Let’s talk about some decluttering math today—specifically a formula that’s going to change how you actually keep clutter out of your home for good!
What’s the Clutter Root Formula?
Thankfully, the clutter math here isn’t complicated!
3 steps back = 1 BIG step forward!
So, let’s talk about the concept of 3 steps back equalling that one BIG step forward in your decluttering journey toward a cleaner, streamlined, and more organized home.
I found out about this concept in the book, “Making Space, Clutter Free” by Tracy McCubbin—it’s a great read, I would highly recommend it!
The idea behind this concept is to tackle the areas in our home that are clutter hotspots.
How Do I Get Started?
Start by asking yourself, “Which areas of my home attract clutter piles?”
Dining room tables, entryway spaces, and kitchen counters are often the main clutter culprits! Somehow these surfaces seem to attract clutter from everywhere and by everyone in our families.
Typically, we see this clutter pile and think that this is the only problem to deal with.
Time after time though, the clutter always seems to return to these hotspots, no matter how many times we clear it away!
What we really need to do to kick this clutter to the curb once and for all is to trace our clutter back 2-3 spaces to find the ACTUAL root of where it’s coming from.
Once we identify the real problem, we can ensure we’re ready to get rid of the clutter and take back that space for its intended purpose.
Fair warning—this method of decluttering is purposefully to lead you to a larger decluttering project. Be prepared to face a tougher (and possibly more daunting space), but know that in sorting it out, you’re making your home a much more peaceful space to be.
Here’s An Example:
If a kitchen counter gets taken over by items that belong in a different home (like coats, mittens, and paperwork), it’s unable to be used for the purpose of food preparation.
For the coats and mittens, their path needs to be traced back to their home in the entryway or mudroom.
There’s a high probability that the reason coats and mitts aren’t being put in the correct place is because that home is overloaded with other items (for example, sports equipment).
Once we trace the path of the sports equipment to the garage where it should belong, we find that the space has been overrun by items that need to be recycled.
By tracing our clutter 2-3 spaces back, we were able to find the root cause of our clutter buildup.
By dealing with the problem at its root (i.e., decluttering your garage), you’re freeing up space for the sports equipment to easily fit in the garage, the coats and mittens to go where they belong in the entryway or mudroom, and for the kitchen counter to stay clear and be ready for food prep.
There’s another part of the solution to examine: it’s possible that while you’re tracing the path of certain items, you find that you haven’t implemented a home for them.
If we return back to our original example of the kitchen counter, remember it was also covered with papers—it’s possible that we don’t have one spot to deal with papers. We need to create a home or a system to best deal with this clutter.
Note: I would HIGHLY recommend creating one single spot in your home for all papers. Papers, forms, bills, etc. tend to fall into a vortex and are so easily lost. Having only one spot for your papers also means there’s only one possible spot they could be when you’re looking for something. (Keep reading below for a few more of my thoughts on household systems).
When You Trace Your Clutter, You End Up With 3 Options
Here are the 3 options you end up with by tracing your clutter:
- You find the root cause of your clutter (aka, the space where your clutter buildup has originated)
- You have to create a home or system for items in your clutter hotspots
- A combination of the above two options
In our above example, the reason the garage was cluttered was because there wasn’t a good system in place for ensuring that the recycling didn’t pile up. This room needs to be decluttered to provide more space for the sports equipment, but it also needs a system in place to ensure the recycling makes it to the curb in time for pick up.
Remember, some spaces might feel a little more complex than the above example, but tackling these spaces and decluttering their contents will help simplify your life and your home.
A Few Reminders To Help Your Decluttering
At this point in this process, I should mention that it’s quite common when first trying this method to find that you have multiple clutter roots. If you haven’t spent time decluttering or simplifying your belongings before, this may be a more daunting place to start. I would recommend starting your decluttering journey here.
If you have already spent time decluttering, this will be a tough but manageable task with GREAT benefits for dealing with your clutter holdups.
Some Thoughts On Systems
Like I mentioned above when talking about papers, sometimes we need to create a system to deal with certain categories or items in our home. Let’s continue to consider the category of papers (i.e., bills, forms, important paperwork, etc.) for the following thoughts on systems.
If you’re having any difficulty creating a system for your paper (or other categories of items), there are many amazing ideas out there.
However, there’s also no need to reinvent the wheel or choose something extremely complicated if that’s not how your brain and your household works.
Know yourself, and choose something that best suits how your current self deals with items, not how you ideally would like to deal with them.
It’s okay to aspire to a more complex system for papers, laundry, or other household chores, but if you don’t currently have one in place or one that’s working for you, my best advice would be to start at the most simplified and basic level you could possibly do.
You are much more likely to follow through and then you’re able to upgrade your system after sticking to one for awhile and developing consistency.
To Summarize…
To summarize, tracing your clutter to its ultimate root cause will bring you a challenging but highly worthwhile decluttering project into your life! It may also open your eyes to other clutter buildups in your home or habits and systems that need to change.
As always, my hope is that you’ll be able to embrace a more abundant and peaceful life!
Where is the clutter trap in your home? Where does tracing that clutter take you?
Little Minimalist on the Prairies 