The Dark Side of Stuff and How to Clear the Clutter
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Do you wish you could waive a magic wand and clear the clutter from your home? Did you know that your stuff has a dark side and could actually be harming you? Read on to learn more and to discover how to finally free yourself from the burden and weight of owning All. The. Things.
Sure you have a lot of stuff, but you might not say it’s excessive. Most of us know that we could live with less. We don’t really NEED enough dishes to host a large dinner party, a T.V. in every room, or the fancy living room that no one ever uses, but you might not go so far to say that clutter is ruining your life. And you’re not sure you’d ever scream out, “help me clear the clutter from my life!”
However, the statistics might surprise you.
Clutter is a big problem in our modern society. People are no longer using their homes for living. They are using them as storage facilities. The average American home has 300,000 items in it (1) and we don’t stop there. In the U.S. we have 2.3 billion square feet of total rentable self-storage space available and the industry has been growing at 7.7 percent annually since 2012 (2).
Update: I have a podcast! If you want to go more in-depth for how to clear the clutter in your home, check out Episode 13 of the Wannabe Minimalist Show.
Our garages are a problem too. When cars were first introduced, many homes did’t have garages. Why would they? Then a single car garage was a must have. Now, our modern homes have at a minimum a two-car garage, but often anything less than a three-car garage is a deal breaker when house-hunting (just watch HGTV and the house hunting shows!)
And what do we do with all of that garage space? Well, I’ll give you a hint…it’s not to park our cars. 32% of people with two-car garages don’t have room to park two vehicles inside (3). Instead, we spend lots of money on a car and let it waste away outside in the harsh elements because we’d rather have boxes filled with things. Now, I know you’re saying it’s not that people want BOXES filled with stuff, but they just don't have anywhere else to put it.
I get it. But, our actions and what we do day-in-and-day-out shows our real priorities.
Now, just having stuff packed in your garage, overflowing in your home, and tucked away in a storage unit is not going to ruin your life. The real problem with clutter and stuff is that it robs us of our most important resources. Things that you would NEVER knowingly waste.
That’s right. By not clearing the clutter you are wasting your precious time, your hard-earned money, and your fought for sanity. I would ask if you don’t believe me, but as someone who has lived with clutter and lots of stuff in the past, I know that deep down you feel it.
You feel the weight when you look around your home.
You feel the pang when you make the payment on the storage unit.
You curse under your breath when you are scraping the snow off the car while your things are nice and cozy in that garage.
I have done ALL OF THAT too and that’s why I am so passionate about not living that life anymore.
But, before we dive into how to clear the clutter once and for all, let’s look at how clutter robs you of 3 of your most precious assets.
1. Clutter Wastes Your Time
Having a bunch of stuff in your home, means you have to maintain it. You feel the need to keep it orderly (whether it is or not), clean it, and move it around periodically. The average home size for newly built homes in the USA is now 2,660 square feet (4), almost double what it was in 1975 when the average home measured 1,660 square feet, even though our families are getting smaller.
With all that space, it is estimated people spend 20 hours a week cleaning their homes (5). That’s a part-time job! Think of all the things you could do with an extra 20 hours per week…
Clutter also wastes time when have to search for our belongings. The studies show people lose on average 9 items per day in the home (6). Things like our smartphones, house keys, car keys, paperwork, and sunglasses top the list. Over the course of our lifetimes, the average person will spend a total of 3,680 hours or 153 days searching for misplaced items.
Lastly, we let clutter waste our time through the amount of shopping we do. It is said that women will spend more than eight years of their lives shopping! (7) I don’t know about you, but I hate shopping. My contempt of grocery shopping is one of the reasons I created Capsule Meal Plans. And I cannot remember the last time something I purchased brought me as much joy as something I experienced. I would much rather fill those 8 years with experiences and memories. How about you?
2. Clutter Wastes Your Money
The point of clutter wasting our money seems a bit more obvious to me. Of course, in order to fill your home with stuff, you will need to purchase it with money. But, I was shocked to learn how much we spend collectively.
Americans spend more on shoes, jewelry, and watches ($100 billion) than on higher education every year (8). These are just the accessories for an outfit!! Sure, they are the expensive bits, but I do not have as many accessories as I have clothes. I think the saddest part is that as a society, we would rather spend money to look good rather than spend money to expand our minds.
However, not all the money we spend around clutter add to our collections. A good portion of money is spent on keeping these collections in order. The home organization industry is now an $8 billion dollar industry. The business of organizers and bins has more than doubled in size since the early 2000’s—growing at a staggering rate of 10% each year (9). I have a whole blog post about how you can stop organizing for good and it turns out it will save you money.
One final thought on how clutter wastes your money. The Wall Street Journal reports that Americans spend $1.2 trillion annually on nonessential goods (10). These are things we DO NOT NEED, that’s why they’re called nonessential. I can think of a lot of good that could be done with $1.2 trillion dollars every year. And even if you do not want to get that altruistic, think about your own retirement…but we’ll get there in a minute.
3. Clutter Causes Stress
At first glance, you may not think that clutter has anything to do with your stress level. After all, the act of purchasing something new often gives us a small high and makes us feel good. The problem is that high is short-lived and becomes harder and harder to replicate.
But, think about this fact, nearly half of American households don’t save any money (11). Half! 50%!
Remember, that $1.2 trillion dollar stat about buying things we don’t need? If this is you, spending your money on stuff instead of saving it increases your stress level as you continue to live paycheck to paycheck. The stress makes you want to buy something to feel good and the cycle continues. But, you can say no and break the cycle.
Another area that may not seem like a problem at first is in our closets. The average American woman owns 30 outfits— one for every day of the month. That is a 233% increase over the number of outfits a woman owned in 1930 (12). But the real problem is that so many of us look in our closets and say, “I don’t have anything to wear!” That’s why my French Capsule Wardrobe plan is so popular. In it, you learn how to create 74+ outfits from only 12 articles of clothing.
However, the saddest part about clutter causing stress is that it’s not only the adults who are stressed out because of our stuff. British research found that the average 10-year-old owns 238 toys but plays with just 12 daily (13). Having this many toys causes children to have lower attention spans, become more selfish, and not take care of their things. Too many toys interrupt a child’s concentration, focus, and their sense of independence because they constantly need you to help them find something.
But there is hope!!!
How to Clear the Clutter and Stop the Madness
After I learned how clutter was ruining my life and causing me way too much stress, I started making steps to let it go. And you can too! I’ve been able to tackle my home and clear the clutter slowly over time. Sure, you can do it all at once, but just like with losing weight, drastic changes rarely stick.
These are my top tips from actually living this experience and decluttering with a family. It hasn’t always been easy, but I am hoping you can learn from my mistakes so that this clutter clearing process will be easier for you and your family.
Tip #1: Share Your Goals with Your Family
In the past, I have let the task of decluttering and maintaining the home be my responsibility. That approach left me burnt out, resentful of my family for not helping, and stressed out when they would make a mess. But, once I let my family in on the reason WHY I wanted to declutter and asked for help, I found they were not only willing, but encouraging as well.
By talking about our goals as a family and the kind of life we want to live together, we have had so much more fun and with less stuff. We can make messes and clean them up together. We can save money for bigger items or bigger trips. My daughter gets excited about decluttering her things so she can make room for something new. Bonus is when she buys something with her own money (that was made from selling a toy she outgrew and decluttered - like her play kitchen!).
By being real with my family, sharing my emotions, and giving us a reason to live with less stuff, we have been able to clear out the clutter that weighed us down for too long and get about actually living our lives.
Tip #2: Be Methodical
My second tip for clearing out your clutter is to have a plan, be focused, and do a little bit at a time. Before my daughter joined our family, I never appreciated all the extra time I had. I bet I could’ve decluttered my whole home in a weekend back then. It wouldn’t have been a problem if I left the room half done with bins open, papers everywhere, and sharp objects pointing up. I would have known what was going on and could have jumped right back in the next day.
But, now that my daughter is in the picture, I need a different approach to my clutter clearing process. She likes to help, but gets easily distracted and wants to play with all the new things she finds. That’s why I now focus on one area at a time. I work on it start to finish and give myself full permission to put off any other space until that room is DONE.
It’s the same approach I teach in my Wannabe Minimalist Facebook Group where we are in the middle of a 21-Day Decluttering Challenge. I’d love for you to join us! It’s free and I am amazed at some of the before and after pictures being shared.
The surprising thing about being methodical is how much progress you are able to make very quickly. It seems like it would be the opposite, but clearing one area at a time means that I am never overwhelmed. A planned approach allows me to not feel guilty if some of my rooms are a mess because I have not gotten there yet. And I have found less clutter rebounding because once a space is decluttered I have all the things I need for it and do not want to see that space in chaos again. If I find something that belongs in a room I already decluttered, it needs to be given a home or tossed.
Simple as that!
Tip #3: Start with the Easy Stuff
Please, never start process of clearing your clutter with family heirlooms, items from your childhood, or things that have a strong emotional attachment. You will only set yourself up for failure.
Other items to avoid decluttering at the beginning are things that belong to other people in your home. Getting your family onboard is much easier if they see you enjoying life with less stuff. When you are less stressed, happier, and able to relax more, they will be drawn to the process. It also helps if you talk to them about why you are decluttering (see tip #1).
I like to start with my closet because even though it can be hard to clear out your wardrobe, everything in there is 100% mine and once this is done, everyday becomes easier. By wearing clothes you love and feel confident in, you will have the momentum to push forward.
Then I like to move on to rooms with little emotional attachment, like the bathrooms, dining room, laundry, and entry way. These rooms all have specific purposes which make them easier to clean out and maintain. I also find it incredibly helpful to have a family command center to keep everything organized.
As you learn how to live with less and flex your decluttering muscles, you will be able to move on to the kitchen, your bedroom, the living room, garage, basement, and finally photos and family heirlooms.
Tip #4: Give Everything a Home (and Label)
If something is worth keeping, it’s worth giving it a home and place to belong. Some of the biggest clutter issues come from not knowing where to put things. But, I noticed that when my daughter was in daycare, even the 2-3 year olds were able to keep spaces neat and tidy because they knew where everything went. All of the toys had a home and each of these homes were labeled.
Those two things took out all of the guess work when cleaning up. And after a long day or week (or your kid’s having a meltdown) the last thing you want to do is make another decision.
So give everything a home, label the home, tell your family about where things go and get ready to live with less chaos and clutter.
Tip #5: Remove Temptation
Over the holidays we were watching a Christmas movie with extended family and because it was on network television, it was interrupted with commercials. It hadn’t hit me until then, but our daughter is not exposed to as many commercials as I was when I was growing up. We’ll go through a big adjustment when social media comes into play, but for the time being we generally consume movies through Disney+, Netflix, or Amazon.
The good thing about this is that she is not bombarded with someone trying to sell her the latest and greatest toy every ten minutes. You know how hard it is to not want those toys! We pay the monthly subscription to avoid those commercials.
But, the same can be done for you. Remove the temptation to buy the latest and greatest or newest shiny object by opting out of catalogs at CatalogChoice.org.
Unsubscribe from brand emails. Sure you signed up for that 20% off coupon, but you no longer need to be tempted to buy something every time you get an email. Overtime, you’ll get worn down so don’t force yourself to make a hard decision.
Finally, stop following anyone on social media who makes you feel bad about yourself or like you need more in order to measure up. You, as a human being, are enough and no amount of stuff is necessary to prove your worth.
Tip #6: Use Routines to Keep Order
Before I became a parent, I resisted routines. That’s probably because I no longer had anyone telling me what to do on a daily basis. But, you know what?? Routines and habits are amazing and such an easy way to get stuff done without feeling like you are working too hard.
Think about it, does brushing your teeth feel like hard work? I’m, not talking about flossing (that’s another thing - and a habit I am so happy to say I now have!) but just brushing. If you don’t do it, your whole day will feel off. That’s how clearing the clutter from your space can become for you. Doing a little bit everyday can become a habit and it will stop feeling so hard.
One way I like to tackle this problem is with a good morning routine, getting home from school routine, end of the day routine, and our getting ready for bed routine. But, my favorite routine is a 15 minute put away party at the end of the evening. This is when we all pitch in for 15 minutes (sometimes it’s less) to put away anything that is out of it’s home. See why it’s so important for everyone to know where things belong? This lets us wake up to a clean home that is clear of clutter every single day. And it only takes a few minutes.
Tip #7: Celebrate Each Victory
I struggled with this one for the longest time. When I set a goal, I want it to be a big, crazy goal. But, I found that I was burning myself out. Now, I’ve learned to celebrate each victory along the way. This helps me to feel good about my progress, see how much I’ve grown, and keep up my energy to get to the finish line.
You can celebrate each win by taking before and after photos of your rooms. Or perhaps you can clear the clutter from one room at a time and then enjoy living with that room for a few days before you move on.
But, one of my favorite ways to celebrate a decluttered home is to invite friends over. That’s how we’re ending the 21-Day Decluttering Challenge. I’ve already let my friends know that I can’t wait to have them over. This also gets me a few cheerleaders in my corner to help me get to the end. I have a date on my calendar so that’s when I need to be done.
Ready for more? Want to clear the clutter from your home, but just not sure where to start? Grab my free Minimalist Starter Kit for Families and start making progress TODAY!
If you're tired of the chaos, I invite you to join me on the journey to minimalism that actually works for families. This minimalism starter kit for families includes:
- 10 mindset shifts to overcome clutter
- Our 5 favorite decluttering methods as a family
- Cheatsheets for how to get rid of paper clutter
- and more!
Okay, friend! Now it’s your turn. I’d love to hear — which of these tips for clearing the clutter are you going to start with?
Here are the references for the plethora of statistics I referenced above.
Cheers!
