Episode 92
How to Actually Declutter Without Losing Your Whole Weekend
Tame It Series - Pt. 2
If you've ever spent an entire Saturday organizing a room, admired your work for a few days, and then watched the clutter slowly return, you're not alone. Most people assume they just need more motivation or better self-discipline. In reality, the problem is usually much simpler than that.
Clutter comes back when the systems in your home create too much friction. If putting something away requires extra steps, extra decisions, or extra effort, your brain starts looking for shortcuts. Before long, the kitchen counter becomes the drop zone, the chair in your bedroom becomes the closet, and the pile starts growing again.
The solution is not to become a more organized person. The solution is to create systems that are easy enough to use on an ordinary Tuesday night when you're tired, distracted, and ready to sit down.
Easy always wins.
Start by fixing the reason clutter keeps returning
Most clutter isn't random. It happens for predictable reasons, and each one has a practical solution.
Sometimes an item simply doesn't have a home. If that's the case, create one and label it. The label doesn't have to be pretty. A piece of masking tape and a marker work just fine. The goal isn't perfection. The goal is eliminating the mental work of deciding where something belongs every single time you put it away.
Other times the problem is that putting something away is just too much hassle. Maybe the container has a lid that needs to be removed. Maybe the storage spot is across the room or inside a crowded cabinet. If your organizing system asks for too much effort, you'll naturally stop using it.
Instead, ask yourself a different question.
What is the laziest way I could put this away and still keep it organized?
That might mean hooks instead of hangers, open bins instead of lidded containers, or a tray on the counter instead of a cabinet. Design your home for the version of yourself who has limited time and energy, because that's the version who has to maintain the system.
If you're someone with ADHD or you're simply a visual thinker, don't fight the fact that you need to see things to remember them. Clear containers, open shelving, and color coding aren't signs that you're doing organization "wrong." They're examples of designing your environment to work with your brain instead of against it.
Stop trying to organize too much stuff
One of the biggest reasons organizing systems fail has nothing to do with the containers. It's because there's simply too much to fit comfortably in the space.
When drawers are packed so tightly that getting one item out requires wrestling with everything else, people stop using the drawer correctly. They leave things on top of the dresser instead because it's easier.
You don't have to fill every inch of storage space you own. Leaving some breathing room actually makes your home easier to maintain because putting things away no longer feels like a chore.
Skip the organizing aisle... for now
It is incredibly tempting to buy baskets, bins, and drawer dividers before you start decluttering. We've all done it. The problem is that you're trying to organize things before you've decided what actually deserves to stay.
Declutter first.
Once you know what you're keeping, measure the space those items need and then look for storage that fits. As you're choosing products, weigh ease of use more heavily than appearance. The most beautiful organizing system in the world is useless if it adds friction to your day.
In fact, thrift stores are often full of barely used organizing products because someone else discovered that lesson before you did.
Declutter in small sessions instead of marathon weekends
Many people avoid decluttering because they believe they need hours of uninterrupted time. That belief keeps the project on the to do list indefinitely.
Instead, set aside twenty minutes.
Choose one drawer, one shelf, or one small box. Resist the urge to empty an entire closet or spread everything across the floor. Only take out what you can realistically put back before your timer ends.
Stopping while you still have energy may feel counterintuitive, but it is one of the best ways to build momentum. Finishing a small area creates satisfaction and makes it much more likely that you'll come back tomorrow. Exhausting yourself during a four hour marathon usually creates dread, and dread is not a great motivator.
A surprisingly effective decluttering question
When you're struggling to decide whether something is worth keeping, here's a question that has stuck with me for years.
If your dog pooped on it, would you take the time to clean it up so you could keep it?
It's a little gross, but that's exactly why it's memorable.
If the answer is no, chances are the item isn't valuable enough to deserve permanent space in your home. Sometimes all we need is a question that cuts through the guilt and decision fatigue.
If you're still not ready to let something go, don't force yourself. Take a picture if the memory is what matters. Or place the item in a temporary staging box with today's date written on it. If you haven't opened that box a year from now, you'll have much more confidence about whether you actually need what's inside.
Remember that everything you keep has a cost
Every object in your home requires something from you. It needs a place to live. It needs to be put away. It needs to be cleaned around or dusted.
That doesn't mean you should live with as little as possible. It simply means that every item should earn the work it creates.
Sometimes letting go benefits someone else, too. One of my favorite examples was giving away a hand mixer that spent most of its life taking up cabinet space. A young mom had been looking for one, and seeing how excited she and her children were to receive it reminded me that things don't always lose their value when they leave our homes. Sometimes they become much more valuable in someone else's.
Progress beats perfection
Your home will get cluttered again. That is simply part of living in it.
The goal is not to create a showroom where no one feels comfortable touching anything. The goal is to create a home where the mess never gets so far ahead of you that it feels impossible to recover.
A few minutes each day is often enough when your systems are working. Find a time that fits naturally into your life, whether that's before you relax in the evening or after dinner. There isn't one perfect routine. There is only the routine you'll actually do consistently.
If you've been waiting for the perfect weekend to finally get organized, consider giving yourself permission to stop waiting. Twenty focused minutes, repeated consistently, will almost always take you farther than one exhausting marathon cleaning session.
That is how clutter stays manageable. Not through perfection, but through systems that fit your real life.
👉 Resources
Sign up for the weekly Sunday Reset Newsletter
The information contained and documents referenced in the podcast “Your Priority Centered Life” are for entertainment, educational and informational purposes only, and are not intended as, and shall not be understood or construed as, professional medical or health treatment, diagnosis, or advice. We strongly encourage listeners to consult with medical providers or qualified mental health providers with issues and questions regarding any physical and/or mental health symptoms or concerns that they may have. Furthermore, the opinions and views expressed by podcast guests, partners and/or affiliates are not necessarily those of the podcast host. Dr. Alise Murray’s opinions and views are expressed in her individual capacity and are not to be construed as those of any of her podcast guests, partners and/or affiliates.