Clutter can be a health hazard

"Do you want to live THIS dangerously?"

When it comes to dealing with clutter, we often focus on the status quo: the stuff that sits in our space and – maybe – how it affects and is affected by the mental health of the person living in that space. While this is an excellent starting point, there are other elements to the physical clutter that is often overlooked, but that have a huge impact on understanding what is going on and the necessity to deal with it sooner rather than later.

For one thing, having clutter restricts the space and prevents the ability of a room to breathe. Don’t worry: this won’t be a lecture on feng shui, but rather an insight into the physics of airflow. Having piles of plastic bags or towers of cardboard boxes leaning against walls in badly aired spaces can give rise to huge mould problems. And we should all be aware how dangerous mould can be for your health.

Damp is often associated with older buildings that have sagged a little and developed cracks that allow for moisture to infiltrate the walls, but it certainly is not limited to those. Obviously, living spaces need to be aired regularly. We humans sweat out massive amounts of moisture during the night and bedding in particular needs regular airing. Hot tip: do not “make” your bed, but allow the mattress to air during the day.

Of course, damp walls are another problem altogether, and this can occur either because of bad airflow (Do you open your windows for periods of time each day?) or by infiltration from the outside, leaks in the roof or bad insulation of outer walls and floors. Either way: moult is easy to combat on the surface, but if the underlying issue is not dealt with, it will most certainly return.

Clutter can also attract pests. Rodents love to nibble through cardboard and build nest in soft, warm spaces. Damp cardboard is ideal for the likes of woodlice, millipedes and all kinds of beetles – basically anything you would find in the damp soil under a rock you pick up in the garden. And of course: mould loves damp cardboard, too.

Another aspect of clutter is of a more practical nature. In my professional work, I have seen too many flats and houses where so much stuff was stacked up against the walls that it was barely possible to move into the space, let alone move around without setting avalanches in motion. Boxes, plastic bags, books random containers, loose clothing, food cans … you name it! Be particularly careful with piles of newspapers: they can start sliding at short notice and bury you under surprising weight.

This is dangerous enough for the person who lives there, but consider yourself living in such a space and require help during a fire or heath emergency. Helpers can barely move without danger to their own lives, everything is flammable, gurneys cannot pass into the space, there is no access to the water main… it’s a death trap. Do you really want to live life THIS dangerously?