Clutter and Stress: What Research Actually Shows, and a Realistic Way to Declutter

Routines · Published 2026-10-24

A sparse, bright living room with a grey sofa, a low white table and potted plants — A sparse, bright living room.

Decluttering is often promised as a path to calm and even happiness. A handful of studies link messy homes with stress and lower wellbeing, but they are small and mostly correlational. Here is what they found, what they cannot tell us, and a realistic way to clear space if you want to.

What the studies found

Clutter, cortisol and mood

In a study of 60 dual-income couples in Los Angeles, researchers analysed how people talked about their homes during a home tour and measured their cortisol (a stress hormone) over several days (Saxbe and Repetti, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 2010). Women who described their homes with more words related to clutter and unfinished projects had a flatter daily cortisol pattern, which is associated with chronic stress, and their depressed mood increased over the day. The pattern was not found in men. The study was small and observational: it could be that stress leads to clutter, that clutter adds to stress, or that other factors such as workload drive both.

Clutter and feeling at home

Survey research by Roster, Ferrari and Jurkat (Journal of Environmental Psychology, 2016) found that people who reported more clutter in their homes reported lower satisfaction with home and lower psychological wellbeing ("home" meaning a place of safety and identity). Again, this is cross-sectional data from self-reports.

Visual clutter and attention

Laboratory brain imaging experiments show that multiple objects in the visual field compete for neural representation, so attention is harder to focus when there is more to look at (McMains and Kastner, Journal of Neuroscience, 2011). This was not a study of homes, but it is consistent with the common experience that a cleared desk makes it easier to concentrate.

What this research does not show

None of these studies show that decluttering a home reduces stress, improves health or changes cortisol levels. There is little trial evidence on decluttering interventions in the general population. It is reasonable to say that, for many people, cluttered surroundings are associated with feeling more stressed and less at ease, and that clearing space can make a home easier to use and clean. It is not reasonable to promise that decluttering will treat anxiety or depression.

Clutter is not hoarding disorder

Hoarding disorder is a recognised mental health condition (listed in DSM-5 in 2013) involving persistent difficulty discarding possessions, strong distress at the thought of getting rid of them, and accumulation that congests living areas and impairs their use. Studies estimate it affects roughly 2% to 6% of adults. It is different from an untidy home or a lot of belongings. The NHS advises that people who may have hoarding disorder should seek help from a GP; treatment usually involves cognitive behavioural therapy, and forced clear-outs without support tend to fail and cause distress. Severe clutter can also be a fire risk and a falls hazard, so local fire services and councils may offer advice.

Safety: the overlooked benefit

Falls are a major cause of injury, especially among older adults; the WHO lists falls as the second leading cause of unintentional injury deaths worldwide. Clutter on floors and stairs, trailing cables and loose rugs are common trip hazards. Clearing walkways and stairs, adding light to dark corridors and fixing loose flooring are some of the most clearly useful forms of decluttering, particularly in homes of older relatives.

A realistic way to declutter

Start with function, not aesthetics. Choose the space that causes most daily friction: the hallway where keys get lost, a kitchen worktop, the desk you work at.
Work in short sessions. Fifteen to thirty minutes with a clear end point is more sustainable than a weekend marathon that leaves rooms half-emptied.
Sort into simple categories: keep, donate or sell, recycle, bin, and "belongs elsewhere". Take donations out of the house quickly.
Give things a home. Items without a designated place tend to become clutter again. Store frequently used things within easy reach and rarely used things higher or further away.
Use the one-in, one-out habit for categories that grow, such as clothes, mugs or cables.
Dispose responsibly. Old medicines go back to a pharmacy; batteries, electronics and paint go to appropriate collection points; documents with personal data should be shredded.
Be kind to yourself and others. Sentimental items take longer; it is fine to keep them. In shared homes, declutter only your own things unless you agree otherwise.

In short

Small, mostly correlational studies link cluttered homes with stress markers and lower wellbeing; cause and effect is unproven.
Visual clutter competes for attention, which may make focused work harder.
Decluttering is useful for function and safety, especially preventing falls; it is not a treatment for anxiety or depression.
Hoarding disorder is a distinct condition that needs professional support.

This page is general information, not medical advice. If you feel overwhelmed by possessions or struggle to discard things, talk to your GP or a mental health professional.

Sources

Saxbe DE, Repetti R. No place like home: home tours correlate with daily patterns of mood and cortisol. Pers Soc Psychol Bull 2010.
Roster CA, Ferrari JR, Jurkat MP. The dark side of home: assessing possession "clutter" on subjective well-being. J Environ Psychol 2016.
McMains S, Kastner S. Interactions of top-down and bottom-up mechanisms in human visual cortex. J Neurosci 2011.
NHS, Hoarding disorder.
World Health Organization, Falls fact sheet.