Tidying is a task with a definite and satisfying ending. If you don't get the confirmation within 10 minutes, please check your spam folder. Click the link to confirm your subscription and begin receiving our newsletters. “If you can exert some control over your inbox or your office space, these are small things you can attend to and feel good about,” she says.įor your security, we've sent a confirmation email to the address you entered. “When things in our lives feel out of our control, I think tidying up can be psychologically reinforcing,” says Michelle Newman, a professor of psychology and director of the Laboratory for Anxiety and Depression Research at Penn State University. “It’s pretty well established that levels of chronic stress are rising, so you can draw this parallel that when people generally are more stressed-from work or life-ordering things around them is a response.”Īnd that response can be helpful. One of Lang’s studies linked anxiety to the performance of repetitive, ritualistic behaviors, and he says that cleaning up and organizing certainly qualifies. “During times of uncertainty, people usually search for activities that may help them control this uncertainty,” says Martin Lang, a post-doctoral fellow at Harvard University. Other psychologists say the drive to organize can be a sign of underlying mental angst or unrest. “It isn’t abundance that’s the problem as much as attachment to abundance.” “In this society of abundance we live in, I think the idea that we have to have more makes us less satisfied with life,” says Joseph Ferrari, coauthor of the study and a professor of psychology at DePaul University in Chicago. But one of the authors of that study says that clutter seems to be a symptom of other problems-namely, procrastination and rampant consumerism-rather than a problem in and of itself. Spend any time exploring the world of graphic design, and you’ll see similar trends emphasizing “clean,” “simple,” and “minimalist” approaches.Īnother study linked physical clutter to lower levels of life satisfaction. Beyond self-improvement philosophies, there’s the popularity of “organization porn” on Pinterest and Instagram-images of household items, often food-related, arranged in neat and symmetrical grids. Proponents say doing this can improve your productivity and time management, and maybe also lower your stress. There’s the “Inbox Zero” movement, a popular approach to email management that emphasizes clearing your inbox at the end of every work day.

And there’s more evidence, much of it predating the “KonMari” phenomenon, that America has caught organization fever. Judging by the popularity of her message and method, Kondo’s philosophy is scratching an itch for a lot of people. “Detoxing” your spaces of unused and unwanted stuff can make you happier, more confident and maybe even slimmer, Kondo writes in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. In her bestselling book and Netflix series, Marie Kondo makes the case that decluttering can “dramatically transform” your life.

Tidy up sign