2. Reasons for Clutter

According to Kondo, people have problems with tidying up when they are unable to discard some of their possessions, and when they fail to assign proper places for storing items that they own and/or put things back where they belong. In many cases, these issues can be easily resolved. However, Kondo observes in her book that some people have difficulty discarding things because of more serious psychological issues.

For example, some people have their homes full of clutter because they are over-attached to the past or the future. Such people are reluctant to let go some of their material possessions because they believe that they might need those items in the future. This kind of fear reflects people’s anxiety about the future. In some cases, people have difficulty letting go of items that have some sentimental value. This is a sign that those people are clinging to the past.

Kondo emphasizes that when people with such psychological issues want to de-clutter their homes, they have to address their attachment to the past or the future.

Analysis and comments on reasons for clutter

According to the KonMari Method, people should keep only those items in their homes that spark joy in their lives. Kondo found from working with her clients that some people do not discard certain items even though those items do not spark joy.

In her book, Kondo goes beyond the discussion of organizing material possessions and points out that people can learn a lot about themselves by analyzing their attachment to certain objects. She addresses some psychological issues that might cause clutter and validate people’s hoarding behavior. Namely, she talks about people’s attachment to the past and anxiety about the future. She also rightfully notices that people sometimes keep their relationships and jobs for the same reasons as they keep things that they no longer use.

I would like to point out that the psychological issues that Kondo discusses in her book are not the only ones that can make it difficult for people to de-clutter. I review other psychological and psychiatric conditions that can promote clutter in Part II of my book.

Sometimes, those things that we cannot throw away tell us something about our subconscious desires and inspirations. For example, Jennifer Baumgartner, an American psychologist who authored the book titled You Are What You Wear, writes, “Our closets are windows into our internal selves. Say you’re holding on to your team uniforms from college. Ask yourself, what about that experience did you like? What can you do in your life now to recapture that?” This messages correlated with Kondo’s ideas about  connections between the things we have and our dreams and memories.

Interestingly, some people can let things go very easily. Such people view themselves as very neat and organized. However, they often keep their place neat and “empty” by placing the burden of having and storing things on other people, including their friends and close relatives. There is a chance that you might have a close relative or a friend who boasts of his or her life with as few items as possible, but who frequently borrows basic things from you or somebody else.

Unlike “neatness extremists,” some people feel inspired when they are surrounded by certain amount of clutter and mess. They view a clean desk as a sign of lack of thoughts and ideas. Empty desks make them feel like no work is being undertaken. Drastic cleaning and de-cluttering of their working space can do more harm than good to their work.

However, having “busy” desks is different from being subjected to informational clutter, which should be avoided by anyone as much as it is possible. Informational clutter includes any useless data stored on your computer, endless messages from Twitter, Facebook and other social sites, and other information that does not improve your life in any profound way. Both informational clutter and physical clutter can force you to lose your focus, make you less productive, and reduce joy in your life.

3. Psychological and Other Benefits of Decluttering and Tidying up

Kondo views the process of tidying as a conversation in which every item that doesn’t “spark joy” has to be touched, thanked and sent to some place where it can find a new owner. By sending things off in such a thoughtful way, Kondo’s clients and followers clean their homes from those items that carry the baggage of the past and/or those items that re-enforce their anxiety about the future. Consequently, they find themselves surrounded only by those things that give them mental clarity and joy.

When the clutter is gone, a person can examine his or her state of mind and realize what he or she really wants from life. According to Kondo, many people who have followed the KonMari Method have changed their lives in profound way. In her book, Kondo writes, “Keep only those things that speak to your heart. Then take the plunge and discard all the rest. By doing this, you can reset your life and embark on a new lifestyle.”

Kondo emphasizes the emotional and psychological impact that cleaning can have on your life. She also mentions that one of the important objectives for cleaning your home is simply to feel happy living in your home. Another benefit of de-cluttering and organizing your home is to begin a brand new life and to apply the skills, which you have learned when tidying your home, to other areas in your life. This is what Kondo considers the magic of tidying.

 Kondo proposes that once you learn to keep only those possessions that bring joy to your life, you will be able to apply the KonMari Method to other areas in your life, discarding whatever you keep just out of obligation. For example, Kondo suggests that tidying your home can help you find the right career or a relationship that can make you happy. She argues that people can improve their decision-making skills when they use the KonMari Method and decide which items to keep and which items to discard. Kondo also proposes that the process of tidying can help people lose weight.

Analysis and comments on benefits of decluttering and tidying up

Kondo’s promises, which are described above, sound very interesting. However, they have been supported so far only by anecdotal stories of those transformations that have been experienced by her own clientele. Scholars and academic researchers might think that this is not a sufficient proof for her statements. Some people also might feel a bit put off by Kondo’s advice to greet houses and to talk to their possessions as if they had feelings.

Nevertheless, Kondo’s belief that tidying is important for mindfulness agrees with many psychological studies. I think that her idea of a relation between tidiness and mindfulness is well supported by studies conducted by Stephanie McMains and Sabine Kastner of Princeton University. Their studies provide new support for the view that a cluttered environment decreases people’s ability to focus.

However, other studies conducted by Kathleen Vohs and her colleagues from the University of Minnesota indicate that a messy desk may promote creative thinking and stimulate new ideas. These researchers conducted experiments that found that being in a clean room may encourage people to do what they are expected to do. The participants of their experiments who were placed in a clean room generated as many ideas as the participants placed in a messy room. However, unbiased judges found that ideas generated by people located in the messy room were more interesting and creative than the ideas generated by the participants located in the clean room.

Vohs also proposes that a disorganized environment can inspire people to break free of tradition and find new insights, while a clean and organized environment encourages people to act in accordance with convention and play it safe. (Interestingly, Steve Job’s office used to be rather cluttered. You can “google” photos of his office.)

My point is that the KonMari Method and tidiness may not meet all our expectations for quality of life. If you wish to stay focused and feel less stressed, then tidy environments created in accordance with the KonMari Method can help you with that. However, tidiness can block your creativity as well.