Part 1 of the 4 most common clutter culprits
As a professional organizer privy to the parts of people’s homes we normally go to great lengths to hide from others, I often observe similarities and patterns.
In this 4-part series, I hope to address the most common issues to help you work through your own clutter culprits and find some relief on the other end of it. And also: to validate the struggle, because I’m telling you these issues are SO COMMON and do not discriminate in terms of who they affect, what spaces they occupy, etc.
Here are four common issues I see in my clients’ homes:
Buried surfaces
Doom bags/bins
Paper everywhere
Overstuffed closets
This is part 1 of this new series. I say buried surfaces—so think countertops, the tops of dressers, our furniture, etc. But it also happens when floors are covered, when junk drawers have those cute little bins dividing items into sections but you can no longer see them because they’ve been covered with STUFF. You know what I’m talking about! No judgment, no shame. Let’s talk about it, and move forward.
The problem: buried surfaces
Do you find yourself thinking: Hmmmmm, I know there used to be a kitchen counter under all of this…mess? Or, my nightstand holds my reading glasses and book, and 29,030,585,890 other miscellaneous things. A bathroom counter that’s cluttered with unused beauty products. Or, the basement floor, “where things go to die,” as per most of my clients.
These are real people’s “before” pics — clients of mine who were brave enough to ask for help, posted with consent and respect.
The issue here is excess, lack of clear-cut homes for these objects, and/or inconsistent tidying (to tidy is to put things away in their proper place).
The remedy:
Start by pulling out all of the trash/recycling—it will make a dent!
Remove anything that definitely doesn’t belong in this space (e.g., a kid’s toy, a tool, etc) and put it in a RELOCATE box — once that box is close to full, pause and return those items to their respective rooms/spaces
Address anything obvious. For example, if we are looking at the kitchen counter, put dirty dishes in the dishwasher or sink, put baking ingredients back in pantry.
Make categories of what remains; group similar things together to help you take inventory of what you have.
Notice what’s left. If you’re honest with yourself, do you love/need/use what’s here? Often, the surface clutter is that random stuff you don’t really know what to do with, so you put it here for now hoping an answer will come. This is the time to take control of the clutter, and know that you can make decisions like donating this, repurposing this, regifting that, tossing that. Know your capacity and respect it; if you realistically don’t have time/energy to hot glue all of the pieces back together for that broken ornament, let it go—without beating yourself up.
Create or recreate homes for the remaining items, and communicate with everyone in the home where these items now live. Label, and continue to reinforce their new homes as needed.
Take a moment to appreciate your cleared surface, wipe it down, imagine all the possibilities you now have for meaningful work/play here.
These are my actual clients’ AFTER pics. When you hire me—a professional organizer, not only do I transform your space, I also help identify the root causes of your clutter and educate you (and your family) on solutions to prevent buildup and to maintain these spaces. As an occupational therapist, I’m big on providing rationale for why something wasn’t working and why this proposed solution is a better fit—and share this information with kids in a developmentally appropriate way. As a recovering perfectionist and a mom, I’m very big on emphasizing that YOU are the not the problem; the storage solution is, system is, the stuff is.
Items need homes. When we tuck our belongings away safely into their rightful place, we are respecting them, taking care of them, and more importantly contributing to peace and order in our own home. It is everyone’s job to take care of their belongings; we have to, as moms, help others be accountable for their own things. It starts with modeling, which is a PRACTICE.
If the above instructions feel like too much, give yourself a concrete goal: “I will set this timer for 5 minutes and work to clear this surface.” “I will put away 8 items.” “I will put all the kids’ items in a bin and relocate it to the playroom.” Do one thing that feels manageable (here’s some encouragement).
“This ONE habit will keep your home clean and tidy all the time, AND it will cut down your cleaning time by 75% at least. The real secret is one simple mantra: All surfaces are hot lava.” ~ Cassandra Aarssen of Clutterbug
THE FLOOR IS LAVA, when shouted out, is a call for immediate action! Yu don’t have to think, you just know what to do—get off the floor ASAP! So, when we teach ourselves this trick in terms of haphazardly putting items down instead of away, and also help our kids practice it, we reestablish the idea of “OHIO” or “only handle it once.” This looks like…the scissors get put away in the drawer instead of on a random shelf, and as a result you don’t find yourself buying yet another pair of scissors because they keep disappearing.
Even if we don’t play the lava game instantly, a healthy and attainable goal is to practice closing the gap between when you put something down out of place and when you bring awareness to it and resolve it.
Imagine you’re helping kids with their homework at the dining table and you go to grab something from the kitchen.
It’s recognizing, aloud, without judgment, “Oops, I left my makeup on the kitchen counter because I was in a rush this morning.”
It’s stating the natural consequences, “I don’t want this to get messy or lost during dinner and cleanup tonight, and I don’t want to feel frantic tomorrow morning looking for it and risk being late for school dropoff and work.”
It’s taking the next best step, “I’m going to put this away in my vanity right now.”
It’s that final step of closure, “Aaahh, that feels better. I’m glad I prioritized that for myself.”
Does that feel…extra? Maybe it is, at first. But it’s how we teach ourselves and our families why and how to make this a natural everyday occurrence, instead of this monstruous, overwhelming, weekend-consuming, all-hands-on-deck cleaning session.
Plus it’s a hell of a lot kinder than, “Oh god, I’m such an idiot. I left this makeup on the counter,” and shoving it to the side to start dinner. Then in the morning, “Ugh, I’m such a mess, I can never find what I’m looking for, where is my makeup?” And even if you’re skilled enough to keep these self-sabotaging statements in your head instead of also vocalizing them for your kids to hear, it’s still a story you’re telling yourself, it’s still hurtful, it’s still an unhelpful narrative that you do have control to shift.
So now I challenge you. Find a cluttered surface that feels doable. Maybe it’s an end table in the living room or a bookshelf that has…a lot more than just books on it. Start small. Try those steps above. Even if you only get to step 2, it’s still progress. It’s still forward momentum. And you can do it.
Stay tuned for the rest of this series. As always, you are invited to book a free discovery call with me if you’re ready for a whole-home reset or want someone to help you learn these skills promptly and thoroughly. If that feels too intimidating, shoot me a text: 302-729-2168. No pressure, no judgment, only kindness.