Your clutter is wise & it’s talking to you… so listen!

7 Dec, 2023

Have you ever wondered why things in your home keep getting disorganized or cluttered? Perhaps there are certain cupboards, tables, shelves or drawers that just keep getting garbled and disastrous no matter how often you go through them to tidy and organize. Clutter everywhere.

Well, let me say you’re in good company. I’ve certainly been there. Heck, I’ve actually lived there. For decades in fact. And I sometimes go back to visit that tangled town –long enough to remember that I know (and prefer) better.

So, here is how I have learned to deal with the disaster of chronic recurring clutter when things don’t seem to want to stay the way I like them…

It’s relatively simple really. It’s just the idea that a space that isn’t working for us, merely needs its purpose distilled. We just need to distill the purpose of the area in question.

For each ‘problem spot’ I ask myself 3 questions,

1) What is the purpose/what are the purposes of this particular space?

With this question, we go specifically to the wise words of the clutter in question. It is the teller of the secrets that we’re in need of. Loud and proud, the clutter never lies…

So, for instance, if in the past we have designated the space in question as the ‘reading area’ and there are no books to be seen, but strewn about jackets and bags… It is time to distill the present purpose of this space. And it is up to us, regardless of the issues that might be stacked against (or for) us, to make that decision. If we want it to be the ‘reading nook’ and not the ‘throw your stuff on the floor when you get home nook’ –so be it!

But, we have some rearranging, some rerouting, and some relearning work to get into…

2) What items do I need here to fulfill the chosen purpose easily?

Once we know what we want the space to be, it’s time to get rid of the things that don’t serve the purpose of the area. Now the only possible ‘glitch’ in this step is that we have to be honest about what the space works well as. And then, if it had become a spot for something that we don’t want it to be, the most important things to do will be to designate a new spot for the old (and unchoosen) purpose that will work just as well. Or preferably better.

So, if the reading area naturally became the ‘drop your stuff off when you get home’ area, the best way to give it a fighting chance as the ‘reading area’ is to create an even better and more intuitive, natural spot for your bags, shoes and coats when you get home. If it’s easy to use it, we’re much more likely to do it when we’re tired or have other things on our mind.

3) What items belong somewhere else?

As we go through this as a practice, we might figure out that the purpose that we desire for an area, might just not be conducive to the space. And that is fine. But if we ask these questions regularly, perhaps seasonally; as things change we will be able to change our space to work best with the way that we use it, the way that we need it, and how we spend our life. Because we are glorious and ever changing beings. And if the flow of our changes gets left in the past, things can start to ge disorganized, dysfunctional. And a bit of a disaster.

Wrap Up:

Every item that we have chosen to be part of our life has the right to belong in a specified, specific spot. And if we mindfully choose the best, most logical spot for each item, then technically things should have a fighting chance at staying organized.

But if it doesn’t seem like that is quite what is happening, it could be that what we are keeping in this area, might just not belong…

And it really is as easy as making the mindful choice to distill each area’s purpose. And to see what it is, what it wants to be, and most importantly, what we want it to be.

Once we know the answers to all of these things, the work becomes clear. All we have to do is use the clutter to tell us what we can do to make this space work.

So use it like you’re a detective. And like the goal is to create the most effective version of a home for yourself. Because isn’t it? 🙂

Give it a try! Listen to your clutter and devise a plan to make your spaces work for you!

Thanks so much for listening to my thoughts,

Follow me on Instagram too if you’d like,

We’ll talk soon 🙂

Lyndsay