UCLA's 'Life At Home In The Twenty-First Century' Study Reveals Just How Disorganized American Homes Are

Are Garages The New Junk Drawers?

Here's a question: What does the average American family keep in their garage? The answer: Everything but a car.

Scientists followed the home lives of 32 middle-class, dual income families in Los Angeles over a period of four years. And one of the most surprising finds? That "75% of garages in the study had no room to store a car." Instead, the garages were filled with 300 to 650 boxes, storage bins and other storage items.

Co-author Anthony Graesch, an assistant professor of anthropology at Connecticut College told UCLA Newsroom:

"I don't think Americans intend to collect so much, but we're really bad at ridding our homes of old possessions before buying new stuff."

The researchers also noted one family had to store dirty laundry in an unused shower.

There was also a correlation between the objects attached to a family's refrigerator and the objects per square foot in the house overall. And sadly, the research showed mothers who thought their homes were messy had higher levels of stress.

While the number of families followed make up a small representation of the large number of families living in America, the study does create a troubling picture of household cleanliness and structure within average American homes.

The information gathered has been added to a book entitled "Life At Home In The Twenty-first Century: 32 Families Open Their Doors" which will be available in August.

For more information visit, the UCLA Newsroom.

Have something to say? Be sure to check out Stylelist Home on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

Popular in the Community

Close

HuffPost Shopping’s Best Finds

MORE IN LIFE