Lost Items, Search Time & Clutter Habits: UK Statistics 2025

Home is where the heart is — and where things often go missing. From lost keys to misplaced phones, clutter can quickly turn comfort into chaos. But what happens when we take back control and start to declutter?

Our latest statistics and research on clutter habits in the UK looks at how much people in the UK own, how long we spend looking for lost items, and how clutter affects our mood and focus. It also explores the mental and financial cost of living and working in cluttered spaces and the top decluttering trends of 2025.  

It’s important to note that our study specifically looks at everyday personal belongings such as clothing, toys and essentials like keys and phones. It does not focus on bulkier possessions such as furniture.

Lost Items & Time Spent Searching for Misplaced Belongings: Key Statistics

Want to save time searching for key stats? Here’s a quick snapshot of our findings.

• Almost half of UK adults (48%) admit they’ve arrived late to work, school, or other commitments because they were searching for a misplaced item.
• On average, Brits spend around eight and a half minutes each day searching for misplaced items at home.
• Those aged 16–24 spend the longest time looking for missing items, averaging around 11 minutes a day – adding up to nearly three full days each year.
• This age group is also the most likely to be late for work, school and other appointments, with 71% of 16–24-year-olds saying they have been late because they have been searching for misplaced an item.
• 70% of 25–34-year-olds and 62% of 35–44-year-olds reported being late for the same reason.
• 41% of those aged 45–54 said they have been late due to looking for lost belongings.
• Among those aged 55 and over, only 25% admitted being late for that reason.
• Regionally, over two-thirds (66.7%) of those in Belfast who have misplaced a personal belonging said they’ve been late to work, school, or an appointment because they were searching for it – highest rate of any UK city.
• A little over half of Londoners (55.5%) admit they’ve been late to work, school, or appointments after spending time looking for something they’d lost.
• The latest WRAP research shows that the average UK adult owns 118 items of clothing, with 26% (around 31 items) unworn for at least a year.
• Women in the UK own between 24 and 35 pairs of shoes, while men average 19 pairs (Footwear, 2025).
• Around 24% of UK adults buy new clothes every two to three months (TGI data).
• Over half of UK adults (52%) clear out their clothes less than once a year (TGI data, 2025).
• When they do declutter, just 53% of Brits donate unwanted clothes to charity shops (TGI data, 2025).

How much time do people in the UK spend looking for lost items?

With home organisation now a mainstream priority, more people are recognising how clutter affects their focus and wellbeing. Losing small items can be an early sign that disorganisation is taking hold — and a reminder of the hidden cost of clutter. As a self storage company, we set out to uncover how much time people in the UK spend looking for lost items, and how this reflects the wider impact of clutter on modern living. To find out, in September 2025, we surveyed a a demographically representative sample of 2,000 UK adults using the market research company Censuswide.

We asked participants, on average, how many minutes per day do you spend looking for misplaced and/or lost items at home (e.g. keys, phones, wallet, remote).

• Less than 5 minutes
• 5-10 minutes
• 11-15 minutes
• 16-30 minutes
• 31-60 minutes
• More than 60 minutes
• I never spend time looking for misplaced and/or lost items at home
• I never misplace and/or lose anything

On average, Brits spend around eight and a half minutes each day searching for misplaced items at home.

The table below shows how long UK adults spend looking for lost belongings per day.

As you can see:

• 1 in 3 people spend less than five minutes per day looking for lost items.
  
• Around 1 in 4 (26.5%) spend between 5-10 minutes searching each day.
  
• 1 in 10 people spend between 16 and 60 minutes per day trying to find misplaced belongings.
  
• Roughly 1 in 13 people say that they never misplace or lose anything (7.5%).

So the question is: do you really have time to have a cluttered home?

Who spends the longest searching for misplaced items?

Is it younger or older people who spend the most time searching for lost or misplaced items? Our survey found that the younger we are, the longer we spend looking. Among those who say they misplace items, the results show that:

• Brits aged 16–24 spend the most time searching for their belongings, averaging 11.2 minutes per day.
  
• They’re followed by those aged 35–44, who spend around 10.9 minutes each day on average.
  
• Adults aged 25–34 are close behind, taking an average of 10.8 minutes to find misplaced items.
  
• The group spending the least time searching are Brits aged 55 and over, averaging just 5.8 minutes per day.

Where in the UK do people spend the most time looking for lost belongings?

How do clutter habits and the likelihood of losing items differ across UK cities? Is it more common in larger, high-density urban areas, or do smaller cities experience it just as much? Among those who say they misplace items, our findings show that:

• Bristol, London, and Glasgow residents spend the most time searching for lost belongings, averaging around 9.5 minutes per day.
• Sheffield residents spend the least time, averaging just 5.8 minutes per day

With Londoners among those spending the most time in the UK searching for misplaced items. we know how easily clutter can get in the way. As a London-based storage company with nine sites across the city, we understand these everyday frustrations and offer secure, flexible space to help you keep things organised and easy to find. For more practical support, explore our room-by-room decluttering guide.

How many UK adults are late to work, school, or appointments after looking for lost items?

Losing items isn’t just frustrating — it can also make us late. Our research explored how often this happens among UK residents by asking participants whether they had ever arrived late to work, school, or an appointment because they were searching for a misplaced item at home.

Only those who said they spend time looking for misplaced or lost items at home were included in this part of the analysis. Respondents could choose between Yes, No, or N/A.

The results revealed that:

• Nearly half of UK adults (48.2%) admit they’ve been late for work, school or an appointment because they spent time searching for misplaced items.
• Among them, men (49%) are slightly more likely than women (47.3%) to have arrived late for this reason.

Which age groups are most likely to be late because they were searching for a lost item?

According to our findings, younger people might spend more time hunting for lost belongings — but does that mean they’re also more likely to turn up late? Among those who have misplaced items, our data reveals that:

• 71%of 16–24-year-olds said they’ve been late after misplacing an item
  
• Close behind, 70% of 25–34-year-olds and 62% of 35–44-year-olds also admitted being late for the same reason.
  
• 42% of those aged 45–54 also said they have never been late due to looking for lost belongings.
  
• In contrast, around 1 in 4 (26%) of those aged 55 and over said they’ve ever been late due to misplacing something

Which UK cities see the most people running late while looking for misplaced items?

Among those who do misplace items, our findings reveal that:

• Belfast tops the list, with 66.7% of residents saying they’ve been late after losing something — the highest of any UK city.
• London follows at 55.5%, with Newcastle (53.1%), Glasgow (51.7%), and Birmingham (47.2%) close behind.
• In contrast, 61% of residents in Sheffield said they’ve never been late due to time spent searching for lost belongings, despite admitting to misplacing items.

UK cities most likely to be late after searching for misplaced items

How often do UK adults buy new clothes, toys and other items?

The latest data from TGI (2025) collected from August 2024 to July 2025 reveals how often people across the UK are buying these everyday items:

• On average, British adults buy clothes seven times a year, rising to over 13 times a year in Manchester — the highest frequency of any UK city.
• 24% of UK adults buy new clothes every two to three months.
• 14% purchase clothing once a month, while 8% shop two to three times a month.
• 3% of UK adults buy new clothes every week.
• Meanwhile, 27% of UK adults bought toys or games (excluding consoles) in the past 12 months — around 14.4 million people.
• Among parents with school-age children, 44% purchased toys in the past year.
• The most popular toy types were soft toys (10%), board games (8.5%), puzzles (8%), and building toys (8.5%).

How often do people in the UK clear out their clothes?

According to 2025 TGI data, our analysis reveals that:

• Over half of UK adults (52%) clear out their clothes less than once a year.
• Just under a third (29%) do so once a year while 19% of UK adults clear out their wardrobes twice a year or more.
• Just over half (53%) of UK adults donate unwanted clothes to charity shops, the most common method of reuse.
• 24% recycle clothing via textile bins or local recycling schemes.
• 17% sell unwanted clothes through resale platforms such as eBay or Depop.
• 16% give clothes to friends or family, while around 11% simply keep them
• 9% of adults throw clothing away in general waste bin.
• Only 2% use retail take-back schemes like those run by John Lewis or River Island, showing limited adoption of circular fashion incentives.

What is the average cost of common personal belongings in the UK?

• According to 2025 research from leading insurance company Aviva, the average UK household values its belongings at £58,210 in 2025, up 38% from 2019, as ownership of personal items continues to grow.
• Based on the ONS Family Spending Report (2024), analysis shows the average Brit spends around £400 a year on clothing and shoes (£331 on clothes, £69 on shoes) — roughly equal to the monthly cost of running a car.
• The average UK adult spends £148 a year on toys and games, but this rises to £188 a year for parents (TGI, 2025)
• Clothing costs have risen notably in 2025 — women’s dresses are 9% more expensive, coats up 8%, and bras up 8% year-on-year, while men’s casual shirts are up 5%. (ONS Price Comparison, July 2025)

How does clutter affect mental and physical health?

Clutter doesn’t just take up space in our homes — it can also affect how we feel and function day to day. So, what does clutter do to our brain and body?

• Research from WebMD (2025) found that women who described their homes as clutter had consistently higher levels of cortisol, the body’s primary stress hormone, throughout the day, while those in tidier spaces showed lower, more stable levels
• Another study measuring physiological stress markers (salivary alpha-amylase, or sAA) reported that stress levels rose significantly higher in cluttered environments
• Recent reports found / show that hoarding disorder affects an estimated 2–5 % of the UK population
• Findings from Nuvance Health, (2025) show that cluttered environments can lead to a 20% decrease in focus and cognitive performance
• Clutter has been linked to poorer sleep quality including more night time disturbances and difficulty falling sleep (APDO,2025)
• A recent UK survey by decluttering experts, Vintage Cash Cow also found that around 1 in 3 adults (31%)  have argued with someone in their household due to clutter in the home

How can decluttering your home and office improve your life?

On the other hand, research shows that decluttering can have numerous benefits to people’s mental health and overall wellbeing — improving mood, focus, and more.

• Experts say decluttering can save money, help cut waste, limit impulse buys, and avoid duplicate purchases or unused subscriptions (Investopedia, 2025)
• Minimalist, tidy environments are linked to sharper focus and reduced mental fatigue, with around 70% of people saying they concentrate better when their surroundings are organised.
• A study in Psychological Science found that individuals in clean spaces were twice as likely to opt for a healthy snack (an apple) over a less healthy one (a chocolate bar) after just 10 minutes, compared to those in cluttered environments.
• According to a Staples workplace survey, 94% of employees felt they got more done in a clean, well-ordered office setting.

Most popular decluttering methods of 2025

To find out which decluttering methods are most popular across the UK, we analysed Google search volumes for 19 techniques in November 2025 using Ahrefs. Here are the top 10 most Googled decluttering trends and methods.

How to stop losing things with Attic Self Storage

If you’re constantly misplacing your keys, clothes, or everyday essentials, a little organisation can make all the difference. Start by giving everything a set place and decluttering regularly — you’ll spend less time searching and more time doing what you love. Not sure where to begin? Discover the benefits of decluttering and how a clearer space can help clear your mind, too.

When it comes to tidying wardrobes or sorting out seasonal outfits, check out our guide on how to store clothes for practical space-saving tips. And if your hobbies or collections are taking over your home, take inspiration from how self storage can support your hobbies. This is ideal for keeping everything neat, accessible, and safe.

At Attic Self Storage, we make it easy to create more space at home so you can stop losing things and start living clutter-free. Explore our secure self storage units in London today.

Posted on 27th November 2025 by Shanaiqua Desa

Shanaiqua Desa

Content & Creative Lead

Shanaiqua Desa is the Content & Creative Lead at Attic Self Storage. She has a Master’s degree in Advertising and Marketing from the University of Hull, UK, and 5 years of experience as a marketer. During her time at Attic, Shanaiqua has become an expert at understanding, both, the industry and, more importantly, its customers enabling her to create valuable content for anyone looking to use self-storage.

Read all posts by Shanaiqua Desa