Decluttering, Tidiness trends can cause stress, say experts

One week it's an airport security tray filled with carefully tessellated items that represent the owner's personality, the next it's a curated fridge shelf decorated with fairy lights and flowers.

- Amelia Hill

But is this the acme - or the nadir - of the organising cult? According to some, the trend has gone too far. We are cluttering our mental landscape with our decluttering schemes, say the experts - and when the Association of Professional Declutterers and Organisers tells you to put down the duster, you know you've been spoken to.

"The constant need to keep up with these decluttering and organisational trends is causing genuine mental and physical stress," says Siân Pelleschi, the APDO president. "People are losing the ability, in some cases, to distinguish between a fad and a method that can benefit their life.