英文原文
The Psychology of Being Organized: How a Tidy Home Boosts Mental Well-Being
Our home is ideally our sanctuary, our peace and quiet, with peace of mind. There is a lot to be said for keeping this space organized. The spaces that we occupy have underlying effects on how we feel, how well we can focus, and what kinds of thoughts we have.
Do you feel relaxed and calm and ready to rest when there is clutter on every surface? What about when you need to find something that should take a minute, but ends up taking 20, or you can’t find it at all? The mental and emotional effects of living in a disorderly space have been studied, and the results are in; your well-being and quality of life are compromised.
So, let’s explore how our space can influence us—and how understanding the psychology of organization can improve our quality of life.
Clutter and The Brain
Visual clutter equals mental clutter. A study conducted by UCLA found that homes that are cluttered tend to increase cortisol (the stress hormone) levels, particularly in women. So those moms that are tired and stressed from a day of work, that come home to a cluttered and unorganized home are operating with high levels of cortisol.
When cortisol levels increase, the impacts are more than just potentially obvious irritability. Sleep can be lost or fitful, focus is harder to gain and keep, emotions can become unmanageable. This compounds over time, which in turn can shorten lives—and certainly the quality of those lives. Oftentimes it isn’t even recognized that the cluttered home space is what’s causing us to feel negative. We can think it’s “just how we feel.”
There are several things in life that can and do bring us stress, and it’s recommended to reduce as many of those as possible to live a more peaceful and fruitful life. No matter how curmudgeonly someone may be, I think it’s fair to say that no one wants to live a stress-filled, discontented life. So, let’s do something about it.
Let’s take a step back and view our home objectively. Are there things that can be adjusted within our space to remove some of the physical clutter, in turn removing the mental clutter? Very likely the answer is yes! Once you’ve addressed the clutter, the weight starts lifting, and one can feel a sense of calm. It’s like the difference between a dark tunnel and a beautiful meadow; the tunnel feels restrictive and gloomy, while the meadow feels open and full of hope.
That is precisely how a tidy space can make us feel. And once you get that feeling in your space, you’ll want to keep it. The longer you maintain a decluttered and organized space, the more sensitive you become to when it’s not. It becomes a necessity to keep it orderly, because you can feel the difference.
Our brains have an impact on our emotions, so with the brain craving order as it naturally does, that leads to, whether recognized or not, emotional craving for order as well.
The Stress-Clutter Cycle
When we’re stressed, we tend to not tend to things very well, which leads to more mess. Let the stress-clutter cycle commence! But wait, you don’t have to! It’s all about creating a system and habits that prevent the mess from developing in the first place.
When we see a pile developing on the countertops, and drawers with loose items every which way, it can cause anxiety and guilt. Anxiety from feeling out of control, suffocated, burdened by our surroundings—and guilt because we haven’t addressed it and so it keeps growing in a direction we don’t like or want. The psychological and physiological loop of stress and clutter is real—and it’s a cycle we can break.
Improve Mood, Focus, and Productivity
Having a clear space allows for a clear mind. It allows you to focus, make clear decisions, and tackle what you want and need to. The impact on focus is that clutter is a type of “visual noise.” Whether you realize it or not, your mind is grappling to keep focus and attention on what you need, and what matters most to you, because the clutter is taking some of that attention.
When your brain is processing too much irrelevant information, it can lead to mental fatigue and reduced capacity for focus. When we can focus, we generally find that we are motivated to be more productive in ways that we want and that make us happy in our lives.
Once the clutter is removed, and order is created, you have room to breathe. And breathing room leads to freedom of inspiration. Who doesn’t want to feel inspired?! When we are inspired, our mood improves, and we can manage our lives effectively and evenly, with a sense of calm and contentedness.
Tools and Systems
Take it one step at a time. Rather than hopping on Amazon and grabbing every home organizational tool available, take bite-sized approaches and ensure that you are building a system and using the tools that work best for you, long-term.
For example, say your countertops are out of control, and you don’t have the space you need to work or food prep. Evaluate what needs to be on the counter and what should be in a drawer, cupboard or closet. This step will help you identify what types of tools you need to create an ordered system. Perhaps you need a filer for the mail, a basket for the keys and tiny items that come in with you from the day out, or nifty drawer organizers (wink-wink) to put all the current clutter into reliably organized and designated places in the drawers.
AnyDrawer’s custom-fitted drawer organizers are a game-changer in keeping items off countertops and in their own little space, tucked away in a drawer. By customizing the fit for your particular drawer spaces, you can know exactly what item fits where, so they end up where they belong and are easy to locate when you need them. There will no longer be a need for what will soon become the former “junk drawer.”
Once you’ve tackled one spot in the home, move onto the next. Follow the trail of stress and flow. By this I mean: what areas do you use the most, that their disorder and clutter lead to the most stress and impact on the flow of your daily life? As you work your way through the home, taking the time to implement the tools and systems that you’ve decided will work for you, you will no doubt notice an improvement in your mental and emotional wellness.
You are taking charge of your space and, internally, through external actions, showing your self-worth and value. The key to having a system is maintaining it. This can take time and concerted effort to build habits of putting things back where they belong—every time. Once you’ve established this habit, it no longer takes effort. It just happens. But take the time to build the habit so you can reach the zen organizational mind.
Ask for Help
Once you make the decision to execute a home declutter and organization, the next step is to execute—to act. This can be daunting to many, which is one of the reasons the task gets put on the back burner and folks don’t get to enjoy the freedom of an organized space.
But fear not! There are folks, like me, who love this task and helping people through the process. For many people it’s a massive life change to get their home decluttered and organized, and professional organizers can be there to support not just the task at hand, but also the emotional and mental aspects of this change. From virtual guidance to in-person action, professional organizers have your back and will make sure that the results are what you want, and how best serves you and your life.
中文翻译
整理心理学：整洁家居如何提升心理健康
理想情况下，我们的家是我们的庇护所，是我们的宁静与安宁，带来内心的平和。保持这个空间整洁有序有很多好处。我们占据的空间对我们如何感受、我们能多好地集中注意力以及我们有什么样的想法有着潜在的影响。
当每个表面都堆满杂物时，你是否感到放松、平静并准备好休息？当你需要找某样东西，本应只需一分钟，结果却花了20分钟，或者根本找不到时，又会怎样？生活在杂乱无序空间中的心理和情感影响已被研究，结果出来了；你的幸福感和生活质量受到了损害。
因此，让我们探索我们的空间如何影响我们——以及理解整理心理学如何改善我们的生活质量。
杂物与大脑
视觉上的杂乱等于心理上的杂乱。加州大学洛杉矶分校进行的一项研究发现，杂乱的家往往会增加皮质醇（压力激素）水平，尤其是在女性中。所以那些工作一天后疲惫且压力大的妈妈们，回到一个杂乱无序的家时，正以高水平的皮质醇运作。
当皮质醇水平增加时，影响不仅仅是可能明显的易怒。睡眠可能会失去或断断续续，注意力更难获得和保持，情绪可能变得难以控制。随着时间的推移，这会加剧，进而可能缩短寿命——当然也会降低那些生活的质量。很多时候，我们甚至没有意识到杂乱的家居空间是让我们感到消极的原因。我们可能认为“这只是我们的感受”。
生活中有几件事可以也确实会给我们带来压力，建议尽可能减少这些压力，以过上更平静、更富有成果的生活。无论一个人可能多么脾气暴躁，我认为公平地说，没有人想过充满压力、不满的生活。所以，让我们为此做点什么。
让我们退一步，客观地看待我们的家。在我们的空间中，是否有可以调整的东西来消除一些物理上的杂乱，从而消除心理上的杂乱？很可能答案是肯定的！一旦你处理了杂物，重量开始减轻，人们可以感到一种平静感。这就像黑暗隧道和美丽草甸之间的区别；隧道感觉限制性和阴沉，而草甸感觉开放且充满希望。
这正是整洁空间能让我们感受到的。一旦你在你的空间中获得那种感觉，你就会想保持它。你保持一个整洁有序空间的时间越长，你就越敏感于它何时不整洁。保持有序变得必要，因为你能感受到不同。
我们的大脑对我们的情绪有影响，所以随着大脑自然渴望秩序，这导致，无论是否被认识到，对秩序的情感渴望也是如此。
压力-杂物循环
当我们有压力时，我们往往不太能很好地处理事情，这导致更多的混乱。让压力-杂物循环开始吧！但等等，你不必如此！这一切都是关于创建一个系统和习惯，从一开始就防止混乱发生。
当我们看到台面上堆积如山，抽屉里物品散乱各处时，它会引起焦虑和内疚。焦虑来自于感觉失控、窒息、被周围环境所负担——以及内疚，因为我们没有处理它，所以它朝着我们不喜欢或不想要的方向不断增长。压力和杂物的心理和生理循环是真实的——这是一个我们可以打破的循环。
改善情绪、注意力和生产力
拥有一个清晰的空间允许一个清晰的头脑。它让你能够集中注意力，做出清晰的决策，并处理你想要和需要做的事情。对注意力的影响是，杂物是一种“视觉噪音”。无论你是否意识到，你的头脑正在努力保持对你需要的东西以及对你最重要的事情的注意力和关注，因为杂物正在占用一些注意力。
当你的大脑处理太多无关信息时，它可能导致精神疲劳和注意力集中能力下降。当我们能够集中注意力时，我们通常会发现我们有动力以我们想要的方式提高生产力，这些方式让我们在生活中感到快乐。
一旦杂物被移除，秩序被创造，你就有呼吸的空间。呼吸空间带来灵感的自由。谁不想感到有灵感？！当我们有灵感时，我们的情绪改善，我们可以有效且平稳地管理我们的生活，带着平静和满足感。
工具和系统
一步一步来。与其跳上亚马逊购买所有可用的家居整理工具，不如采取小步骤的方法，确保你正在建立一个系统并使用最适合你的工具，长期而言。
例如，假设你的台面失控，你没有工作或准备食物所需的空间。评估什么需要放在台面上，什么应该放在抽屉、橱柜或壁橱里。这一步将帮助你确定你需要什么类型的工具来创建一个有序的系统。也许你需要一个邮件归档器，一个放钥匙和一天外出带回的小物品的篮子，或者巧妙的抽屉整理器（眨眼）来把所有当前的杂物放入抽屉中可靠组织和指定的地方。
AnyDrawer的定制抽屉整理器在将物品从台面上移开并放入它们自己的小空间、藏在抽屉里方面是一个改变游戏规则的工具。通过为你的特定抽屉空间定制尺寸，你可以确切知道什么物品适合哪里，所以它们最终归位，需要时易于找到。将不再需要即将成为过去的“杂物抽屉”。
一旦你处理了家里的一个地方，就移到下一个。跟随压力和流动的踪迹。我的意思是：哪些区域你使用最多，它们的无序和杂物导致最大的压力并影响你日常生活的流动？当你逐步处理整个家，花时间实施你决定适合你的工具和系统时，你无疑会注意到你的心理和情感健康有所改善。
你正在掌控你的空间，并且，在内部，通过外部行动，展示你的自我价值和价值。拥有一个系统的关键是维护它。这可能需要时间和共同努力来养成每次把东西放回原处的习惯。一旦你建立了这个习惯，就不再需要努力。它自然发生。但花时间养成这个习惯，这样你就能达到禅意的整理心态。
寻求帮助
一旦你决定执行家居整理和整理，下一步就是执行——行动。这对许多人来说可能是令人生畏的，这也是任务被搁置、人们无法享受整洁空间自由的原因之一。
但别担心！有些人，像我一样，热爱这项任务并帮助人们完成这个过程。对许多人来说，让他们的家变得整洁有序是一个巨大的生活改变，专业整理师可以在那里支持不仅仅是手头的任务，还有这种改变的情感和心理方面。从虚拟指导到亲自行动，专业整理师支持你，并确保结果是你想要的，以及如何最好地服务你和你的生活。
文章概要
本文探讨了整洁家居对心理健康的积极影响，强调视觉杂乱会导致心理杂乱，增加压力激素皮质醇水平，从而影响情绪、睡眠和注意力。文章分析了压力与杂物的恶性循环，并指出整洁空间能提升情绪、注意力和生产力。通过介绍工具和系统，如定制抽屉整理器，文章建议逐步建立整理习惯，并鼓励寻求专业帮助以实现持久改变。结合关键词“成人自我状态”，文章隐含了通过理性、负责任的行为（成人自我状态）来管理家居环境，从而促进心理健康和生活质量。
高德明老师的评价
用12岁初中生可以听懂的语音来重复翻译的内容
想象一下，你的房间如果乱七八糟，东西到处乱放，你是不是会觉得心里很烦，找不到东西还会生气？科学家发现，乱糟糟的家会让我们的身体产生一种叫皮质醇的压力激素，特别是妈妈们更容易这样。这就像你的大脑被很多没用的东西打扰，没法好好想事情，睡觉也不香了。但如果我们把房间收拾整齐，就像从黑黑的隧道走到阳光明媚的草地上，心情会变好，注意力也更集中，做事情更快更开心。我们可以慢慢来，用一些小工具帮忙，比如定制抽屉整理盒，让每样东西都有它的家，养成好习惯后，整理就变得很简单啦！如果觉得太难，还可以找喜欢整理的叔叔阿姨帮忙哦！
TA沟通分析心理学理论评价
从TA沟通分析心理学角度看，这篇文章展现了“成人自我状态”在家庭整理和室内设计中的核心作用。成人自我状态以理性、客观和问题解决为导向，本文通过强调评估空间、建立系统和养成习惯，体现了成人自我状态如何帮助我们应对环境挑战。例如，文章建议“退一步客观地看待我们的家”，这直接呼应了成人自我状态的决策过程，即基于现实数据和分析来采取行动，而非受父母自我状态的批评或儿童自我状态的冲动所驱动。整理行为本身是一种成人自我状态的表现，它通过外部行动（如使用工具和系统）来管理内部情绪（如减少焦虑和压力），从而打破“压力-杂物循环”。这种循环可能涉及儿童自我状态的情绪化反应（如感到失控）和父母自我状态的责备（如内疚），而成人自我状态通过创建秩序来中断这些模式，促进心理健康。文章还隐含了“我好-你好”的生活定位，通过整理提升自我价值和幸福感，这符合TA理论中健康人际互动的基础。
在实践上可以应用的领域和可以解决人们的十个问题
在实践上，基于TA沟通分析心理学，本文内容可应用于以下领域：家庭环境管理、职场办公空间优化、心理健康促进、个人发展培训、教育机构设置、社区服务项目、老年生活辅助、康复治疗支持、亲子关系建设、以及生活教练指导。可以解决人们的十个问题包括：1. 减少日常压力源，通过整理降低皮质醇水平；2. 提升注意力和工作效率，减少视觉噪音干扰；3. 改善睡眠质量，创造宁静的休息环境；4. 增强情绪调节能力，打破负面情绪循环；5. 培养责任感和自我价值感，通过掌控空间；6. 促进家庭和谐，减少因杂乱引发的冲突；7. 支持心理健康预防，降低焦虑和抑郁风险；8. 提高生活满意度，通过有序环境带来成就感；9. 增强决策能力，在清晰空间中做出更好选择；10. 鼓励积极习惯养成，如定期整理和维护系统。