mental health and uncluttering

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Started 9 months ago by genny
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genny
Member

I admit it. When I am feeling overwhelmed and in need of control---I get rid of things and clean.
Sometimes I question if the need to unclutter is but a manifestation of a more troubled mind. The need to have control over things is motivating. Clutter is a distraction and an aggravation.

So, does a troubled mind lead to a desire for a more simple enviroment, or does a more simple enviroment lead to a less troubled mind?

When my house is all cleaned and there is pile o' crap awaiting to be moved out, I am likely to be feeling the trouble in mind. Right now, I want to back up a dipstey dumpster to the front door and begin to toss! It is not so much personal troubles, but the troubled world that we live in that has me wanting to clear the life spaces. Can't I just declutter the world?

If it were not for the fact that I live with another person, I would live really in an minimalist lifestyle.

Posted 9 months ago #
lottielot
Member

It's funny, genny, I was just coming on here to post something about uncluttering as a distraction. One which can feel good and have a satisfying outcome, but still something to distract from other issues. Better than shopping as a distraction, I suppose!
Maybe it's natural to unclutter as a response to a perception of disorder, whether environmental or internal.
I dunno, I'm getting a bit bored during these school holidays I think, usually I would have assignments throughout the summer and exams to revise for, but my masters is different. I just volunteered to help out a psychological society and downloaded a form to apply to do a few hours tutoring a week. My brain needs something else, something to distract from all this uncluttering and concentrating on the house. I think I function better and unclutter more efficiently when I'm busy :)

Posted 9 months ago #
Another Deb
Member

I certainly can distract myself to the point of paralysis! I have piles of school papers to deal with already and I woke up thinking about the trillion little jobs I "want" to do before I attempt the real work at hand. I would rather scrub the woodwork all of a sudden than deal with the projects that need to be graded. My mental list that pushed me out of bed this morning included decluttering an underwear drawer and checking for dried-out pens. Now THOSE are priorities! LOL! Send in the men in the white coats, please...

Posted 9 months ago #
Emilie
Member

Hee, Another Deb, I find testing pens to be strangely amusing. Anyway, genny, I feel like this isn't unusual at all. I remember writing in another thread that I tended to use decluttering as a form of distraction from other priorities that are harder to accomplish. Then again, since I discovered decluttering it has become something I am genuinely interested in, almost like a hobby. In that way, perhaps it's just as legitimate as anything else I would do for fun. I also clean as a form of procrastination...it doesn't "seem" like procrastination because it's "productive". It's insidious like that. Personally, I don't think that decluttering can clear my mind of worries that were not at all related to the clutter to begin with. I feel like decluttering is often presented as something that can solve all your problems, but I don't really think there's any one thing that can do that.

Posted 9 months ago #
Sky
Member

Me too, Genny. At least I can have order in my home!

Posted 9 months ago #
Nina
Member

I am definitely like this myself: when I have a cluttered mind it helps me to tidy and declutter my physical surrounding. I think as long as it doesn't keep me from doing the things I really need to do its ok - and sometimes doing something with my hands, rather then with my head, helps me to refocus.

Posted 9 months ago #
Ella
Member

I think you have hit on something very true. Decluttering can be a distraction from other issues that are troubling our minds. And certainly it gives us the illusion of control over our own little world. All the activities involved with Stuff can become distractions... buying Stuff, crafting Stuff, storing it, cleaning it, organizing it, getting rid of it... all of that moving of Stuff around -- into, through, and out of our lives -- keeps us busy and often keeps us from actually living our lives.

I think, too, that our busy-ness interacting with Stuff distracts us from interacting with People; that is, our relationships go neglected, even our relationship with ourselves. A lot of decluttering has a major component of irritation and even outright anger. Those hot emotions, although indirectly aimed at others or at ourselves, are actually acted out upon inanimate Stuff... "tackling" it or "attacking" it.

If a spate of cleaning & clearing leads to a decluttered mind, that's wonderful. But if decluttering becomes a default means of avoiding bigger issues, then decluttering itself is clutter! In other words, it can become yet another obstacle to living and enjoying our lives.

On your deathbed, are you going to say, I wish I'd spent more time clearing out the pantry.

Posted 9 months ago #
genny
Member

I think that, for me, it is not the act of decluttering that I seek as a form of distraction. I think that it is the end result of free and clear spaces that I seek.
I just feel a need to have few obstacles in life, from having only what I need on the countertop to NOT having a stack of UFOs to deal with.
i feel the need to be able to walk into the space where I live and confront only a few simple objects. I feel the need to have objectives that are clear cut and unobstructed. The idea of coming into a space, achieving a objective in a simple and straightforward manner and leaving with no mess left behind gives me peace.

When knitting, I like to have only one WIP on the needles, not two or three, or a dozen different projects going at the same time.
I like to have my life in good solid blocks. I like my whole meal on the plate at once, not in different courses. I don't like jewelry that dangles or bell shaped sleeves that catch on everything. I like it all in clean and simple lines without a lot of distractions. I could never sleep in the daytime or watch a movie during the daytime because that breaks up the active part of my day. I only want to wake up once each day,not twice. I can't switch back and forth from the fantasy world of a book or a movie to the real world during the day. I can't read in public, or with any background noise. When traveling to somewhere in the car, I don't like to stop until I get there.
Somehow, all of these things are connected in my mind. They are all part and parcel of the same.
Clear, clean and simple and solid is what I seek.
Geesh! When I delineate all of the "I don'ts and do's", I sound downright neurotic!
I really DO function in life, really.

Posted 9 months ago #
lifekeepshappening
Member

Perhaps it's a desire for more control over various aspects of life? Certainly, a very tidy, clean, simple home has reduced my stress.

This year I deleted at least 50% of my possessions and moved to a freshly renovated house with enough closets/cupboards. The change in my overall mood has been astounding. I am relaxed, I can concentrate, I am motivated to do housework because it can be done very quickly, I do not feel overwhelmed. I like coming home after work because I'm not coming home to my second job of being a maid service.

Only downside to it is that every time my teen son's friends come over they wonder why we haven't moved in properly yet because there's so little furniture or decorative junk :)

Posted 9 months ago #
Sepha
Member

I've still got a lot to do before the apartment is entirely comfortable. There's a lot of emotional baggage tied in with organization for me. Getting rid of stuff has been the most therapeutic part for me.

Posted 9 months ago #
genny
Member

life, I like your lifestyle. You seem to have arrived at a good place with a peaceful home.

Posted 9 months ago #

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