turn, this leaves us with the urge to buy more. Soon we’re out looking for great buys and sales even though we don’t need or have the space for the items. This is a clear sign that clutter is a concern.

Feeling of fear and insecurity sets in when trying to declutter

Clutter becomes a concern when we keep things we don’t really want, we don’t use or we don’t need out of fear, and insecurity, in getting rid of them. We are afraid that we may need them later or afraid of offending someone that may have given us the item as a gift.

A lot of our identity is tied to our stuff and feelings of insecurity arise when we try and clear the clutter. We even feel guilty about the money we wasted buying the items in the first place.

If you find these emotions interfering with your ability to declutter, it may be a sign you should be concerned about clutter in your home. 

What’s Your Clutter Severity?

If you’re still not sure whether you should be concerned about clutter in your home, take this quiz to know for sure.

Give yourself 1 point for rarely or never, 2 points for sometimes 3 points for often, and 4 points for almost always. 

• Just the thought of clearing the clutter exhausts me. 
• I want to clear the clutter, but I don’t have the time to do it.
• I save things just in case I need them someday. 
• Getting rid of things makes me feel guilty or wasteful.  
• There is no point in decluttering because the clutter will just come back again. 
• I avoid having people over.
• Spending time looking for things I need because I don’t know where they are is a regular occurrence. 
• I don’t have the space to put away everything I own. 
• I have various piles built up in my home waiting for me to have time to deal with them. 
• It’s difficult for me to fit things I own in closets, drawers, or cabinets
• I struggle to find the time for the things I want to do
• It’s hard for me to let go of the things I own

Now it’s time to tally your score and see how severe your clutter concern is.

39 – 48 Clutter is a concern for you, commit today to start clearing the clutter!  When you do you’ll free up some time and reduce your stress levels. 

29 – 38 It’s time to start paying attention to your clutter, it has been growing in your home for a while without you even being aware of it. But you can simplify things by taking some consistent actions to reduce the clutter.

21 – 28 Clutter may not be a serious problem for you yet, but taking steps to work on eliminating some of your clutter will help you keep it from getting out of hand.

12 -20 Maintaining an organized and clutter-free home is important to you. You stay on top of the clutter before it gets out of control. Way to go!

How to Start Taking Action on Your Clutter

Now that you know how much of a concern clutter is for you it’s time to take action. Whether clutter is a big concern affecting your life or you’ve you just want to keep it under control, taking consistent action is the key.

Start small and build from there, your motivation will increase as you continue to make progress.

Each of these articles on decluttering your home will help you achieve a clutter-free space no matter the level of concern your clutter is!

The Ultimate Guide to a Clutter-Free Home
How To Get Rid of Clutter Without Guilt
How To Finally Stop Procrastinating In Your Home
7 Ways To Start Decluttering You May Not Know
How To Win At Your Clutter Once and For All
How to Overcome Your Biggest Decluttering Mental Roadblocks
What To Do When You Don’t Feel Like Decluttering