I have a friend whose flat when I visit feels like stepping into someone else’s mind. It’s filled to the absolute brim with stuff: cupboards full of mismatched mugs, chintzy ceramic dogs adorning the shelves, piles of books everywhere and, most impressively, a display case lovingly filled with dozens of Kinder egg toys. The funny thing is, I always leave feeling calmer than I would in any stripped-back, magazine-ready living room.

Clutter gets a bad rap, but in a world where we’re told to optimise and streamline everything, its chaos feels stubbornly human. I think clutter, when done right, can be the clearest sign of a life being........

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