A study has found there is not always a need to tidy up a home just because it is slightly messy. It said the habit of keeping items needed for daily life within reach can improve convenience and may help consideration and understanding among family members.

On Oct. 29, Japanese media outlet Gigazine reported that a research team led by Jamal Abarashi (자말 아바라시) at Auckland University of Technology in New Zealand released findings analysing how clutter at home affects families' lifestyles and relationships.

The team asked 22 households in New Zealand to photograph tidy and cluttered spaces in their homes. It then conducted in-depth research based on the photos into why items were placed where they were, how space was used and tidying habits.

The study found that spaces that look messy on the surface can, in some cases, improve efficiency in daily life.

In one household, bags and water bottles needed for going out were placed on the dining table and then put away in the evening. Another participant said leaving important items on a visible kitchen counter helped avoid forgetting them when going out.

There were also cases of using a dining area as a workspace shared with children. Under that approach, pens and toys might pile up, but if there was still room to eat, they were not necessarily cleared away.

Clutter also carried meaning in family relationships. One father said he saw it as progress when his daughter began hanging clothes she used to leave on the floor over the back of a chair and left it as it was. One woman said she did not put away all of her partner's belongings because, as a shared living space, they needed to respect each other's ways of living.

The research team classified how households deal with clutter into 3 types: putting items away, leaving them as they are, and hiding them out of sight.

Not all clutter is positive, it said. It can make it harder to find items or trigger stress and conflict within a family.

The researchers stressed: "The standard for organisation and tidiness should be aligned not simply with appearance but with how space is used, family members' living habits and mutual consideration."

The study was a qualitative survey of 22 households in New Zealand, with most participants in the highly educated upper-middle class or higher. That limits how far the results can be generalised to all households.