"It's supposed to be my new room, but for some reason I can't settle in."
"I redecorated, but it somehow feels less comfortable than before."
Plenty of people have felt this way during a move or a redecorating project. This unsettled feeling may actually relate to a buildup of small disorder — leaving boxes sitting around, piling things up "for now." Changing how you approach your space just a little can make a big difference in how quickly you settle into a new home.
Why "For Now" Disorder Cascades Into Discomfort
In 1982, American psychologists Wilson and Kelling proposed what's known as the "broken windows theory." If a single broken window is left unrepaired, it signals that "no one is looking after this place," and other windows soon get broken too, trash starts piling up, and the whole environment deteriorates. Originally discussed in the field of criminology and public order, a similar phenomenon was confirmed in a 2008 experiment published in the journal Science by Dutch researchers Keizer, Lindenberg, and Steg. Their findings reported that simply seeing a sign of "disorder" — graffiti on a wall, litter scattered around — made people more likely to commit other kinds of rule-breaking too.
This idea isn't unrelated to a room mid-move or mid-redecorating. Unopened boxes, a floor piled with things that have no place yet — when items placed "for now" stay continuously in view, they keep sending yourself the signal "this place still isn't in order," and it becomes easy to fall into a cycle where even the motivation to tidy up struggles to arise. It clicks better to think of this less as a matter of mindset, and more as the environment in view itself acting on your behavior and mood.
The Wisdom of a "Turning Point for Order," Seen in Japanese Seasonal Customs
The origin of Japan's year-end deep clean is said to trace back to susuharai, a Heian-period court event. It's said to have become widely established as a yearly custom among ordinary people by the Edo period — clearing away a year's worth of soot and dust and purifying the whole home to welcome the new year. This wasn't simply cleaning; it's said to have carried the meaning of a turning point, clearing away a year's impurities and refreshing your mindset.
A move or a redecorating project can be understood through this same idea of a "turning point." Rather than treating the moment your space changes as just a task of rearranging things, treating it as an opportunity to shift your own mindset — this piece of Japanese living wisdom applies directly to moving into a new place today.
Ways to Settle Into a New Space Quickly
Instead of "Grouping Boxes in a Corner," Set a Deadline to Reduce Them
Rather than gathering unopened boxes in a corner of the room to make them "invisible," it's faster to reduce the absolute amount of visible clutter by deciding "how many boxes to open today" and working through them. Rather than trying to finish everything at once, it's more realistic to set a pace — even just 1–2 boxes a day — with a clear deadline.
Decide Your Flow of Movement Before Placing Anything
Placing furniture and belongings "wherever there's space for now" adds extra work moving things later, and tends to prolong the disorder. Picturing how you'll actually move through the space — from entryway to bedroom, from kitchen to bathroom — before placing anything makes it easier to reach an organized state in one pass.
Use Scent to Mark "This Is My Place"
Simply letting a favorite scent drift through the room between rounds of unpacking makes it easier to shift your sense of the space from "a temporary work zone" to "where I actually live." The advantage of using scent is that it lets you build a sense of belonging through smell, even before the visual tidying is finished.
Reset With Scent
No.18 Field Reset suits the "somehow unsettled" feeling right after a move. It's chosen as a scent for settling into a new home quickly, and carries a background of being used overseas in settings like care facilities to shift the air of a space. If the heaviness of the room's air itself is also on your mind, No.10 Clean Energy is worth considering too. Burning it alongside ventilation once your unpacking has settled down makes the shift in the space easier to feel.
Summary
- When "for now" disorder stays continuously in view, it becomes harder for the motivation to tidy up to arise at all
- Rather than hiding boxes, setting a deadline to reduce their number helps you settle in faster
- Deciding your flow of movement before placing items reduces the need to rearrange later
- The idea of treating a change in space, like susuharai, as a "turning point for resetting your mindset" applies directly to moving into a new home today
Related articles: Why Your Home Doesn't Feel Settled After Moving | The Idea of Land Energy, Why the Air in Your Room Feels Heavy | Causes and a Scent-Based Self-Care Habit
References: Research in environmental psychology on how "disorder" affects behavior, and general knowledge about the custom of "turning points" in Japanese seasonal events and folklore.