The Link Between Clutter and Depression!

January 26, 2018

By: Lisa Kaplan Gordon

It’s been proven. Clutter is a bummer — literally.

Dishes in the sink, toys throughout the house, stuff covering every flat surface; this clutter not only makes our homes look bad, it makes us feel bad, too.

At least that’s what researchers at UCLA’s Center on Everyday Lives and Families (CELF) discovered when they explored in real time the relationship between 32 California families and the objects in their homes. The resulting book, “Life at Home in The Twenty-First Century,” is a rare look at how middle-class Americans use the space in their homes and interact with the things they accumulate over a lifetime.

Our over-worked closets are overflowing with things we rarely touch.

It turns out that clutter has a profound affect on our mood and self-esteem. CELF’s anthropologists, social scientists, and archaeologists found:

•A link between high cortisol (stress hormone) levels in female home owners and a high density of household objects.The more stuff, the more stress women feel. Men, on the other hand, don’t seem bothered by mess, which accounts for tensions between tidy wives and their clutter bug hubbies.

•Women associate a tidy home with a happy and successful family. The more dishes that pile up in the sink, the more anxious women feel.

•Even families that want to reduce clutter often are emotionally paralyzed when it comes to sorting and pitching objects. They either can’t break sentimental attachments to objects or believe their things have hidden monetary value.

•Although U.S. consumers bear only 3% of the world’s children, we buy 40% of the world’s toys.And these toys live in every room, fighting for display space with kids’ trophies, artwork, and snapshots of their last soccer game.

Although “Life At Home” documents the clutter problem, the book offers no solutions. But there are some simple things you can do to de-clutter your home and raise your spirits.

Adopt the Rule of Five:

Every time you get up from your desk or walk through a room, put away five things. Or, each hour, devote five minutes to de-cluttering. At the end of the day, you’ve cleaned for an hour.

Be Ruthless About Your Kitchen Sink:

Pledge to clear and clean your kitchen sink every day. It takes a couple of seconds more to place a dish in the dishwasher than dump it in the sink. A clean sink will instantly raise your spirits and decrease your anxiety.

Put Photos Away:

Return to yesteryear when only photos of ancestors or weddings earned a place. Put snapshots in a family album, which will immediately de-clutter many flat surfaces.

Unburden Your Refrigerator Door:

Researchers found a correlation between the number of items stuck to the fridge door and the amount of clutter throughout the house. Toss extra magnets, file restaurant menus, and place calendars in less conspicuous places.

Test Whether You’ll Miss It:

Fill a box with items you don’t love or use. Seal the box and place it in a closet. If you haven’t opened the box in a year, donate it (unopened!) to charity.

7 Photos of DIY’d Garages That Will Make You Say “OMG!”

January 24, 2018

By: Amy Howell Hirt

Clean floors? Clearly labeled bins? Be still my heart.

Your garage can be a place to stash everything from tools to seasonal decor without feeling — and looking — like a dumping ground.

Follow these seven simple guiding principles to transform it into an organized, attractive, and even inspiring space.

#1 Get Stuff Off the Floor:

Hoist those sedentary bins up and away onto a shelving system.

Stackable clear bins (with labels! don’t forget the labels!) at arm-height make it easy to recognize and grab frequently used items, while open space beneath provides assigned parking for the Shop-Vac and kiddos’ wagons.

#2 Color-Coordinate Bins:

A punchy color scheme makes those bins feel even tidier and, dare we say, fun. Add some decorative labels and people won’t know if they’re in a garage or a Pinterest-inspired preschool.

#3 Use Rolling Storage:

With your newfound open floor space, you can dedicate durable carts to different endeavors — gardening, camping, tailgating. You’ll save transition time (and your back) by rolling all your supplies to the yard or the car.

#4 Put Up Pegboards (Lots of ‘Em):

For all those odds and ends that loiter on the periph of your garage — garden tools, we’re looking at you — pegboard is the underrated hero.

Just put those bad boys on empty wall space. Group like items according to shape and size, leaving plenty of room to add new tools to your masterpiece with just a hook (rather than a massive reorganization).

#5 Organize With an Eye on Style:

To take your garage decluttering to another level, get inspired by the beautiful order of this workbench.

The accessible storage is so symmetrical, so colorful, you’ll actually look forward to using it. Or just standing before it and grinning. (Those little hanging cubbies? Want.)

#6 Designate Zones:

Something as simple as a perpendicular workbench creates a zone dedicated to any purpose you can dream up — and keeps each tool and toy sorted by function.

(Bonus points for the additional pegboard storage this bench provides.) And how about those paints and clever wall racks? Reminiscent of a delicious kitchen spice rack, no?

#7 Pull It All Together for a DIY Dream Come True:

Let’s take a moment to slow clap the organized glory of a garage that juggles multiple projects — woodworking, car repairs, home improvements — without breaking a sweat.

Smartly spaced, wall-to-ceiling, and under-counter storage give everything a place, while stylishly coordinated pops of red and blue pull it all together.

Despite so much going on, it all feels organized and open. The photo alone is enough to make you want to roll up your sleeves and dive into a project.