How Mess Becomes Pollution: Spatiotemporal and Relational Dynamics of Domestic Disorder

Abstract

This study theorises how consumers interpret and respond to material disorder in domestic spaces, reconceptualising why some forms of mess are tolerated, while others become symbolic pollution that prompts tidying action. Drawing on symbolic pollution theory, the study demonstrates that pollution is constituted through spatiotemporal and relational processes rather than fixed spatial violations. It identifies three interrelated mechanisms shaping this transformation: perceived control, the symbolic elasticity of space across time and use, and family dynamics through which disorder is collectively negotiated. The study extends symbolic pollution theory by shifting its ontology from spatial to spatiotemporal and conceptualising disorder as moving between liquid and solid states. It reframes ordering as the ongoing management of time, relationships and material arrangements through which disorder is rendered acceptable or polluting.