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Disorder in the apartment. Psychology of disorder in the house

Disorder and its causes
Disorder and depression
Disorder and infantilism
Children in a cage
Disorder in personal life

"Chaos is the basis of the world order" - spiritual teachings affirm. Indeed, at the very beginning of our acquaintance with the "Old Testament" we learn that the world was born out of chaos in total darkness. In our minds, chaos is synonymous with disorder. Everyone is familiar with the phrase: "The whole world is a mess." If the world is an eternal movement and development, then disorder plays a significant role in it, affecting the nature of man, his spiritual and life experience. The results of this influence are completely unexpected, and therefore difficult to understand and control.

Meanwhile, everything in the world strives for balance, and disorder is no exception. It can positively affect a person's life, his mental health, and can serve as a dangerous and even destructive force. We will consider these scales of Themis.

Clutter develops children's intelligence

Personality is formed in childhood. Do you remember how many toys you had? Where did they lie? How did you play? Where were they then folded, and were they folded at all? Let's try to consider the memories of childhood with the benefit of understanding the personality. Scattered toys, papers, pencils and other supplies children's world seem to the eyes of an adult a mess, the thought of the meaningfulness of which does not even occur to an adult head. But a short observation of the baby will reveal to us that each pile of objects is not accidental. This is a set of story game, from which he switches from time to time to another toy. Then he returns to the previous plot, as he is not able to concentrate on one thing for a long time. However, the feature of quick switching of attention is also inherent in an adult. After eight to ten minutes, our memory is switched off for rest. This state is quite comfortable for the brain to work. Accustoming a child to order in this situation slows down his development, according to American scientists, for three to five months at the age of three. By the age of ten, this stop has already reached two and a half years, as it stops memory training and development of figurative thinking.

Children who have toys piled up in a corner, in a special box or scattered around the room, before using the right toy, must imagine its image, and then remember where it is. This is a good incentive for the development of children's intelligence.

Creative chaos as a source of inspiration

Everyone is familiar with the expression “creative mess”. Approaching your desktop, you sometimes notice book heaps on it, the presence of many stationery and other trifles. But, when you try to put things in order, you find that there is nothing to clean. All books and notebooks are in a convenient place for work and in the right order. Office supplies are at hand, and shifting them to another place is like self-harm. You realize that you are doing more than one work in parallel, and the materials are on the table so that there is no confusion. You get anxious from family members approaching your table without permission and are unhappy (to put it mildly) when one of the children needs, for example, your dictionary, opened on the page necessary for work (and children always need exactly what is needed and To you). But as soon as the work is completed, you transfer unnecessary materials from the table to shelves and drawers with a sense of satisfaction.

The same thing happens in the creative workshops of representatives of the arts, who, until the end of the work, do not touch the comfortably arranged means and tools. To the person who entered, all this “arrangement” seems to be just chaos or everyday sloppiness. Meanwhile, bringing the "creative dump" in proper order will deprive the master of inspiration. In this case, we can agree with the position: "Order is for fools - the genius creates over chaos."

Sociologists have noticed that people with highly developed thinking deliberately disorganize their environment. Abraham Maslow(the one who proposed to the world the theory of motivation, known as - " Pyramid Maslow's needs ”) in The Further Frontiers of Human Development invites executives to take for granted the sloppiness of creative employees, as their clutter in the workplace contributes to the emergence and maturation of new ideas.

If a person is not engaged in creativity, but in the service and workplace at home he is constantly surrounded by a mess arranged by him, then, according to a study by experts from the US Center for Mental Disorders, this is a symptom of the destruction of mental health. In people who systematically live in an environment of disorder, the region of the brain responsible for cognitive processes is constantly in tension. And in things sloppy scattered around the house, dust and bacteria accumulate - the cause of allergies, asthma and dermatitis.

Disorder as a Cause of Stereotyped Thinking

In people with logically rational thinking, disorder causes a need for cleanliness, and their very thinking becomes stereotyped and simplified. This change is a defense mechanism to help you adapt to the discomfort of the disorder. Therefore, we have to admit that if the mass of people in post-Soviet society lives in a housing disorder that does not satisfy the needs modern man in cleanliness and comfort, then this problem makes the thinking of the mass of the population of the sixth part of the Earth and the CIS countries (and this is a lot!) Stereotyped and simplified in the age of high information technologies, while it should be original and deep. The question arises: how long will it take for such states to achieve world-class information independence? Do you remember Bulgakov's Woland's reflection on Muscovites? People are like people, even pretty, but the housing problem has spoiled them. This global problem makes the thinking of people of all CIS countries, especially Russia, flat, stereotypical and simplified, because it forces people to live in uncomfortable conditions of a homeless existence or an existence that does not meet housing standards.

Dutch scientists have conducted several studies on the propensity of people to a stereotypical, simplified type of thinking. It turned out that the experimenters answered three proposed questions (each of which contained three possible answers) depending on the degree of disorder surrounding them. The more dirt and mess around and on the road, the more negatively stereotyped the answers were. In a cleaner environment, the responses were more positive and calmer. The results of the experiment led to the conclusion that the conditions of order and cleanliness change unwanted stereotypes of thinking into positive ones and are thus a means of healing negative judgments and the tendency of citizens to social discrimination.

Home clutter adds weight to the owners

The hidden meaning of this phrase is ironic. But we will consider its direct meaning in order to justify the irony.

The famous British nutritionist Peter Walsh, as a result of observing many patients, came to the conclusion that the faster a woman develops the habit of cleaning her own home, the faster she will put her figure in order, freeing her from extra pounds. He explained his research as follows: with a chaotic lifestyle, there is no healthy organization of nutrition and control over it. Clutter in the house and in the kitchen is a consequence of the loss of control over the situation as a whole, including over eating habits.

Disorder and its causes

It remains for us to consider the causes of the disorder. For a chronic home emergency, they are enough. Many of them are correctable, but it is necessary to correctly identify them. Alberto Eger, a French psychoanalyst, came to the conclusion that the habit of scattering things is a subconscious need to set aside territory and protect its borders from the intrusion of neighbors.

Once, in my youth, I forced my eldest son to fold toys and things so that they were not visible, depriving him of his own comfortable territory. I did the same manipulation many times unsuccessfully with my slovenly husband, putting the scattered locksmith tools, radio components into my bag, not to mention the clothes scattered all over the living room. Finally he said: “You are not the only one who has the right to exist in this house. Each member of the family should have their own corners and minks, where everything lies as he needs, and not you. I remembered this reproach for the rest of my life, having clearly understood that respect for the individual in the family begins with the inviolability of the “territory”. True, according to this theory, it turned out that the territory of the husband is the whole house. However, this is how it should be with the owner.

See how new office worker“overgrown” with things, gradually dragged by him from the house. So he secures workplace feel more confident and secure.

Disorder and depression

Depression is apathy, loss of interest in everything around: feelings, needs, aesthetics. This indifference is gradually getting worse. The disorder surrounding a depressive person contributes to the prolongation of the named state, and restoring order, repairing the apartment - getting rid of it.

Disorder and infantilism

Let's get back to our children. As mentioned above, disorder trains a child's memory and develops imagination, however " golden mean" must be. Experienced teachers argue that accuracy is the most difficult quality to educate. Most teachers tend to believe that this character trait is not brought up: it is either inherent or absent from nature. Therefore, accustoming to order should be a systematic and controlled process. Cleaning up the mess after children provokes the development of infantilism and irresponsibility, first for their own actions, and then to the family. This circumstance alone can become the cause of the destruction of family relationships in the future.

Clutter as a way to attract the love and attention of others

Sometimes insecure people do not put things back in order to establish themselves in the eyes of others. One of our little neighbors, half the time spent at school, was under the desk, looking for some little things from his own portfolio: a pen, an eraser, a pencil, a coin. There are a lot of such children (and not only children). Thus they are affirmed in their own importance. Our neighbor outsider walked to the senior classes with a rather important look in the yard and school. He managed to attract the attention of his peers and teachers forever with his slovenliness and disorganization, with a complete lack of initiative. Similar situations take place in the life of adults, insecure people.

Children in a cage

The educational process of authoritarian parents has "output" laxity and rudeness of children, as a result of strict upbringing. If the mother is excessively clean and infringes on the freedom of the children in this regard, forcing them to keep the house clean and clean up the mess after themselves, the children grow up, as a rule, "killed" sluts. Depicting a visible order, they are happy to plug a lump of dirty bed linen under the bed and remember about it only when it is deplorable. Clean linen will lie on the table, waiting to be ironed, until it becomes dusty and loses its freshness. The results of authoritarian upbringing look so ridiculous.

Disorder in personal life

Home barricades are said to reveal areas of relationship problems. Blockages in the corridor mean fear of personal relationships, in closets - inability to control emotions. Heaps in the kitchen mean that the owner is already tired of his own attention to his home. A barricaded bed indicates that a person needs a change in his personal life or that he avoids problems. The trash in the corners and behind the doors tells about the desire of the owner to move away from others. The blockages on the desktop indicate the desire to control everything and not miss anything important. Clogged mezzanines - a person lives in the past. Pantry - fear that desires are not realized.

Messi syndrome (from the English messy - messy, dirty) - a tendency to mess and litter the home as a manifestation of mental shocks. According to scientists, the reason for the disorder in the house is the subconscious fear of the owner to part with the usual things. This is a mental health condition. "Plushkin Syndrome" is not an invention of N.V. Gogol. The mental pathology of gathering really exists, turning the doomed, according to the writer, into "a hole in humanity." If you want to know the detailed development of Plushkin's disease (or Messi's syndrome), take your own first volume of "Dead Souls", open the famous sixth chapter and read in the colors of the great master how unnecessary it is to live so as not to get the aforementioned pathology. Doctors believe that it is impossible to get rid of this disease, but it is quite possible to help the sufferer put his life in order.

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In one house, T-shirts and shirts are stacked and sorted by color; in another, a wrench accidentally ends up in a toy box. In one apartment, things hang neatly on hangers, in another they fall out of the closet. So why do some people have perfect cleanliness at home, while others have eternal chaos and chaos? What do the former know and what do the latter lack? Knowrealty talked to professional space organizers and found out the top 7 causes of clutter in our apartments.

1. Bad habits

Father from time to time was too lazy to hang clothes in the closet, leaving them on the backs of chairs and beds? Or did mom collect unnecessary, but for some reason terribly dear knick-knacks, placing them on the shelves, where over time they took up more and more space and brought less and less use? In this case, you probably won’t have a craving for minimalism and the habit of putting everything away. “If parents lived and raised their children in chaos and confusion, then the same attitude towards their home can be passed on to their children,” says Yuliana Myznikova, a professional space organizer and author of the Stopbardac blog. Of course, you can’t go back to the past, but it’s quite possible to work on your new habits. “Think in advance where you use this or that thing, a place from where it will be not only convenient for you to take it, but also where to return it. Tell the family where everything is stored, and even better - sign it. If you do not return things to their place, this will cross out all your efforts to organize the space, ”says Yuliana.

Photo: Ella's Kitchen Company Limited

Another organizer of the space and the author of the project "Everything in its place" Ekaterina Pushkareva also calls for starting to develop simple but useful habits in the name of order: washing dishes immediately after eating, sending dirty clothes to the laundry, and clean clothes on the shelf, wiping the sink or faucet after brushing your teeth. Little things like this can save you a lot of cleaning time.

Photo: Wicker Paradise

2. Internal disharmony

Why is this happening? Yuliana Myznikova says that lovers of disorder often insist that a thing will come in handy someday. As a result, more and more rubbish accumulates in the house, which literally clogs the living space. And the only way change something - resolutely fight the "Plyushkin syndrome" and learn. Anna, for example, advises to play the game The Burning House. What would be the first thing you save when running out of a burning house, except, of course, your passport, phone and laptop? The game will help you understand what is really valuable to you, and parting in contrast with everything else is much easier. Ekaterina Pushkareva advises using the “input-output” rule for the same purposes: when you buy a new thing, the same old one or give it away.

4. Cleaning "once and for all"

Many mistakenly believe that it is enough with a certain regularity to enjoy cleanliness the rest of the time. Not at all: the cleanliness of the apartment depends, first of all, on our habits. Mess does not happen overnight, so even the largest cleaning once a month will not give you any guarantees of cleanliness. Anna Chernykh is sure: you should not hope for a general cleaning, something else is more important here - gradually form a look at things that would reflect the values that are significant to you. Then the habits will change by themselves: many things simply will not get into the house, while others will gradually leave it - in a separate collection, in charity organisations, friends or landfill.

5. Overloaded surfaces

We all noticed that if you remove boring paintings and old posters from the walls, scattered small things from the coffee table, and everything that happened to be there by chance, the room immediately seems cleaner, more spacious and freer. It seems simple, but in reality it turns out quite differently. The problem is that on the free surfaces in the house there are always those things that are not in the house. suitable place. And obviously they just need to find it.

6. Lack of a systematic approach

If you get all the summer things in the spring, and don’t prepare the winter clothes for storage and don’t remove them, then scarves, hats, ski boots, fur coats and down jackets will constantly fall out of the closet, says Ekaterina Pushkareva. And yet, if there is no clear idea of what exactly is needed for the house, it is easy to buy a bunch of extra, useless things that will then gather dust unnecessarily. So making shopping lists and cleaning schedules, putting winter and summer things on the shelves in time for the next season will help to cope with household anarchy in the house. “For example, divide housing into zones and plan dates and times in your calendar when you will study in different parts of the apartment,” Yuliana Myznikova advises.

Photo: Rubbermaid Products

7. Keep different things in one place

There is a term "categorization". According to Yuliana, it just reveals the essence of the principle of organized space, when things of one category are together and do not mix with objects of another purpose. That is, a first aid kit in the document box and a box with wires in the sideboard competent organization space does not contribute in any way, even if, as it seems to you, there is simply no other place in the apartment. Yes, you just need to think carefully about where and how it is most convenient to store items of the same purpose in one place, since this will not only make the apartment cleaner, but also allow you to quickly find the right things.

Daria Golovina

We have been taught superficial notions of symmetry.

Life is indeed unpredictable and chaotic, although it seems to us that if everything is "organized", then it will be much better.

But in reality it's the other way around. For example, you think that you need to buy a few more pants in order to have enough "for all time". You buy. And then it turns out that all things no longer fit in the closet. And he's just doomed to mess. Thus, by creating "order" in one place, you immediately create disorder in another.

You decide to throw everything you don't need into the trash can. At home, it seems like “order” turned out, but the world as a whole has become dirtier.

Here is what the physicist Adam Frank has to say about this:

"This is the law of physics. The harsh truth of life is that the universe itself is chaos. How can you put things in order at home or in your life if it is contrary to the nature of the universe?

In fact, no matter how much we try to keep our lives in order, and the house in order, nothing comes of it. Disorder is always here and there.

What to do? Say yes to the chaotic nature of this world. Humble yourself.

People who always have a mess at home are stigmatized. To those around them, they seem apathetic and leading a "wrong" life. But that's just not true!

Disorganized people are better than everyone else. If only because they do not allow the false illusion of order to dictate their daily routine.

Jim Morrison spoke well on this subject:

"I'm interested in rebellion, in chaos, in chaos. It seems to me that this is the path to freedom."

This does not mean that every aspect of your life needs to be plunged into chaos.

Being organized is sometimes important and even helpful. But you have no right to judge people who live in disorder. Believe me: order is greatly overrated.

People who have a constant mess at home are not lazy. They are creative and bold.

Common sense tells us that cleanliness is the key to efficiency and productivity, but this is not the case.

"Clutter is not necessarily a sign of lack of system. You can work more efficiently at a table on which everything is scattered than at a clean one. When a person has a mess on his desk, this does not mean that he does not work well. It means that he works so well, that he just has no time to get out."

In other words, clutter may actually be a sign of efficiency, not carelessness.

PhD from the University of Minnesota Kathleen Vohs conducted a study and proved that people who are prone to throwing things around and accumulating garbage are actually more creative than everyone else.

Within this scientific work Vohs conducted one curious experiment. She divided 48 volunteers into two groups and asked them to find original ways using a ping pong ball. One half of the participants in the experiment were placed in a clean, tidy room, the other half in a dirty one. In the end, both groups came up with an equal number of ideas, but the second, according to the results independent evaluation other students proved to be more innovative and creative.

Vohs concludes:

"We all want to be more creative, have more insights. My advice to you is if you're having a stupor, move to a dirty room. This will allow you to go beyond the usual perception and produce faster fresh ideas. Order is the result of our desire for security, chaos is the result of our desire for a creative rethinking of the world."

Clutter, of course, has long been closely associated with creative genius.

Disorganization and untidiness are condemned in society, but most of the great minds have lived in such conditions all their lives: Albert Einstein, Alan Turing, Ronald Dahl. Even JK Rowling can't clean her apartment!

They all achieved greatness, despite the fact that their whole life was full of chaos.

In general, if your parents punished you for not wanting to clean your room, then they made a mistake. Society ignores the hidden benefits of chaos.

It takes courage to break the rules and live in your creative mess.

Albert Einstein once remarked:

"If a mess on the table means a mess in the head, then what does an empty table mean?"

Creative people see the whole picture of their life, and do not get hung up on its individual details. They go with the flow, not against the current. They easily adapt to changes. They know that the time resource is too limited to spend it on boring things like cleaning.

The simplicity and beauty of life is more important than visible "success" and artificial "discipline". Passion is better than boredom.

Life is a disheveled, unpredictable and wonderful gift. Enjoy the trip.

What is clutter and how to learn to deal with the "mess" in the apartment? Quite often we see the mess in the house as a character flaw. But, do the features of our character affect the order in the room? In fact, the source of any disorder is the force of habit. It is habits that make us make the same mistakes, for example, scattering things, not hanging blouses on hangers, etc.

In most cases, it is not our character that is to blame, since we are just used to making a mess on the table, buying things in discount sections, not putting papers into folders. So, what to do if the diagnosis of "brothel" is confirmed? How to get rid of the habit of being sloppy?

In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to understand what the force of habit is. A habit is certain actions that we perform regularly, absolutely not noticing the process itself. Remember: breaking a habit is very difficult, almost impossible. The only solution is to replace it with a new one. For this, you need 21 days. This is enough time for a new habit to fully enter our lives.

So, how to deal with the diagnosis of "mess" quickly and effectively?

1. Always finish what you started. This is a very important rule. Unfinished business negatively affects the daily routine, as well as our emotional state. For example, you decided to read an interesting article in a newspaper, but suddenly got distracted by phone call. As a result, the article was not finished, and in the soul and in the mind there was a feeling of incompleteness. Always try to finish what you have already begun.

2. Before buying important and expensive things, do a "test run". Have you decided to buy a new phone of the latest model, but you are not sure about the appropriateness of your purchase? Borrow a phone of this model from a friend and "test" it. Just one day is enough to understand whether a future purchase is right for you or not. This habit will allow you not only to save a significant amount of money, but also to understand what things you really need.

3. If you have unnecessary things, give them to friends or acquaintances. In every house there are always things that are absolutely useless, but it is a pity to throw them away. Throw a "junk swap" party and gift a cute trinket to your friend or acquaintance.

4. Forget about spring cleaning. Clean up every day, not on a large scale, but in the smallest quantities. Make a list of household chores that you need to do. For example, on Monday you wash the curtains, on Tuesday you sort out your wardrobe, on Wednesday you get rid of unnecessary things, etc. This method of cleaning will significantly reduce the loss of time and effort.

5. Say No to Impulse Buying! Learn to make conscious purchases. You should not buy the fifth boots, the tenth tube of cream, etc. In order not to make rash purchases, carry a limited amount of money with you.

While some of us are comfortable living in our little mess, well-organized housing offers us a number of benefits, including psychological ones. Order promotes inner harmony and even allows us to think better.

Tricks to beat clutter in the house

Mess - something more than just things thrown in the corner. This is a kind of life philosophy that can fill our lives with chaos and tension.

In our article today, we will share with you some tricks that will help you win. mess in home. These tips will be useful to you in other areas of life, for example, at work.

Clutter is an acquired habit

Some people like to live in a mess, because it allows them not to waste time on various household chores. And at the same time, they are able to perfectly navigate their chaos and quickly find the necessary things.

On the other hand, tidy housing makes family relationships more harmonious and one can hardly argue with the fact that it is much more practical to always store things in specially designated places for them.

As for the inner world of a person, our mind also functions better when there is no clutter in our lives. When our desktop is full of papers, folders and books, it becomes more difficult for us to focus and keep our attention on a particular topic.

Order at home and at work has a number of benefits. Therefore, it is worth forming this habit in yourself. Of course, clutter won't go out of your life overnight. To do this, you will need a lot of time and effort. But soon you will begin to notice the first changes for the better.

How nice it is when we return home and find all things in their places, and the visit of guests does not force us to hide a mountain of items and trifles in the closet. Imagine that you are sitting on the sofa to relax and your eyes do not cling to things scattered throughout the room.

Of course, restoring order takes time from us. This cannot be argued with.

But as soon as order becomes our habit, it becomes easier for us to maintain it and we become more organized in all areas of life. Gradually, our life is freed from stress and tension.

Tips to help you beat clutter

Weekend coming up? This is a good reason to clean up the apartment. You'll see, your house will be like new. Of course, in the future you will need to maintain this order.

But once you see how clean and tidy your home can be, you'll want to make the effort.

1. Start with one room

If you decide to get rid of domestic chaos once and for all, you should not try to start putting things in order in all the rooms at once.

Start with one specific room , for example, from the living room or kitchen. As a rule, we see them as soon as we get into the house.

Take all the objects lying around and put them in the places specially designed for this.

If any of these items are to be stored in other rooms, take them there. As soon as you start cleaning those rooms, you will understand where it is better to put these things.

2. Decide where to store each item

Only those items that we use in the kitchen should be stored in the kitchen. Books and magazines belong in the library. Clothes and shoes should be put away in the closet. When we get used to storing things in certain places, it becomes easy for us to find them at the right time.

Do you need a coat? Look for it on a hanger, not on a couch. The habit of storing things in certain places will help you out in moments of haste. and you will always know that the necessary items will be found quickly at any time.

3. Develop a cleaning algorithm

As for the cleaning of each of the premises, it would be better to develop a certain algorithm here. For example, collect dirty clothes and put them in the washing machine, then take out the trash, make the bed, put clean clothes in the closet, dismantle the shelves and racks, etc.

Such a plan will make it easier for you to put things in order in each of the rooms. In order to beat the mess, you need a strategy. AT In this case, you do not have to spend the whole day off cleaning.

4. Throw away unnecessary things

There are probably a lot of things in your house that you no longer use.

The time has come to get rid of them. Something can simply be taken to the trash, and something can be given to a charitable foundation.

One of the reasons for the disorder in the house is the accumulation of unnecessary things. We don't know where to store them, and these items end up on chairs, on the floor, or in a corner.

5. Clean up dirt right away

When cleaning your home, remember this golden rule: "clean up items immediately after use, clean up fresh debris and dirt, and tidy up without postponing this task until later." This recommendation should apply to all family members.

As soon as our house is filled with order and cleanliness, and all objects are in their places, we need to make efforts so that chaos does not take over our housing again. It's pretty difficult. On the other hand, all this is a matter of habit. The most important thing is to understand and realize the benefits of order.

6. Use boxes and containers for storage

Sometimes we don't want to throw away or give away things that we don't use. because they are the memory of important events or people for us. Maybe some things we don't need now, but may come in handy in the future.

In this case, the best way out is to buy a special box or a beautiful box for storing them. Perhaps you have unused carton boxes from household appliances.

At the same time, it is advisable to mark these boxes and write what exactly is stored inside them. After that, you can put them under the bed, in the closet, closet or garage.

7. Buy new furniture

It's possible that the reason for your mess is that you don't have the right furniture., which would allow you to conveniently store all household utensils.

This does not mean that you need to force your home with various furniture. Also, buying new furniture should not be a reason to keep buying things you don't need.

However, comfortable and functional furniture will allow you to remove from sight all those objects that create a feeling of disorder in you.