Going back to work after maternity leave is a massive undertaking and suddenly you also have to be 10 times more organised than you were before when it was just you and no kids.

And it's not as trivial as it sounds. In fact, clutter in our lives has been proven to have negative psychological effects, but also that getting rid of clutter is actually, literally painful.

So have you ever been overwhelmed by a junk drawer, wardrobe, overstuffed garage, or huge pile of paperwork or unfiled bills and found it hard to actually throw it all out? You're not the only one and a recent study published in Psychology Today found that letting go can literally be painful.

Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine recruited both non-hoarders and hoarders, and then asked them to sort through items like junk mail and old newspapers. Some of the items belonged to the experimenter, and some actually belonged to the participant. Participants had to decide what to keep and what to throw away. While this was happening, researchers tracked their brain activity.

Unlike non-hoarders, hoarders showed increased activity in two regions of the brain when confronted with their own junk. Those two areas: the anterior cingulate cortex and the insula. And the more a hoarder reported feeling "not right" about throwing something out, the stronger this pattern of activation was.

When I read this very specific finding, I had an instant feeling of recognition. I know that neural signature. Both are these regions of the brain are associated with conflict and pain – and you see the same pattern of brain activation in other forms of psychological pain, like addiction and OCD. It triggers a feeling of something being wrong, and can bring on a real gut-wrenching feeling.

None of us want to have that in our lives and the less clutter you let accumulate, the easier it is to keep on top of it. But also the less clutter you have in your house or on your desk, the more organised and in control you feel, the more productive you'll be and the less you'll stress about everything.

Sydney–based de–clutter service, Unstuff, is run by two busy mums Holly Whale and Lynne Trevail who both had busy working lives before kids, but who both had a great ability to tidy, sort and de-clutter.

Holly and Lynne make it their business to go into people's homes and declutter their life! They are the queens of throwing out rubbish and unwanted items and organising everything from kitchens and office spaces to playrooms and wardrobes. Once these ladies have had a go at your home, your house will look bigger and better and you'll feel a lot calmer too.

According to the Unstuff ladies, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time. That's a rule of thumb that apparently applies to all the stuff in your life, so just get rid of it and lose all your stress too. It might not make you the most organised mum on the planet and you're sure to forget the odd thing, but the more in control you feel of your home, your office, your wardrobe, your baby's room or even your handbag, the more in organised you'll feel about everything.

One – Break down the stuff. If you don't know where to start, break the process down into small, manageable chunks – focus on one cupboard, pile or corner at a time.

Two – Donate stuff. Have a 'go' charity box permanently by the front door.

Three – Unstuff together. Create a routine for de-cluttering like spending the 1st day of each school holidays tackling the kids' bedrooms with them. Then take them out for ice cream.

Four – Stuff-unstuff. If you buy a new item of clothing, be sure to discard an unloved one at the same time. You'll feel better for it.

Five – Purge stuff. Don't fall into the trap of shopping up a storm for 'storage solutions'. Purge the 'stuff' first and shop later.

For more tips and to contact Holly and Lynne for their help go to www.unstuff.com.au