The psychology of clutter and learning to control it

Guests: Julie Morgenstern, Randy Frost, Darla DeMorrow

Most of our homes look nothing like the beautiful, sterile interiors featured in glossy design magazine spreads. You’ll never see piles of papers, overstuffed bookcases, messy closets filled to capacity, and tchotchkes littered about. But this is what many average American homes look like. And while a lived-in house is often a happy house, recent research shows that homes filled with too much clutter can affect our well-being, leading us to feel stressed, out of control, and dissatisfied with life. So how do we know when clutter is a problem? And how do we get control of it?  And why do we become so attached to our possessions which makes departing with them so difficult? We’ll talk with RANDY FROST, professor of psychology at Smith College, JULIE MORGENSTERN, organizing and productivity consultant, and DARLA DEMORROW, a Philadelphia-based professional organizer.