Read how too much clutter has affected the life of Beth in the story below. 

People often said that Beth was bright and talented, but somehow hadn’t reached her potential.

In her early thirties, and after trying a handful of jobs, she was still unsure where in life she was meant to be. Seeing her friends overtake her with high-flying careers, mortgages and family life, Beth was forced to evaluate what was preventing her success.

Beth’s issue was in fact very simple – She had too many things.

Having grown up in a society where we’re encouraged to acquire, the mountain of items you accumulate can be daunting. It’s not just the problem of your house being messy or not having enough storage space. It’s the resulting effect on the rest of your life that prevents you from living a life you deserve.

We are going to unpack five of the reasons clutter may be getting in the way of your success.

1. Increased and unnecessary stress due to clutter

Since Beth had managed to collect a lot of items, it made the simplest of tasks a chore. Too many clothes meant not enough time to do laundry. She would wash a few of them when she ran out of clean socks and T-shirts, but her approach to this was simply “as and when.” This was most often before a trip away which added unnecessary pressure to her already tight schedule.

If you have copious possessions in no order, you could be piling on a lot of extra stress just through mislaying things. Also, everyday tasks like dusting and hoovering become more difficult.

2. Negative feelings

Not being able to organise your chaos or tidy up effectively leads to guilt and shame. This is because we are taught “cleanliness is next to Godliness.” Whether you’re religious or not, society champions a perfect home, bombarding us with aspirational images through magazines and social media. Compounded negative emotions can lead you to believe you don’t deserve a relaxing abode, so you do nothing to change it. This can ultimately affect your self-esteem.

3. Poor financial health

You don’t like to have friends over because your surroundings embarrass you. You meet them in restaurants or cafes to compensate for this.

Small things, you may be thinking, but the knock on effect was enormous for Beth: “I hated being in the house as I just couldn’t bear to look at all the chaos. I would eat out a lot so I didn’t have to, but I’d get to the end of the month and be way into my overdraft. This meant so I couldn’t save up for a deposit on a house or plan a fancy holiday like my friends all seem to.”

4. Lack of focus

Having too many things around you can means you’re constantly distracted and can’t stick with one project at a time.

What irritated her friends most about Beth was her inability to focus or finish anything off. No-one could question her drive and her seemingly bottomless well of ideas, but she would quickly get bored of one interest and move onto something else.

“The issue is I just wanted so much to do everything. I couldn’t decide or make a decision. I’d buy books to learn a new language, but then life and work would get in the way. The book would get shelved but I always wanted to come back to it. It’s the same story with my guitar, my Pilates mat and all my notebooks full of ideas that I just never had the chance to put into action.”

Lack of space is another reason you can’t get done what you might otherwise like to concentrate on. You can’t succeed at something if you don’t have a place to do it.

5. No career progression

When your clutter means you can’t find anything, you tend to throw on whichever clothes you can find. Perhaps you don’t bother with makeup because it’s been two weeks since you last saw your mascara. While it’s not fair to judge on appearances, if you don’t pay attention to your personal presentation, it can affect how people view you professionally.

Beth’s surroundings and disorganisation meant her career was in jeopardy: “When I went out, I could never find my keys. I ended up stressed out and flustered before work. Once I actually turned up to work without my laptop computer and couldn’t do anything. My boss was less than impressed.”

6. Relationship tensions

It wasn’t just Beth’s work life that was suffering: “Because I was so late all the time, my boyfriend was starting to get cheesed off as he felt I didn’t respect his time. We would get into arguments about this regularly.”

It’s not only being late on dates that can unsettle the waters in Paradise. Hoarding itself can create tensions, as the only thing worse than having to tolerate your own mess is having to put up with someone else’s.

7. General inertia

Making any positive life changes like getting a new house, moving city for a new job or making room for a future baby means dealing with all your clutter. Putting it off can seem like the only logical response. For a person who can’t get rid of their things, there are psychological issues that prevent them from taking control.

What has been holding Beth back all these years is not merely that she is untidy by nature. The root goes a lot deeper than that:

“I finally decided to take drastic action and declutter my flat. I wasn’t able to be my best self, so I have been working through my cupboards and boxes. The table has still got piles of stuff but I can find things much more easily. It’s a process, but one that is worth it to achieve the Zen-like existence I have always craved.

“I grew up wanting people to like me, and that manifested in me wanting to be creative and interesting and learn lots of skills. I bought books and DVDs and instruments to try to learn everything I could, but of course I never had enough time. With each item is a dream I’ve had to let go of and accept the possibility I’m boring or less lovable. It’s been quite painful, but now I’m starting to feel liberated. I have the option of following the dreams that belong to me in 2018. I’m no longer being tethered to the aspirations of Beth ten years ago. It’s all rather asphyxiating when I think about it. I wish I had done this cleanse a few years ago.”

What can help the psychological barriers to decluttering?

Of course, there is some clutter that Beth is not prepared to let go of: “I’ve thrown away a lot of clothes and even some sentimental items like my university notes, but there’s no way I can part with the majority of my books. Luckily, my parents have space in their loft and they’ve kindly suggested I store some boxes with them until I can afford a bigger home. I was strongly considering putting these things in storage before they offered, though.”

Self storage can help give you back the physical and mental space you need to operate a stress free life, but means you don’t have to throw everything away. Find out more about the self storage options available or give us a call to speak to one of our self storage experts.