Start Small to Conquer Household Clutter

We’ve all been there. That one (or more) room in the house that accumulates “stuff to deal with later.” That garage filled with boxes from when Great-Aunt Susie downsized. That corner of the kitchen island piled with papers. That junk drawer filled with odds and ends, doodads and bits and bobs.

Our homes seem to be a repository of random items that collect and take on a life of their own. Before we know it, we can become overwhelmed trying to figure out what to throw away, what to keep or even just finding the time to get organized.

The key, say professional organizers, is to start small. Erika Maddamma, a certified professional organizer and owner of Sunny Spaces, headquartered in Mars, said getting started can be as easy as just clearing a surface. “There is something called the Progress Principle. As you start to see progress, your brain gets a dopamine hit, so you will want to do the next space,” she said. On the contrary, if the first thing you try to tackle is your entire basement, that could easily lead to defeat.

Vickie Dellaquila, a certified professional organizer and owner of the Zelienople-based Organization Rules, agreed with the starting-small strategy. “Don’t look at it like having to do it in one day. You can take tiny steps. A timer works really well, especially if you’re overwhelmed. Give yourself 15 minutes to work on your desktop. When you hear the ding of the timer, you can stop,” she said.

A before and after of a guest room by Erika Maddamma, owner of Sunny Spaces

Maddamma likes the use of timers as well but finds the most effective technique is a concept called “habit stacking.” “You use an already established habit such as brushing your teeth and couple it with a new habit you are trying to form: tidying the kitchen. Brush teeth, then tidy kitchen. These small daily maintenance habits mean no more big weekend projects.”

Although for many years she was an in-home organizer, Dellaquila now primarily does virtual organizing for clients, helping them to set priorities and with time management, but essentially being present for people while they are doing a task. She also holds classes and offers a clutter support group. “With virtual organizing, homework is very important. Before we meet again, I ask, ‘Can you clear off half of that desk before the next time we meet?’ We meet in one- to two-hour increments so they do not get overwhelmed,” she said.

Because small steps can go a long way to feeling accomplished, sometimes Maddamma will work with clients on just one area, such as a pantry, linen closet or dining table. She will, for example, unload an entire cabinet and pull everything out to see what is there; often, people forget what they have or what they own. “The biggest thing we do for people is to help them see what they have and help make the decisions about what they need or don’t need. It really helps make the decision-making more bite-sized for them,” she said.

One rule of thumb Maddamma lives by is the 20/20 rule: If it costs less than $20 and takes less than 20 minutes to replace it, it goes away.

Both organizers agreed that sentimental items are the most difficult to throw away.

“What I usually ask is, ‘How does this item serve a purpose in your life? Does it bring you joy?’” said Dellaquila. She will remind clients that they don’t have to have the actual dress they wore to their daughters’ wedding; a photograph is enough. “People get hung up on the money — I paid a lot or it was a bargain. It doesn’t matter: If it no longer serves a function in your life or doesn’t bring joy or happiness, it’s really just stuff. One thing people forget is they do not have to be the curator of their mother’s things; their home is not a museum,” she said.

A before and after of a bar area by Erika Maddamma, owner of Sunny Spaces

The kitchen is one primary spot where disorganization is most visible, as kitchen counters or islands are what Maddamma calls “…a drop zone, or a catch-all spot: the Amazon returns, the mail, things that need to be done that are not super immediate; that is when the piles start to happen, and then it becomes overwhelming,” she said. But once the kitchen — the heartbeat of the home — is clean and organized, it can make quite the dramatic difference.

She added that the basement or garages are other zones where our excess stuff seems to concentrate, as people tend to “set it and forget it.” Home offices and guest rooms have also been known to convert into junk rooms.

So why is it sometimes so hard to stay organized? “I think a lot of it has to do with, first of all, you have to want to be organized; it takes work. You don’t lose weight and eat whatever you want; it is the same thing with organizing. Once you’ve cleared things and seen how it works for you, it’s a matter of staying on top of it; it’s a daily task,” said Dellaquila.

“Everyone wants me to wave a magic wand, but life continues to happen. Organizing, unfortunately, is really a daily thing. Life is just moving at such a fast pace that it becomes impossible to keep up. It is not laziness but procrastination,” added Maddamma.

When a customer hires a professional organizer, Maddamma said that the organizer becomes both an accountability partner and a partner in decision-making. “It’s almost as if we give people permission. We will tell someone, ‘It’s OK that someone gifted this to you, but if it’s not serving a purpose, it’s OK to pass it on.’ I think we become a voice of reason for them.”

A before and after of a bedroom by Erika Maddamma, owner of Sunny Spaces

“I always encourage people to organize by category instead of by space. Maybe pull all the kitchen mugs out. Once you start to pull the whole category together and see the volume of what you have, it brings a lot of awareness of what is in your house, and you can make a decision about what can go,” said Maddamma.

Once you decide to get rid of the excess, Dellaquila said that there are a lot of places that would be happy to relieve you of the things you decide to toss, from charities to church sales to having your own yard sale, as well as many online sites like Facebook Marketplace or Buy Nothing. Or even just offer items to friends.

Dellaquila offered tips for keeping everything organized once you make some headway. “Stop bringing stuff into your home that you don’t need. Deal with mail daily instead of letting it pile up. Take time every day to put things back, and try not to let it go too long, because it will start piling up again. Take 10 or 15 minutes to work on someplace; it sounds minor, but it really makes a difference: Just start someplace.”

Once your home is clean, tidy and less chaotic, it seems to have a calming effect on one’s state of being. “It can be really liberating to have a clutter-free space,” said Maddamma.