Decluttering Your Room Is The First Step In Decluttering Your Mind

Every time I call my mom in a distressed state, she patiently waits to hear me vent, then asks this one question: Have you cleaned your room? I could be talking about how overwhelmed I feel with mounting deadlines or the heaviness of the state of the world, and she will always gently recommend I clean my room to feel a tiny bit better. ​

In Feng Shui, the Chinese art of creating the best environment for yourself, a cluttered room can feel energetically stagnant. But as it turns out, it can also greatly impact your mental health.

How Clutter Affects Our Mental Health

Clutter in your space can create a surprising amount of what Thea Gallagher, PsyD, clinical associate professor of psychiatry at NYU Langone Health, calls “mental noise.” When you're surrounded by mess, it can make you feel distracted, overwhelmed, irritable, or behind on tasks you’ve been meaning to do. Naomi Dambreville, PhD, licensed clinical psychologist and assistant professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai, agrees and adds that consistent clutter may also trigger more serious feelings of anxiety, overstimulation, and mental fatigue.

“Our brains are constantly taking in information from our environment, even when we aren't consciously paying attention to it,” Gallagher says. “So piles of clothes, papers, dishes, or things that need to be put away can all compete for our attention.”

Clutter may also make it harder for us to use our cognitive resources efficiently. She explains that attention and memory are closely connected, and if our attention is constantly pulled in different directions, it can be harder to focus and retain information. Dambreville says research shows that visual clutter can be so mentally taxing that it can also impede how we relax and complete other tasks.

But this is dependent on each person. Gallagher explains that people have very different thresholds for clutter. Some people may not be bothered by a disorganized room, while others may be more sensitive to visual clutter, and those who spend a lot of time in their bedrooms might feel more stressed. You have to define for yourself what clutter means to you. “When we hear the term clutter, it’s easy to assume we all mean the same thing: having too many items in a space, disorganization, messy, undone. [But] clutter isn’t just about aesthetics or cleanliness; it’s a subjective experience of how a space feels relative to one’s standards or desires,” adds Dambreville.

The Mental Benefits of a Decluttered Room

With that in mind, experts say the four main benefits of decluttering your room include:

Increases Focus

Gallager explains that an organized space can reduce the visual and cognitive competition that happens when you see clutter everywhere. When you don’t have that “mental noise,” your mind can turn to other things. “[It] makes it easier to focus on what you’re actually doing,” she says.

Boosts Relaxation

Your bedroom is the place where you get your rest. Decluttering in this specific area, says Gallagher, may also help create an environmental cue that the day is winding down.

Increases Self-Efficacy

“There can also be a sense of agency that comes from taking care of your space,” says Gallagher. “When life feels chaotic, doing one small, concrete thing that makes your environment feel more manageable can be surprisingly regulating. You get an immediate visual reminder that you did something to make your life a little easier.”

Supports Our Overall Well-Being

When we take care of ourselves, we support our overall psychological well-being. So Dambreville suggests thinking of decluttering as that same self-care. When our space is more organized, it reduces our mental load and helps us function better. “Naturally, extending this care to our homes and bedrooms allows us to practice feeling worthy of a clean, comfortable, and safe personal space,” she says.

Easy Ways to Declutter Your Room

Cleaning up your space doesn’t have to feel daunting. There are a few easy ways to start.

Start Very, Very Small

“Make the task almost ridiculously small,” says Gallagher. “‘Cleaning my bedroom’ is actually dozens of tasks disguised as one task, which is why it can feel so overwhelming. Put five pieces of clothing away. Clean one nightstand. Throw away the trash. Set a timer for five minutes [of cleaning]. You don’t have to finish the room for the effort to count.”

“If you need to tackle something in the moment, focus on that one thing,” Dambreville agrees. “Take one small step: 15 minutes to make a clear space on the bedroom floor, put one thing back in its place, bring five things back to the kitchen, [or] pick one day to create a home for specific items to ‘tame’ the clutter.”

Outsource It

If you can afford it, outsource it. “We outsource all kinds of things we’re not particularly good at or don’t have time to do, and I don’t think cleaning should be morally different,” says Gallagher. “I would rather see a couple more patients and use that money to pay someone who is much better at cleaning and organizing than I am. I can admit I need help with it. Our time is a resource, too.”

Don’t Shame Yourself

Both Gallagher and Dambreville say not to be too hard on yourself about any mess or clutter in your room. Life happens, and for the most part, decluttering is doable no matter how big a task it might seem. “Being good at keeping a house clean isn’t a measure of your character,” says Gallagher. “If you’re overwhelmed, exhausted, have ADHD, are caring for kids, or simply don’t prioritize cleaning very highly, that doesn’t mean you’re failing at adulthood.”

“It’s okay for the task to be hard,” agrees Dambreville. “Create a judgment-free zone in your home.”

Make It Fun

Making the task more fun might motivate you to keep at it. Dambreville recommends gamifying it or rewarding yourself for completing the task. You can also play music or listen to an audiobook to help pass the time, or even call a friend to help you.

Remember, the goal isn’t perfection. Cleaning my room doesn’t magically solve my never-ending to-do list or the evils that persist, but it is a small step toward feeling less overwhelmed.

Gallagher adds that it’s about figuring out what kind of living environments help you and your brain function better. “If organizing becomes rigid or another standard you’re constantly failing to meet, we’ve missed the point,” she says. “The benefit comes from creating an environment that feels manageable and supportive to you.”

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