Dr. Andrea Bonior dives into the world of psychology.

"SPRING CLEANING." Do you do it? Pretend to do it? Participate in it only if it means finding that sixth remote and balancing it on top of last year's W-2s?

The psychology of clutter has garnered more and more attention recently. And while demonizing those bins of broken salad tongs and crumpled, years-old New York Observers serves no purpose other than making me a hypocrite, it is worth reporting that new connections are being discovered between organization in one's living space and stability in one's mental health.

It has long been known that compulsive hoarding behavior — technically a subset of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, but recently getting its own attention for the ways in which it stands out from other types of OCD — is associated with significant emotional unrest, but recent research has shown that even moderate disorganization and clutter can be linked (as cause and effect) to anxiety, depression and even poor eating habits. (I guess there's a connection between excess baggage on one's hips and excess baggage in one's takeout menu/screwdriver/rubber band/dentists's-invoice-that-you-meant -to-call-the-insurance-company-about drawer.)

Of course, some people's personalities are more naturally organized than others. And we all know people who are trying so hard to be efficient and streamlined that they're spending their lives inefficiently establishing systems for staple storage. Rigid organization and an over-dependence on structure (clinging desperately to external order to hide from internal chaos, for instance) do not exactly epitomize mental health either.

So this spring, before you become a VIP at The Container Store, it might be important to do a reality check. The key is finding a balance — streamlining your life for the good of your health, without expecting to reinvent the wheel or actually use something called a "Customized Gift Wrap Center."

Now if I could only find that wipey board.

Talk back to Dr. Andrea by leaving a comment below. To ask a question for Baggage Check in the Express print edition, e-mail baggage@readexpress.com or submit an anonymous question here.

Posted by Holly Morris at 1:01 AM on April 24, 2008
Tagged in Baggage Check , Fit , Lifestyles , Top Columns