In a recent study, women who saw their homes as "cluttered" had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol than those who reported more well-organized, restful spaces. But for some of us, the stress of trying to be neat feels harder than any occasional shame or confusion that messiness might cause.

Does messy matter? Does it matter the same for everyone? How can you know when it's just your baseline versus when it's creating a real problem?

Amy and Margaret discuss:

• How to know when clutter is causing a problem for you and your family


• Things that can get in the way of our ability to declutter


• How to focus on function, not aesthetics, when it comes to decluttering

Here are links to some of the resources mentioned in the episode:

• Chris Fleming: "We Can't Let People Know We Sit!!!!"
  


• Barbara Brody for WebMD: "How Clutter Can Affect Your Health"
  


• Sarah Bourassa for The Huffington Post: "6 Reasons You Might Be Messy That Have Nothing To Do With Laziness"
  


• Shannon Doyne for The New York Times: "Is Clutter a Problem in Your Life?"
  


• Ottilie Blackhall for Homes and Gardens: The ‘Didn’t Know’ decluttering trend
  


• KC Davis on TikTok: 5 Things Decluttering and NPR Life Kit article about this method
  


• Struggle Care podcast with KC Davis


• KC Davis on our podcast

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mom friends, funny moms, parenting advice, parenting experts, parenting tips, mothers, families, parenting skills, parenting strategies, parenting styles, busy moms, self-help for moms, manage kid’s behavior, teenager, tween, child development, family activities, family fun, parent child relationship, decluttering, kid-friendly, invisible workload, default parent, parental stress, kids stress, decluttering, Marie Kondo, minimalism, spring cleaning, messiness, messy house, messy rooms, messy kids