6 Reasons You Might Be Messy That Have Nothing To Do With Laziness

Dirty dishes piled up in your sink. Clean clothes mixed with dirty ones on the floor. Junk mail sitting on your desk. Oh, and is that an old food wrapper under the couch?

If your home is messy or disorganized, we’re with you.

“Very few people actually experience a clutter-free or mess-free life,” said Michael Tompkins , psychologist and co-director of the San Francisco Bay Area Center for Cognitive Therapy.

While some people may view messiness as a sign of laziness, the reality is that there are many unexpected reasons you might be messy — from life stages to personality traits to mental health conditions.

We talked to experts about what these reasons are, and how to know whether messiness is a harmless part of your lifestyle or a problem that’s causing you distress. Read on for what might be the not-so-obvious reasons behind your clutter:

1. You may have ADHD.

Disorganization is one of the “hallmark symptoms” of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, said Terry Matlen, a psychotherapist and author of “The Queen of Distraction.” “Executive functioning is universally impaired in the ADHD brain.”

This includes having trouble planning, initiating and completing tasks, and problems with working memory.

“When you have difficulties with working memory… it’s very difficult for you to follow through from beginning to end of certain tasks,” Tompkins explained. “That means that you might get distracted easily.”

For example, when you walk into your house, you might get distracted by your dog running to greet you, and so you put your keys down on a chair instead of in their designated bowl.

“It’s not even a conscious decision,” Tompkins said. “The person just has trouble holding on to this idea of… putting their keys in