Time to Declutter! Survey Says a Disorganized Home Makes Most Feel Stressed, Anxious and Overwhelmed

HUNTERSVILLE, N.C., Feb. 3, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- A disorganized home can make for a disorganized mind, a new survey shows. In fact, the vast majority of respondents feel so stressed, anxious and overwhelmed when their homes are cluttered that they don't even know where to begin with home organization, according to a new Rubbermaid survey conducted by Russell Research. Rubbermaid commissioned the survey to determine homeowners' needs for help with home organization projects.

(Logo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110203/CG42409LOGO)

According to the survey, 91 percent say they are overwhelmed at least some of the time by the clutter in their house — so much so, that 88 percent want less clutter, nearly half won't invite their friends over to see their home, and a third say they don't even know how to reduce clutter. In addition, 57 percent report feeling "stressed" and 42 percent are "more anxious" when their house is unorganized or cluttered. Others get so disgusted at the condition of their home that they "want to run away from the room" or feel their clutter is "insurmountable."

Moms with children in the home have a particularly hard time, with 90 percent saying they want less clutter and 60 percent feeling stressed about it. The more kids, the higher the stress: 91 percent with three or more children want less clutter and nearly a third (29 percent) say their kids are the top barrier to de-cluttering their home.

"It's clear from the survey that people know they can make a difference in organizing their home but are feeling overwhelmed and need help getting started and staying motivated," said Virginia Murray, Rubbermaid's Director of Marketing. "Fortunately Rubbermaid has deep expertise in providing solutions to help people get their homes and lives in order, and ultimately reduce the stress that comes from trying to get and stay organized."  

Get a Grip on Clutter

To help Americans get a grip on clutter, Rubbermaid has just launched a new organizing service offering expert advice to help users get organized and stay motivated to de-clutter year round. Rubbermaid Personalized Organizing is an online service that offers direct, personal access to professional organizers and many motivational tools to help people accomplish their goals in getting organized. It provides action plans to attack clutter bit-by-bit to help overcome the initial overwhelmed feeling and even provides a way to track the amount of clutter removed from one's home pound-for-pound.

Rubbermaid launched this service in partnership with Lorie Marrero, a nationally recognized Certified Professional Organizer® and creator and author of the best-selling program and book, The Clutter Diet: the Skinny on Organizing Your Home and Taking Control of Your Life.  Anyone can join Rubbermaid Personalized Organizing, detailed on http://www.rubbermaidpersonalizedorganizing.com, for as little as $11.95 per month.  The service includes:

• Unlimited access to direct, personal advice on organization projects from an expert team of organizers via message board support
• Exclusive weekly action plans for projects covering an entire home in a year's time
• More than two hours of easy multimedia tutorials to learn organizing concepts and methods at one's own pace
• A personalized e-mail reminder system that sends alerts on birthdays, regular home maintenance schedules or other recurring tasks and events that call for de-cluttering
• Personal tracking or progress monitoring via a weekly "weigh-in" to see how many "Clutter Pounds" have been lost to date
• An automatic 10 percent member discount for organization products available on  www.rubbermaid.com, along with advance notice of specials and new offerings

Other survey findings

• No, Johnny can't come over (and see our house): Sixteen percent of moms with three or more kids have not allowed them to have friends over because their house was too cluttered.
• Kids versus clutter control: People with kids in the home were 10 percent more likely to be overwhelmed by clutter most of the time. People who don't have kids were 9 percent more likely to know how to effectively reduce clutter in their home.    
• Messy,even in their terminology: Most respondents described their house or a certain room within it as "cluttered." The second most commonly used term was "disorganized," followed by "messy."  
• A weight off my shoulders: While disorganized homes made people feel stressed, the opposite was true when their homes were in order. When asked to describe how they would feel walking into a newly organized room, responses included "I would feel like a weight had been lifted off of me, like I could breathe again," "I would feel accomplished and proud of the environment I live in," and "Words could not describe my happiness."  
• I need help! In order to get organized, 61 percent said they would like additional organization products; 35 percent would like specific, customized tips and tools to guide them through the process; and 25 percent want step-by-step instructions to follow.  

To learn more, visit www.rubbermaidpersonalizedorganizing.com.  

About Rubbermaid®

Rubbermaid is a leader in developing innovative, high-quality solutions that help consumers keep their homes in order. Widely recognized and trusted, Rubbermaid designs and markets a full range of organization, storage and cleaning products to keep the home – including closets, garages, kitchens and outdoor spaces – neat and functional, freeing consumers to enjoy life. Rubbermaid (http://www.rubbermaid.com) is part of Newell Rubbermaid's global portfolio of brands.

SOURCE Rubbermaid