For basically our entire lives, the idea of cleanliness had been ingrained into us from every conceivable angle. Be it picking up after meals, tidying up your elementary school classroom, or even being unfairly forced to clean up a mess that wasn’t yours—this concept is most certainly no stranger to the average person. To be fair, there is truth behind these statements: studies have indeed proven that tidier environments tend to reduce feelings of shame, anxiety, or even guilt. It could also save you time and energy that could be better spent on things other than navigating past that wide disarray of forgotten magazines or that week-old pile of dirty clothes... not to mention that picking up that random textbook lying in the middle of the floor could potentially save you a trip to the hospital!
However, despite all the positive connotations of living your life in absolute pristineness, other researchers have actually concluded that a surprising benefit could arise from all the clutter. This benefit finds form in the shape of creativity and innovativeness, an especially helpful tool that many underestimate.
Authors of the study at the University of Minnesota explain that messier environments can instill a newfound sense of freedom—breaking from the traditional norm—that encourages thinking in less conventional ways. This significantly helps produce fresher ideas and propositions. Compared side by side, those in neater spaces strayed more towards the conventional, less experimental playing grounds than the subjects in the messier space.
Kathleen Vohs, a co-author of the study, further illustrates that “being in a clean room seemed to encourage people to do what was expected of them.” While this may be helpful in strict, confining situations, it does limit the flow of uniqueness and individuality that many companies actually seek from their employees. Take a marketing corporation for example. Given that the human appeal range is so wide and complex, the team would require lots of ideas that break out of daily norms in order for their project to stand out. These requirements are easily fulfilled through a team of creative members that are not afraid to think outside the box.
"Being creative is aided by breaking away from tradition, order, and convention," writes Voh’s colleagues. Participants of one of their experiments had been given ping pong balls and were asked to devise new, unique ways of using the objects. Half of the subjects were placed in a clean, orderly environment, while the other half was put in a room with strewn papers and randomly thrown about supplies.
While both groups had presented relatively the same amounts of ideas, the second group had generated much more interesting and creative ones in comparison to the participants of the clean room. This raw, human-derived creativity--particularly within the growing age of self-automated technology--is something that many people and places value nowadays. And, according to Vohs, "A disorderly environment seems to help people do just that."
Even so, it can’t be forgotten that other studies have highlighted the benefits of working in a cleaner environment. Having less disorder can aid in focusing on more important, pressing matters, such as studying for a critical exam or writing a make-it-or-break-it email in response to a job offer. In these scenarios, many find it more helpful to file away the stack of papers and clear off their work space to really get down into matters that possibly don’t require as much creative, innovative thinking.
With all that being said, there are both positive and negative arguments to both sides of the topic, and whether or not you choose to work in a well-kept versus unkempt environment is completely up to you. Perhaps they can even be used in conjunction: a messy place to brainstorm ideas, and a cleaner one to actually execute them. And maybe the next time your parents or guardians relentlessly pester you to clean up your room and you really just don’t want to, just tell them that you’re getting your creative juices flowing!
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