The Psychology Behind Junk Drawers

It's still National Cleaning Week! How have you been doing so far lately? Have you cleaned any of your junk drawers yet?

Let’s face it: We’d rather do anything else than to sit down and organize a messy drawer. According to psychology professor Sam Gosling, we continue adding more stuff, thus creating another pocket of clutter in the home. (Who knew that being disorganized had so many psychological implications?)

So, what does this clutter do for us? Gossling says that, psychologically, it does three things:

1. We have become one with many of our old and unused items. Regardless of their uselessness, these things make us feel comfortable and more like ourselves.
2. We feel connected and relaxed as old clutter brings a feeling of nostalgia, reminding us of happy times.
3. Therefore, stuffed drawers aren’t seen as clutter, but as expected outcome of accumulating stuff throughout our lives.

To combat junk drawers:

1. Keep often used items nearby, storing other item in an attic or basement.
2. Use drawer dividers to separate socks and under garments. These are also great for those kitchen drawers filled with random pens, pencils, paper clips and bottles of super glue.
3. Always store like items together. For example, hair accessory shouldn't go with toothpaste and mouth wash. Group items by category to make life a little easier.

If drawer organizing is too much work for you, leave it to Life Uncluttered! Call us tiday to discuss your organizing needs today!