The Value of Decluttering When You Have Mild Cognitive Impairment

While those lapses are caused by changes in the brain, your environment — particularly clutter — can make a difference in how well you focus and remember.

If you have MCI, reducing clutter and setting up a few simple organization systems at home can help you stay independent longer, says Stephanie Towns, PsyD, an associate professor of neurology and a neuropsychologist at Yale School of Medicine in New Haven, Connecticut.

Clutter Comes in Different Forms

Clutter usually means an overload of personal belongings that ends up disorganized. It isn’t only something you see; a noisy environment can feel cluttered, too, says Dr. Towns.

How Clutter Strains the MCI Brain

Clutter makes anyone’s brain — even the brains of people without MCI — work harder and longer to find what's needed, says Towns.

“That additional strain on the attention and selection systems reduces efficiency and increases errors,” she says.

When you have MCI, clutter can magnify problems you may already have with attention, working memory (holding information in mind while you use it), and recalling memories, says Roopa Anmolsingh, MD, a geriatrician at Cleveland Clinic in Ohio.

That extra strain can show up in daily life in a few ways.

Misplaced Items To remember where you set something down, your brain first has to take in what you saw, a step called encoding. “Visual clutter does impair visual encoding, which then impairs visual memory (that is, we can’t recall something our brain didn’t encode in the first place),” says Towns.

Having to search for things in a cluttered space is also a distraction that can slow down even simple tasks, says Dr. Anmolsingh.

Stress Visual clutter can cause competition between different brain functions, such as attention and working memory, says Anmolsingh. That competition can generate anxiety and stress, which can affect your thinking overall, she says.

Powerlessness Clutter also pulls your effort toward things that have nothing to do with the task in front of you, which can leave a person with MCI feeling powerless, says Anmolsingh.

A Higher Risk of Falls “Hazards like dangling cords and other clutter greatly increase the risk of a trip-and-fall event,” says Towns.

Cluttered hallways, boxes on the floor, and stacks of unsorted paperwork are all potential fall hazards, adds Anmolsingh.

Benefits of a Simplified Environment

For people with MCI, a simpler home setup can help in other ways, too.

Routines That Hold Up “When there is less clutter and everything has a designated place, it’s easier to have a routine and build those habits that are resistant to cognitive decline,” says Towns.

People with MCI tend to do best in surroundings that are familiar and routine, she says. “Even after memory and other cognitive functions decline, people will continue to complete the well-learned and familiar tasks they have always done,” says Towns.

Safer Everyday Tasks A decluttered home lets you safely handle basic daily activities, such as showering, dressing, using the bathroom, cooking, and keeping up with hygiene, that are all part of staying independent, says Anmolsingh.

Fewer obstacles also lower your risk of falls and hospital stays, both of which could affect your independence, she says.

A Calmer Mind With less visual clutter, the parts of your brain working on a task compete less with each other, says Anmolsingh. “In someone with MCI, this decreases anxiety and allows a person to focus on the intended task at hand,” she says.

Practical, Low-Stress Decluttering Strategies

When you have MCI, changing the surroundings you have lived with for years could affect how well you function day-to-day and end up working against you, which is why decluttering calls for a cautious approach, says Anmolsingh.

“The focus should be safety, familiarity, and keeping things simple,” she says.

With those goals in mind, these strategies can help you get started.

Start small. Set small, manageable goals, build on them slowly, and begin with items you feel less attached to, says Anmolsingh.

Give everyday items a set place. If your keys always go in the same dish by the door, you don’t have to remember where you put them each day, says Towns. The same idea works for other daily tasks, she says.

“Place task items where the task occurs,” says Anmolsingh. In the area you set aside for medications, she recommends using a pillbox to keep them secure.

Use labels and reminders. Labeling or color-coding drawers can remind you where to find the things you most often misplace, such as your glasses, keys, and phone, says Anmolsingh.

Keep lists and notes in places you go often so you will see them, she says. A large-print calendar, phone reminders, and a large clock kept in the same spot can help you stay oriented, says Anmolsingh.

Clear the walkways. Remove fall hazards such as mats and clutter in hallways, and make sure your home has adequate lighting, says Anmolsingh. She suggests transitioning to first-floor living if you're not doing so already.

It helps to start when your impairment is mild and you still have a clear sense of your own needs, says Anmolsingh. Participate in the decisions about what to throw away, and keep in mind that a safer home can help you stay independent, she says.

“An occupational therapist, a professional who helps people manage everyday activities, can also do a home safety evaluation,” says Anmolsingh.