Practical Clutter: How Much is Too Much?
If you’re a regular reader of my articles, you know that I love to talk about clutter. As a professional organizer who worked in client homes for seven years, I’ve got lots of experience helping people clear their clutter. I also write, speak, and podcast about clutter. I’m passionate about the topic because of the many negative consequences of clutter. But I’ve also seen the life-changing rewards of eliminating our clutter.
In my article published on Saturday, April 6th, I listed major categories of physical clutter and talked about two of them: homeless clutter (items that haven’t been assigned a specific place to “live”) and informational clutter (digital or physical information that we believe we might need to refer to later). In this article, I’ll dive into the category of practical clutter.
What is Practical Clutter?
I define practical clutter as objects that are useful in and of themselves, but we simply have more than we need. There is a huge variety of items that could be considered practical clutter: t-shirts, cooking utensils, toiletries, tools, shoes, and more. It’s not that we don’t need items like these. The problem is that we have an overabundance or that we have items that don’t suit us anymore. If we keep holding onto items that don’t bring value to our lives, we end up with clutter.
Following are some of my favorite organizing principles to help determine whether a particular item is clutter and to determine how much is enough.
Is It Clutter? Ask Two Questions
How do you decide if something is clutter? While there are lots of questions you could ask, I like to make it easy by asking two simple questions:
Do I love it?
Do I use it?
You’ll get one of four potential answer combinations. Two options are easy, and two require a little more thinking to reach a final decision.
If the answer to both questions is “Yes” (I love and use it), that’s a no-brainer. Keep that item as long as you have room for it.
If the answer to both questions is “No” (I don’t love it or use it), that’s a no-brainer too. It’s definitely clutter—let it go!
If the answer to one question is “Yes” but another is “No,” you’ll need to dig a little deeper. When in doubt, err on the side of letting it go. Unless you can answer both questions with a resounding “Yes!” it’s fair game for decluttering. Remember your goals, and be ruthless!
If you want to make it even more simple, try using one question: Does this item add value to my life? If the answer is “Yes,” keep it. If “No,” let it go.
The Pareto Principle, or the 80/20 Rule
The Pareto Principle or 80/20 rule as applied to decluttering says that for any category of items, we tend to use 20% of the items 80% of the time. Whether we’re talking about coffee mugs or shirts, we gravitate towards our favorites. Knowing that we tend to use the same things over and over gives us confidence to own less. Figure out your favorites, keep only what you need and have room for, and let the rest go!
Defining Enough
When we consider useful items, how do we know when the number has tipped the scales from enough to too many?
There is no universal answer to this question. Of course, it’s never that easy, is it? If I created a rule like, “To determine the number of cups required in each home, simply multiply the number of people in the home by 3.5,” perhaps that formula would work for a few families. But the optimal amount of cups for a family depends on so many factors.
How many in the family are adults and how many are children? How many cups does each person use on an average day? How much space is available for cups? How often do you wash dishes? Figuring out how many cups (or any item) you need takes a little bit more thinking.
Since as a culture we tend towards excess, it’s much better to ask yourself “How many do we really need?” than to ask “How many can we keep?” Err on the side of keeping less.
The Container Concept
Sometimes the best way to decide how much is enough is to decide how much space we’re willing to designate. In this situation, we let the space make the decision for us.
When we choose a “container” for a set of items, whether that container is an actual container like a storage bin or a more theoretical container like a shelf in a cabinet, we’re defining the limits. We’re deciding that we’ll only keep what fits in the space we’ve defined.
Perhaps the best way to explain is with an example. Suppose I’m organizing my kitchen cabinets when I notice that I have 73 coffee mugs that occupy four cabinet shelves. I’m running out of room in my cabinets, and I know I’ll never use 73 mugs. I could make a decision to limit or contain myself to one shelf for coffee mugs. In order to limit myself to one shelf, I remove and spread out all 73 mugs and make some difficult decisions. I put my favorite mug in first, and I keep adding the ones I like best until that shelf is full. Then I let the rest go. That one shelf is my container, and it limits how many mugs I can keep.
Decluttering Brings Freedom
I can’t emphasize strongly enough how freeing it is to let go of excess possessions. Since clutter at its very core distracts us from our priorities, the more we’re able to let go, the more we can focus on what’s most important in our lives.
In addition, sharing our excess through donations can truly make a difference to those who are struggling financially. When we know we have more than enough and are willing to give to those less fortunate, we experience not only the freedom of letting go, but the pleasure of knowing we’ve blessed others’ lives.
I encourage you to take a hard look at the practical items in your home. Try picking one category of items and using the principles in this article to make intentional decisions about what you really need. Achieving the “just right” amount for you and your family and letting go of the excess is priceless.