All Clutter Is Not Created Equally
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[00:00:00] Do you say that your house is messy or is it cluttered? And more importantly, if it's messy, are you trying to declutter it? In this episode, we're going to be breaking down why that matters.
Hey there, I'm Nicole from The Maximizing Momma, and I am obsessed with creating a home that gives me more peace of mind, more time to myself and more time with my kids. I teach you the tried and true secrets to clearing your clutter, getting organized, and managing your household in a realistic and sustainable way.
This show is where we talk about things like motherhood, decluttering, organizing, creating routines, mindset, energy, and everything in between. Our homes are the foundation for the rest of our lives, and it's so important to have a calm, relaxing household so you can have the time, the peace of mind, and the freedom to truly enjoy motherhood.
So sit back [00:01:00] and get ready to take charge of your home.
When we first downsized into my late mother's home in 2018, I started struggling with clutter because all of our stuff didn't fit in the house. Well, actually, I had been struggling with clutter for two years prior. I just didn't realize it because we had lived in a bigger home. So in this house, in my late mother's house, we had a lot of clutter piling up in places and different places. And as a result, We also had a lot of stuff that we wanted to keep that was left out everywhere. Sometimes I would say it was all clutter and other times I described it as messy and this is super common. This is something that millions of people are doing naturally because of different language patterns and because we are all so blessed to live in such a connected world where we can talk to someone from different countries. [00:02:00] So here's what I mean. Some people describe a messy house as messy and other people will say that it's cluttered. And there's no wrong in doing that. Like I said, we all have different language patterns and I am not here to change the way that you describe your home.
But the reason why this matters is because we naturally think the antidote to clutter is to de-clutter it. So if you're describing a messy area as cluttered, then you end up trying to declutter it. And it gets even more confusing when you see people all over social media who say they are decluttering, when they're really just tidying up and organizing. Well, this happens because de cluttering is far too broad. The concept of decluttering is way too broad. So just like in our last episode, I was sharing how the definition of tidying and organizing are way too similar. Well, when you consider the [00:03:00] definition of decluttering, it gets even more confusing. The definition of decluttering is to remove unnecessary items from an untidy or an overcrowded space. So when you take that at face value, That could mean taking an item and moving it somewhere else. But the problem is that. It, this is how we're decluttering. If this is how someone is decluttering, then they're never actually letting go of enough stuff to make a difference. And while this may work for people whose homes are somewhat tidy and organized, when your house is at a stage three or a four, when your house is full of things and it's messy and it's cluttered, the only solution is to let go of a lot of the excess clutter. But when you're following the literal definition of decluttering and removing items from an untidy [00:04:00] space and putting them somewhere else, you're never letting go of enough stuff. So since the word's messy and cluttered get used interchangeably, and since the definition of decluttering is far too broad, what happens is you end up accidentally treating all of the chaos in your home the exact same way. By trying to quote unquote declutter all of it. Whether it's a pile of clothes strewn on the chair in your bedroom, or a pile of books, stacked on a shelf because they don't have a permanent home, or a bunch of papers and random stuff all over your counters, or a doom box full of decades worth of stuff. When you tackle each of these areas, the exact same way by tidying and picking things up neatly arranging other items, de cluttering a few things and containing certain items in baskets and bins, it's really a constant cycle where [00:05:00] you think you're decluttering, but you're not making any real progress. Because again, you're really just tiding and rearranging and shuffling your things from one room to the next. It's really a constant cycle where you think you're decluttering, but you're not making any real progress.
Well, this is all happening because clutter and messes are not the same thing. We covered this a bit in our last episode, when I shared the surface level messes versus the hidden clutter. So both of these areas can look cluttered, whether it's things that are left out on your tables and your counters and your floors and your chairs. Those types of things that you want to keep when those items are left out. Compared to a pile of things in a box or a bag or a bin or a closet or a cabinet, both of those areas can look cluttered. And [00:06:00] so it's totally normal to say that these chaotic spaces are either messy or cluttered. But then what happens is you end up really blurring the lines between how to ditch and demolish the clutter and how to tackle an overhaul, the mess. So instead, what you want to do is differentiate the clutter from the messes. Because the fact is you have multiple types of items in your home that all need to be tackled in very different ways. As an example, when you consider that decluttering should mean to purge and let go of the excess.
Then that means that you don't really want to declutter your coffee table because it's full of things that you want to keep, right. It just needs to be tidied up.
So you can tidy up your coffee table and then instead de clutter the piles of stuff that you no longer need, use, or [00:07:00] want. Now one common question always comes up. Hundreds of people have asked me over the years. But what do I do with the things that I want to keep? And to be more specific, this would be the items on your coffee table that are getting left out all the time and making it so messy. It's the things that you truly don't have space for. Well, that's exactly what we're going to be diving into in our upcoming free workshop, How to Keep a Neat and Tidy Home. We're going to break down the Big Three Messes and give you a plan of action for every single item in your home so you know exactly what to do with all of it. Even the things you feel like you don't have room for. Make sure to save your seat for the workshops so you can get exclusive access to our pop-up community and so you can be notified by email when the live event starts. You will find the link to save your seat down in the show notes. Just click on that link. Enter your name and your email. And you'll be all [00:08:00] set. Oh, yeah. And then in the confirmation email, be sure to request to join our pop-up community for daily coaching and support for your specific household. I'm super excited for this, because what you're going to walk away with is game-changing. It will make managing all of your belongings so much easier so that way you can tackle the messes, ditch the clutter, and keep a tidy home, even if nothing has worked before now.
Now in our next episode, I have, I have one more episode coming soon to really catch you up on what I had been sharing on social media ever since our house fire. So in our upcoming episode, we'll be talking about how constantly tidying is not how you keep a neat and orderly home. And this is a big misconception, something that I was guilty of doing for years, because we all want to have a more orderly home. [00:09:00] So when you're struggling with a lot of excess stuff, with clutter, and really with an overflow of belongings, It seems pretty logical to spend all of your time trying to make everything look as tidy as possible. But in our next episode, We're going to be talking about how that is actually not what you should be doing. So make sure to subscribe to the Take Charge of Your Home Show so that way you don't miss anything new. And save your seat for our free live workshop because it's only a few days away. And also, if you have found any value from this podcast, if you have found value from the Take Charge of Your Home Show, I would love for you to share a review. When you leave a review and send me a screenshot of it, send it to my email at [email protected], you will be entered into a drawing to win a one-on-one call with me where we can go over a strategy [00:10:00] for your specific household. So thank you for tuning in today. I will see you live at our workshop on Tuesday, August 29th. Bye.
Thank you for listening to another episode of the take Charge of your home show. Go ahead and take a few moments to celebrate yourself for being here, doing this work, and really learning how to create a calm, relaxing home. Don't forget to check out the show notes and feel free to leave a rating and a review so I can know what you want to hear more about.
Because you and your journey are what make this show a reality. I'll see you next time.
