Are you the kind of person who needs a pristine, orderly environment for you to feel relaxed? Or perhaps being surrounded by your clutter isn't a big deal – it might even bring you comfort. 'Professional organisers', who help people declutter their space, have grown in popularity in recent years, particularly on the internet. But does shedding your possessions always make you happier? Or, does clutter matter? 

您是那种需要原始，有序的环境以使您感到放松的人吗？也许被您的混乱包围并不是什么大问题 - 甚至可能为您带来安慰。帮助人们整理空间的“专业组织者”近年来越来越受欢迎，尤其是在互联网上。但是，放弃您的财产总是会让您更快乐？还是杂物很重要？ 

Living in a messy space can have various negative effects on our lives. For example, a study called 'No Place Like Home' by Repetti and Saxbe, found that mothers with messy homes had higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol and an increased depressed mood throughout the day. Messy homes can also make it harder to fall asleep, according to the 2021 study 'The association between sleep and late life hoarding', and no one wants that! 

生活在一个混乱的空间中会对我们的生活产生各种负面影响。例如，一项名为Repetti和Saxbe的名为“ No Toble Home”的研究发现，拥有凌乱的房屋的母亲的压力激素皮质醇水平更高，并且全天的情绪降低。根据2021年的研究“睡眠与晚期ho积之间的关联”，杂乱无章的房屋也很难入睡，没有人想要！ 

So perhaps Marie Kondo, author of 'The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying', was on to something when she said, "tidying can transform your life". To achieve Kondo's style of minimalism, she recommends gathering all your things together, choosing which items 'spark joy' and then discarding the rest. Some may find it invigorating to begin again on a clean slate, while others, particularly extreme hoarders, can find the process anxiety-inducing, because of an attachment to their belongings. 

因此，也许玛丽·昆多（Marie Kondo）是《整洁生活的魔法》的作者，他说：“整理可以改变您的生活”。为了实现Kondo的极简主义风格，她建议将所有的东西聚集在一起，选择哪些项目“ Spark Joy”，然后丢弃其余的东西。有些人可能会发现重新开始以干净的板岩开始令人振奋，而另一些人，尤其是极端ho积者，由于对物品的依恋，可以找到引起焦虑的过程。 

Then there are those who simply enjoy collecting. Vintage style expert Kate Beavis has a home filled with handbags, toys, phones and cookware from the 1960s. Others may call this clutter, but she argues that minimalist homes are "boring and bland". Some items may not have a practical use, but instead hold sentimental value, and spark joy in a nostalgic way. And things that "evoke happy memories are valuable, especially to people with memory problems," says Chris Stiff, senior lecturer in psychology at Keele University. 

然后有些人只是喜欢收集。复古风格的专家凯特·比维斯（Kate Beavis）拥有一个房屋，里面有1960年代的手袋，玩具，电话和炊具。其他人可能会称这个混乱，但她认为极简主义的房屋“无聊而平淡”。有些项目可能没有实际用途，而是具有感性的价值，并以怀旧的方式引发喜悦。Keele大学心理学高级讲师Chris Stiff说，“唤起人们的回忆唤起幸福的回忆是有价值的，尤其是对记忆问题的人来说都是有价值的。”

Maybe a giant mess isn't all bad. And as Albert Einstein once said, "If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what, then, is an empty desk a sign?" 

也许巨大的烂摊子并不是全部不好。正如阿尔伯特·爱因斯坦（Albert Einstein）曾经说过的那样：“如果杂乱无章的桌子是杂乱无章的迹象，那么什么是空的桌子呢？”

词汇表

pristine 整洁的，崭新的
orderly 井然有序的
clutter 杂乱的东西
declutter 清理，整理
shed 丢弃
possession 所有物
messy 脏乱的，不整洁的
cortisol 皮质醇
hoarding 囤积
tidy 整理，使…整洁
on to something 发现某事的真相
minimalism 极简主义
spark joy 激发快乐，引起愉悦
discard 丢弃
invigorating 令人充满活力的
clean slate 一张白纸，比喻崭新的开始
hoarder 喜欢囤积东西的人
collecting 收集，收藏
sentimental value 情感价值
nostalgic 怀旧的