Look around at your house and tell me how it makes you feel…Overwhelmed? Stressed out? Relaxed? Does your home let you breathe a sigh of relief?
Here’s the low down on mess vs. clutter and how the distinction between the two tells you when it’s time to declutter.
Mess
Mess is a temporary problem that can be reset by tidying and returning items to their homes.
Picture a living room after company has been over—there might be mugs on coffee tables, books or board games out, and maybe some kid’s toys on the floor. However, spending a few minutes putting the items back in their right places and wiping off surfaces should return the space to its original state.
Clutter
Clutter refers to the items that have no home and as a result, have piled up in different areas around your home where they don’t serve a purpose.
Picture that same living room, but instead it’s filled with stacks of old magazines and newspapers, blankets and cushions cover the floor because there’s already too many on the couches, knick-knacks fill the shelves, and other junk fills every free space and surface.
Here’s the thing—none of the items I listed in the example above are bad (I love a cozy blanket, a room filled with books, and items that hold a special meaning!). However, when items no longer serve the purpose they are intended for and don’t have a home, they become clutter.
Clutter is the signal that we don’t need certain items in our lives anymore. It’s the signpost that it’s time to take a closer look at a space and start decluttering.
How to Determine Mess Vs. Clutter
Pay attention to the feelings you get in your home. If you feel stressed or overwhelmed, there’s a good chance this means that the space is filled with visual clutter has become too overstimulating.
How we feel within our spaces is a good cue to see where we need to begin decluttering.
Tip: Consider what your intent is for each room or for your home overall. Do you want a space to be relaxing and calming? Maybe you want it to be bright and inspiring—don’t try to conform your home to what you think it needs to be or what the “rules of minimalism” would dictate—whatever vibe you want for your home, make sure the things in that space help you achieve that feeling!
Another thing to consider is whether each item within a space has a home (and I don’t just mean that random spot on your counter where a pile of junk mail lives!).
Try practicing with a room in your own home (don’t do any pre-tidying!)—walk through it and look at each item in the space—does it have a proper place to live and be stored?
If it doesn’t, can you find a home for it in the space or is the item just clutter that needs to be rehomed, donated, or thrown out?
If the item does have a home in that room, ask yourself if that home is working, or if it’s just taking up valuable storage real estate for other items you’d prefer to keep.
Challenge: Take 20 minutes today and use the mess vs. clutter approach to do some decluttering in a room in your house!
Little Minimalist on the Prairies 