The Clutter Cure: 2 Steps to Stop Stuff From Taking Over Your Home

My hubby often recounts a quote from “Incredibles 2” that haunts him. In the scene Evelyn, who turns out to be the bad guy (spoiler!), is telling Elastagirl about what people want.

Ease. People will trade quality for ease every time. It may be crap, but hey, it's convenient.

Ease. Convenience. It's what people want.

And businesses know this.

As a result, stuff is literally showing up at your door at breakneck speed. And in no time at all, you are drowning in it.

So I'm gonna shoot straight with you, Friend.

If getting stuff into your home is easy and convenient, we've got to flip the script. Instead, we've got to make it HARD for stuff to ENTER your home and EASY for stuff to EXIT your home.

If as you read this you find yourself “booing” me through your screen, it's okay. I've heard it before when giving presentations on this stuff live and in person. So bring it on!!!

STEP ONE: Make It Inconvenient For Stuff To Enter Your Home

I once heard a parable from a friend who was a social worker. It went something like this. There were two women next to a stream. All of a sudden, a steady flow of babies started floating down the stream. The women quickly began rescuing the babies from the stream. After some time, one of the women stopped pulling the babies out of the water and started running. They other woman asked her where she was going. The woman answered, “I am going upstream to find out who is throwing the babies into the stream so I can stop them.”

The wise woman knew that solving the problem didn't just involve getting the babies out of the stream. She also had to identify the source in order to stop the flow. Ask yourself: Where is the stuff that is cluttering up your home coming from?

Here are some common sources:

• Instagram

• Amazon

• Costco

• Sam's Club

• BJ's

Are you still there? Are you "booing" me yet? Are we still friends?

With these sources of stuff in mind, let's find the streams that are bringing these babies, I mean stuff, into your home. It's the only way to stop the flow.

Stream #1: Your Memberships

You need to cancel them.

Now before you shout, “Blasphemer! These places are hallowed grounds of unbeatable prices on Member's Mark Trash Bags, Kirkland Signature Bath Tissue, and Wellsley Farms Olive Oil!”, I will tell you that I agree. These items are less expensive at the clubs than at a grocery store or a big box store.

But...

Let's count the real cost. What was the price of membership? What items that were not on the shopping list ended up in the shopping cart? How much of what was purchased ultimately ended up in the trash can?

Friends, I have seen a lot. I have seen a lot of brand new, never opened items – food and beverage, heath and beauty, cleaning and (gasp!) organizing-related items – purchased from these beloved places only to end their lives in the dumpster because they got lost in the cabinet/shelf/pile/garage and either expired or became obsolete.

Recently, after throwing away trash bag after trash bag of expired food, my client turned to me and said, “I see it now. I have a Costco problem. I will not buy any more snacks until the end of the year.”

Folks, even after all that was thrown away, he still had enough snacks to last UNTIL THE END OF THE YEAR.

And he has 3 kids.

And It. Was. March.

The Cure: Cancel The Memberships.

Buy your TP at the grocery store or order it from the big box store. Not only will it will save you hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year, it will not clutter up your kitchen/pantry/bathroom/garage. I triple dog dare you.

Stream #2: Your Phone

Your phone is so fun! It's a portal to the latest National Park Service's posts, retro Homestar Runner videos, and the lady who says, “and it was another great day of saving the bees”.

However...

Your phone. After sunset. Is dangerous.

Remember how your mom always said “Nothing good every happens on your phone after midnight”? Okay me neither cuz cell phones didn't exist back then, but here's the deal.

When you're too tired to do something requiring mental or physical exertion, but not tired enough to go to bed because come-on-you're-not-grandma-yet, you are one drowsy click away from a package of nonsense arriving on your doorstep tomorrow. The next thing you know, you've ordered fast-fashion-on-clearance that chafes your nether regions, healthy snacks that taste like packing peanuts (do not aske me why I know), and beauty products-that-literally-changed-my-life-low-qualtities-limited-time-offer-order-now!

I have been in homes where the entire entryway is lined with boxes of regret and shame. Items that were purchased late at night on a smart phone, the return deadlines were missed, and now they cannot get rid of them because, “It's brand new and I spent all that money”...

So instead of admitting a mistake was made and parting with the item, they make a second mistake by keeping it. And creating a gauntlet of guilt to walk through every day.

The Cure: Give Your Phone a Bedtime. 

For me, this required asking for help. I asked my husband to change the settings on my phone so that everything but the ability to make a phone call, send a text, or access “Maps” shuts down at 9PM and doesn't come back on until 7AM. It's password protected, and I don't know the password. The result is my phone loses all its luster at 9PM, I don't make sleepy impulse purchases, and I get to bed at a reasonable hour.

Inconvenient? Yes. And that's the whole point.

Stream #3: Your Social Media

The influencers. The suspiciously on-point ads. The rabbit hole of Reels.

Not only are apps vampires of your time and attention, they often achieve their real intention of making money with a flood of targeted advertisements. This leads to many of the same results as your phone (see above) as they are literally on your phone.

The Cure: Assign Problematic Apps a Time Limit.

For me, this meant (again) employing the help of my hubby who set password protected time limits for my unholy trinity of apps: Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube. I get 15-minutes a day on each of those apps before they shut down. The only way I can get more time is to ask my husband to enter the password. Which I have never done because who intentionally invites that level of shame into their lives?!?!

Remember – I asked for this. This was not imposed on me. I knew I needed help. So like a grown person, I asked for help.

STEP TWO: Make It Convenient for Stuff To Exit Your Home

The solution to getting stuff out of your house? Folks, be prepared to clutch your pearls and faint dead away. The answer is simple, but it is not Pinterest perfect.

Two words: Trash cans.

Yup. To make it easy for stuff to exit, you have to give them a convenient means of escape.

And I'm not talking about merely having a trash can in your kitchen and bathrooms. If you are reading this article, that hasn't been getting you the desired result.

They need to be in almost every room. Every bedroom, bathroom, play room, craft room, game room, garage, and basement.

And no more of this tee-tiny-only-fits-one-tissue-before-it's-full deals. Something that is realistic in size. I promise there are attractive ones to be found. Or you can hide them in cute hampers or furniture made specifically for the purpose.

I get a LOT of pushback on this from clients. Until they walk into their teenager's room. And then cue the purchase of trash cans!

So there you have it! Now let's make it hard for stuff to enter our home and easy for it to exit

And bonus points for moving your big curbside trash can as close to the kitchen door as possible.