Clutter Conundrum: Professional Organizers Spill the Secret - The One Thing They Absolutely Refuse to Keep in Their Own Homes!

When it comes to decluttering, determining what to eliminate and how to organize for a consistently tidy home can be challenging. Questions may arise, such as whether to part with souvenirs or what to do with product manuals and boxes. Additionally, the effectiveness of certain organizing systems in sustaining tidiness may be a consideration.

Try to resist taking these home with you

To gain insights into maintaining clutter-free spaces, we consulted professional organizers to identify the one thing they adamantly avoid keeping in their own homes and the reasons behind this choice.

Clothes you no longer wear
Lori Reese, owner and founder of Consider It Done, suggests addressing clothes that no longer fit or are irreparably torn or stained. According to her, such items can occupy valuable closet space, prompting the need for an honest self-assessment: Will the stain come out? Can the hole be repaired? Will it ever fit again?

Reese advocates for donating clothes that are still in good condition. For garments with stains or tears, she notes that certain organizations accept them for recycling, providing an eco-friendly alternative to discarding them in the trash. Her goal is to avoid storing items that are no longer in use.

Large storage totes

Gayle Goddard, owner of The Clutter Fairy, expresses her dissatisfaction with massive storage bins, deeming them useless. Once filled, these large containers become nearly impossible to lift, and their size often poses challenges in fitting them into closets, cabinets, and other storage spaces.

Goddard recommends opting for stackable smaller boxes, as they are more manageable and can easily fit into various storage areas, including closets. To enhance organization, she favors clear boxes with large labels, ensuring quick identification of the contents in each one. For holiday items, she suggests implementing color coding, such as using orange and black boxes for Halloween decorations, to further streamline the retrieval process.

Top of Form

Product boxes

Boxes for large appliances, laptops, kitchen gadgets, and other products can be excessively bulky, and according to Jennifer Truesdale, CPO and founder of Str8Nn Up Professional Organizing Services, they are entirely unnecessary.

Snapping pics of manuals and product boxes can save you tons of space

Truesdale points out that these boxes can occupy valuable space that could be better used for essential items in your home. Moreover, storing boxes in attics and garages can create potential nesting spots for bugs.

Her alternative suggestion is to take a photo of crucial information such as the product name, model number, and receipts, and store it digitally on a computer or backup hard drive.

While some high-quality boxes, like those from iPhones, can serve as organizers for drawers or other areas, Truesdale recommends keeping them only if there is an immediate need.

Junk mail

Junk mail has the potential to accumulate into unwarranted paper piles throughout your home. To counter this issue, Liz Jenkins, owner of A Fresh Space, takes proactive steps to minimize junk mail. She opts for digital statements and employs the Paper Karma app, which facilitates unsubscribing from unwanted mail.

Jenkins adopts a quick disposal strategy for any incoming mail, promptly placing it in the recycling bin before it even reaches her desk. This approach ensures that unnecessary paper clutter is promptly eliminated.

Souvenir and Promotional Cups

Whether you've accumulated souvenir cups from every sentimental event or often collect promotional cups just because they're complimentary, many of us find our kitchen shelves overflowing with them.

According to Mindy Godding, owner of Abundance Organizing, plastic logo cups are both cheaply made and a hassle to manage due to their mismatched shapes and sizes. Their lightweight nature makes them prone to falling over and creating chaos inside cabinets. She emphasizes the importance of not accepting items solely because they are free and suggests evaluating whether they truly serve a purpose before bringing them into the home.

Dealing with keepsake cups can be more challenging, even if they are rarely used. Godding notes that people often attribute emotional significance to inanimate objects like souvenir cups because these items trigger specific memories or stories. To address this, she recommends finding ways to separate the emotional connection from the physical object, such as preserving special memories through photos or videos instead.

User manuals

Allison Flinn, CPO at Reclaim Professional Organizing, firmly opposes keeping user manuals in her home. According to her, they contribute to unnecessary paper clutter, and her philosophy is "less paper means less piles."

Flinn emphasizes that user manuals or instructional videos for addressing specific product issues are readily available online, eliminating the need to retain the paper versions.

Overly complicated organizing systems

Ben Soreff, a partner in House to Home Organizing, expresses skepticism about products labeled as organizing or productivity tools, noting that many are overly complicated. He emphasizes the importance of simplicity, stating that if systems are not easy to use, people are less likely to maintain the habit.

Accordion files are one of the most difficult organizers to keep organized

Soreff identifies accordion files as one of the worst offenders. He criticizes their difficulty in both inserting and retrieving items, highlighting their lack of flexibility and adaptability. According to him, accordion files are rigid and prevent categories from expanding. He argues that this characteristic creates a false sense of permanency for documents that may not be necessary to keep in the first place.

Ultimately Implement Adjustments that Suit your Needs and Preferences

When organizing your space, the crucial aspect to bear in mind is to consider your own routines and establish sustainable practices. According to Jeffrey Phillip, an interior designer and professional organizer, he prioritizes being mindful of existing possessions, incoming items, and the need for items to leave his home.

By integrating organization into his lifestyle, Phillip incorporates editing, decluttering, and organizing into his daily routine. This approach enables him to efficiently maintain organization, ensuring that his home remains tidy on an ongoing basis.