MISSING THE MESS!

Writer Jennifer Barton, 42, admits that having a clear-out comes with stresses of its own

- JENNIFER BARTON

I'd argue there are three types of people. Those happy to live among chaos and clutter, others who need clean surfaces to thrive. And people like me, who are naturally messy, addicted to stuff and sentimental about objects and clothing... but who like to think that a new, improved way of life is just a few trips to the skip away.

As a lifelong messy person, I thought I was resistant to being 'cleanfluenced'. My untidy house was part of a 'refusal to conform to traditional expectations of domesticity', I'd often tell my husband Will, as he cursed yet another Lego piece under his foot.

My clutter helped me preserve my past by holding on to memories of my late mum Diana, whose stuff is intermingled with mine. But truth be told, with four kids aged seven to 14, recently my mess has been looking less like a lifestyle choice and more like the mushroom fungus infestation in The Last of Us.