Is your home messy, cluttered or both? It can be a little confusing because we tend to use the words cluttered and messy interchangeably. It might look cluttered, but that doesn't mean that it can be decluttered. There are actually three different types of stuff in our home that we call clutter. But only two of them are true clutter.
And we're going to break them all down with examples. So you can have a better understanding of why your home always looks so messy and cluttered. Because once, you know what the problem is, then you'll know exactly what you need to do to change it.
Hey there and welcome back. Before we get started, I want to mention that right now we have a temporary puppy that someone had left at Walmart and he's kind of attached to my feet. So you might hear him whimpering in the background, but we're going to make it work. Today, we're diving into why your house looks so cluttered and messy all the time.
The toys on the floor, the laundry on the couch, the papers cluttering up your counters and the piles of random stuff shoved in the corner of each room. You're here right now, because you want to make it change. You want to have a peaceful, lighter home like you see so many other women have on social media.
But you don't know where to get started. Between all the advice that you hear online, like tidying, cleaning, organizing, and decluttering, it can be hard to discern where to start and what you need to do to take charge of your own home.
But here's the thing. When your home is always cluttered and messy with stuff everywhere, it's because you have too much stuff in your space. You might have a small home like me, or maybe you have a larger home, but you still have more stuff than you can reasonably fit into your house. Either way you have too much stuff, too many belongings.
Now, there are many reasons why we struggle with clutter and we'll get into that in future episodes. But for now, let's talk about the different types of clutter and the types of messes that you might have in your home. There are three different types of stuff or belongings that we have. And two of which are distinct types of clutter.
So first you have everyday messes. These are toys on the floor, dirty dishes in the sink, clean dishes that need to be put away, incoming papers on the counters, clothes draped over doorknobs and hung on the backs of chairs. Laundry baskets full of clean clothes, or even dirty clothes pouring out of your hamper or shoved on the floor in the corner of your kid's room.
Everyday messes are anything that's being left out around your home because you live in it, because you live in your home. These are messes that will always happen on a day to day basis. And they're to be expected. But they're not clutter. These messes definitely make your home look visually cluttered, but they're just that- messes.
And then you have clutter.
Clutter can be broken down into two different types. First. The homeless clutter could be anything that doesn't have a home. This could be a pile of papers on your kitchen counters if the papers are there because they don't have a dedicated space where they belong. If the papers are there because you haven't put them where they belong, then that would be considered an everyday mess.
But homeless clutter could also be a random pile of stuff on your living room floor. It's there because it doesn't have a home. It doesn't have anywhere that it belongs. Or it could even be a stack of magazines sitting out on your coffee table because they don't have a dedicated permanent spot, which is why they're getting left out on the coffee table. And it makes your coffee table look cluttered.
And because it's visually cluttered.
And then the second type of flutter is accumulated clutter, which is anything in excess. So if you have a closet full of clothes that you never wear, that's accumulated clutter. Or if you can't shut your silverware drawer because the meat thermometer is always sticking out, that means that your drawer is cluttered with excess silverware and utensils.
Or if you have a stack of 15 journals piled next year bed, that's accumulated clutter.
Now some clutter may fall under both types, homeless and accumulated. For example, a stack of 15 journals next your bed. It could be there because they don't have a dedicated home. But they're also accumulated clutter because do you really need 15 journals? This is a real life example from my own home, I have an outrageous number of journals stacked next to my bed. accumulating Cuban lady. But I digress.
Don't get caught up, trying to label one specific item as either homeless or accumulated clutter, because it may be both. Just know that there are two distinct types. So a lot of your belongings could fall into one category or the other.
Now, as you can tell, there are many different facets to the stuff within our homes. There are everyday messes. There's also homeless clutter, which is items that get left out because they don't have a dedicated home. And then there's accumulated clutter that we have never let go of. And the problem with these three types of stuff is that they all get grouped together under some blanket terms to say that our home is either messy or cluttered.
Many of us are either trying to declutter the mess or we're trying to tidy the clutter. Because we've been taught that where there's a mess, it needs to be cleaned up. And while that may be true in the literal sense, like we're supposed to clean up messes. When it comes to the stuff that we own, the belongings in our homes.
It's not always so cut and dry.
A client of mine. When, when we first started working together, she would say that her home was messy, so it needed to be decluttered. But then I noticed on one of our calls that most of the stuff in her home was things that she wanted to keep. She just needed to tidy them up and put things away. And that is definitely something that needs to be done with some of the messes in our homes.
But saying that the mess needs to be decluttered is causing a lot of people to get confused with what it means to truly declutter. And since we have spent our entire lives learning how to consume, but never learning how to let go, this is such an important conversation that we need to have.
So, this is why your home always looks so messy and cluttered. Particularly because of the everday messes and the homeless clutter. But your home is actually cluttered because of the accumulated clutter.
Now you may be wondering what you can do. When your home always looks messy and cluttered, what's the solution? Do you declutter first and then tidy? Should you get organized because that's what the Home Edit says to do? Or should you clean? What's the first step? Well, we're going to take it one step at a time because the goal here is not just to get your house back to normal.
The goal is for it to stay that way.
I'm sure you have definitely overhauled your house at a time or two, putting everything back where it belongs, decluttering a few things and organizing a few more, and maybe even dusting your walls. But then in a week or two, it was back to chaos and you were left, feeling defeated and overwhelmed all over again.
So the first step is to determine what types of messages you have in your home. Everyday messes, homeless clutter. Or accumulated clutter.
You may have more than one. It's very likely that you probably have at least two, if not three. But it's important that you don't view all of them equally. Because they all need to be handled in very different ways.
So the first type, the everyday messes. If you're frustrated with these messes that are happening in your home on a daily basis, the solution is to overhaul your home and develop a home management routine to help you stay on top of the dishes, the laundry, the paperwork, toys, and trash. But if you have a lot of homeless clutter that's scattered about on your tables and counters and floor.
That means that you need to find each of those things, a home. This could be something as simple as designating a basket for all of your magazines or a mail organizer for your incoming mail. And if you can't easily find a home for the homeless clutter. That's a pretty good sign that you have a lot of accumulated clutter like in your closets, drawers, shelves and cabinets.
And if you have accumulated clutter, the only solution is to let go of the excess so you can make room for the items that are being used on a daily or a weekly basis. And then once you get those three areas under control. You can start focusing on other areas of your house because your home will be so much more manageable.
Now you may be thinking that you're we're struggling with all three messes-- everyday messes, homeless, clutter, and accumulated clutter. Well, take a deep breath and remind yourself that you've got this under control. You're here right now, listening to this show because you're ready to make a change.
So let's do this one step at a time. The purpose of this show is to help you manage all of this stuff. All the different facets of your household. From letting go of the excess accumulated clutter, to managing the everyday messes to developing a cleaning routine and even getting organized. So that way you can have a peaceful, lighter home that you love to live in. A home that doesn't end up trashed every other week.
And the first step is to identify which messes you have in your home and what those messes consist of. If you have a lot of everyday messes, figure out what's being left out. Is it that you're not putting your laundry away or maybe your kitchen counters are a disaster? Or your kids' toys have taken over your living room?
Or you have a bunch of random stuff left out all the time.
Or if you have accumulated clutter that's piled up in your closets and in your drawers.
Determine which closets, which shelves, which drawers it's happening in.
Don't try to tackle these messes yet. Just focus on identifying what they are. But I don't want you to avoid your home either. Simply continue with what you were already planning on doing this week. Like your basic household tasks, tidying and cleaning. But then also take a few extra minutes to notice what types of messes you have in your home.
In the next episode, we're going to dive into a basic household management routine that you can follow to help you stay on top of the everyday messes because the key to a embracing thing, motherhood is accepting that these things never end. There will always be dishes, laundry, paperwork, trash, and toys. At least for the next 18 years.
So I want you to develop a mindset of this is to be expected. Don't look at it as though you're always cleaning the same messes and doing the same dishes. If you look at it that way, you will never find joy in motherhood, and you'll never find peace in your home. We can be grateful that there are messes to clean and also be intentional in creating a lighter home for our families.
So for now take note of the types of messes that are happening in your home. That way we can come up with a plan of action to help you conquer them.
And remind yourself that they're only little once. Your kids are only going to be little for a couple of years and then those messes will hardly be there anymore.
But if you're fed up with the chaos in your home, you're definitely going to want to stay tuned because I have something special coming for Black Friday that will help you overhaul the mess and declutter like a boss. I'll be sharing more details during the week of Thanksgiving, but you can sign up for the wait [email protected] forward slash D L a B, to make sure that you don't miss the announcement because trust me, you're not gonna wanna miss this.
Thanks as always for being here. I'll chat with you soon.
