Have women evolved to find clutter stressful?

Does anyone else feel the way I do? Are you bothered by clutter? Do you feel quietly stressed by mess? When your home is tidy do you feel calmer and more relaxed?

Women’s peripheral vision is sharper than men’s. This was an evolutionary benefit when it came to protecting children from snakes or other dangerous creatures that could cause their children harm. Women’s peripheral vision also served as a benefit when foraging for food and finding the plants that they could eat or berries that were ready to pick.

These adaptations served the continuation of the human species, allowing women to react when a creature threatened their young and helped the tribe find food.

But how does this affect us now?

I personally think it is causing women silent stress. What do I mean by that? I think that the clutter in our homes causes us stress on a biological level.

For example, that pile of mess in the corner, you know the heap of things that you walk past. In my opinion affects the survival part of our brain. On an unconscious level we are alerted “I don’t know what’s in there, there might me something there that could cause me or my loved one’s harm”

Have you ever noticed that the simple act of putting a sheet over a pile of mess makes you feel calmer or more relaxed? I think it is because the threat is reduced, it goes from being many things in the corner and I don’t know what they all are, to there’s one thing in the corner and I know what it is.

I know that my husband does not have this problem, he literally does not notice the piles of mess, it does not bother him in the same way that they bother me, piles of mess do not cause him any stress.  

For me having places for my possessions, being able to tidy things away makes me feel calmer. It genuinely supports my wellbeing. I can think better and I feel more relaxed.  

Our journey with Nuthatch Creations started with a longing I had to reduce the clutter around me, I wanted my home to feel like a sanctuary, somewhere that supported my well being, not something that added stress to my life. For me, having storage solutions for our home has had a huge impact on my well being.

I was wondering if anyone else finds clutter and mess stressful too?