Survey #240 results
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | Complete the following statement: “What I wish people could understand about my struggle with clutter and disorganization is _____.” | Describe an area or aspect of your life or home in which you are already sufficiently organized. | Describe something that you’re happy to leave behind in 2024 and something you’re looking forward to making a part of your life in 2025. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Anonymous user | How OCD contributes to the mess and hinders effectively cleaning it up | My purse which is doable bc it’s a very small space where I can only carry the essentials I need | Procrastination including procrastination from perfectionism |
| Granny | that grandchildren (and sometimes children) are pretty messy people and that other members of the household have different tolerance levels for clutter. | My pantry | Procrastination Excitement about getting things done (crossing my fingers...) |
| Anonymous user | Answer to second question: I always tell people how long it takes to declutter when it's important to you to find the right people or organizations who will take and appreciate what you want to get rid of. It's true it's never too early to start decluterring. | I appreciate the fact our entryway is quite functional: easy to put things away in their proper place and no one ever asks "Have you seen my keys?" 🙂 | I have made a pact with myself in 2024 that I would no longer do any cleaning tasks unless my husband was in the house. This way at least he'll appreciate what I do instead of ever telling me again he "cleaned the entire kitchen" (aka loading the dishwasher). In 2025, any alone time I have in the house I will spend doing things I enjoy and not perform invisible labor. |
| Kristin | I have an internal struggle with letting go of things. My father grew up poor and at in a depression era, so he saved everything and was very frugal. So much so that my mother would complain that he “stepped over dollars to pick up pennies” meaning he was too cheap for his own good. My mother on the other hand is a spender and accumulator. She does not have any issue getting rid of stuff but always seems to have an overstuffed apartment. So I grew up with both sides of the coin but both still having too much stuff. So I struggle with letting things go because I don’t want to be wasteful or constantly replace items, but at the same time I do not want an overstuffed home. I tend to have clear living areas but storage places (garage, closets, and cabinets) are stuffed to the gills. | my files on my computer | I am happy to leave behind guilt and this nagging feeling like I am letting people down. I am looking forward to focusing on my many strengths and positive attributes which far exceed any shortcomings I have |
| JM | How alone I am in this process. My family is encouraging, but not actually helpful. (Grown children with their own struggles, husband with disabilities.) | Resetting the family room nightly. | Happy to leave behind the 2024 election. Looking forward to spending time with friends and going to the beach with toddler grandson. |
| Anastasia | Clutter & disorganization takes years off your life. It wastes valuable time, minutes & hours each day (i.e. looking for things, replacing items that you need and can't find, making tasks longer because sometimes you have to move things before you can get to the thing you need to work on.) Living or working in a cluttered space is like running with your shoes tied together. | I'm not quite there yet. I'm the only person in my family and extended family that declutters. So it often feels like building a sandcastle. I make progress in one area or room, only to find that when I come back - the tide ( my family) has washed it away. | I'm looking forward to implementing more structure in 2025. I recently read The 12 Week Year and I am looking forward to using this method to accomplish more. |
| Gabriella | Micro acts of maintenance can produce visible results. (It really helps if the disheveled items have an easily accessible home and if trashcans are within reach) Decluttering can be rewarding instead of being a chore. (I've even used it very successfully as a means of structured procrastination :o) Making a game of buying as few things as possible can produce as much dopamine as binge shopping. It's OK to keep a - moderate - number of duplicates of specific items, if this is what works for you personally. (I own several pairs of reading glasses, because I have a habit of taking them off and leaving them in different places. This keeps me from having to look for my glasses all day long.) | Almost all of my things have a home. I rarely need to search for something. Items I use frequently are easily accessible. I've been using the Konmari folding technique to arrange my T-shirts, tank tops, jeans and sweaters in my dresser. It's worked fabulously for me for about 6 years now. I love how it looks and I have a bird's eye view on the items in each category. Besides trash and recycling bins in the kitchen, I keep a smaller paper recycling bag and a small trash can near my desk/command center, making it easy to get rid of trash immediately. Several 30 second pickups of my desk surface are helpful too. I make my bed while waiting for my first morning coffee to brew. I regularly get rid of things that don't / no longer work for me, even presents from friends. I have had some success in motivating my partner in getting his areas decluttered and in convincing him to stop accumulating enormous amounts of clothing. It's a tediously slow process, though. The success factor seems to be "wu wei", achieving by not doing. If I use even the slightest amount of pressure, it backfires. I've been able to counteract my reluctance to part with things by a) growing decluttering muscles and getting getting somewhat desensitized to the attachment and b) repurposing things that just sat around into functional items in my home and enjoying them dailly. Gayle's suggestion to keep only the most important sentimental items has helped me a lot. | leave behind: binge watching Youtube videos and playing games online look forward to: reading more learning (I really enjoy MOOCs) delving deeper into the recent scientific discoveries on habit formation and disruption and using it on my own habits learning to understand and speak enough of the Moroccan dialect of Arabic to be able to get around easily exercising more regularly decluttering the last sections in my home that need a major overhaul; regularly maintenance decluttering everything that ceases to work for me keeping: my wonderful relationship with my partner (ongoing for 34 years now) staying healthy giving and receiving support from and to my beautiful friends staying organized, keeping my home functional, inviting and aesthetically pleasing hosting for my friends often last, but certainly not least, being extremely thankful and content with my situation |
| C | _about my struggle with clutter and disorganization is _ There are so many things going on in my life that I cannot stay focused long on any task. I get far too easily distracted. | Most of the "public" rooms are rather organized, easily tidied up. I worked for years to establish this, as I really wanted to always be able to have people over. | Leave behind: many expectations, as these end up becoming premeditated resentments. Look forward to knowing right away which piece of paper or other info goes where, and not in some pile for later. |
| Brenda | Nagging me about my clutter won't help I feel bad enough | Public entertaining areas downstairs Upstairs is usually off limits | |
| Jean | After a while…It’s a habit that takes very little time! | I’m currently ‘current’ with incoming mail! | Kitchen stuff, I was feeling guilty not using various platters I had kept. All donated before Thanksgiving! |
| Luz Maria | I don't like the mess. | My bathroom and the linen closet are very well organized. | I am leaving behind other people's problems. I'm looking forward to enforcing my boundaries in 2025 and nurturing myself more. |
| Laura | I’m creative and I see potential in everything. | My “life” is organized - my bills are paid, I’m always on time, I’m always caught up on my laundry, kitchen is clean. I’m generally a cheerful and happy person! | |
| Peggy | Life is so much easier with less stuff! | I worked on my "tea cabinet" the other day. I lost track of how many boxes of (herbal / remedy type) teas were in there but it was a LOT! I placed the teabags in low-profile cardboard boxes I already had. Then I organized the tea into 2 sections: things to help you sleep and cold/sore throat remedies. I placed the oldest teas in front so they would get used first. It's already working really well and looks so much better (glass doors on this cabinet). | I'm leaving behind any expired food (already gone as far as I know LOL) and stuff I never use. |
| Dolce | Many things. I have inherited clutter mixed in with my own "hope chest" items if you will. I've experienced a lot of grief and illness. My life didn't turn out the way I had hoped or planned. Purging clutter was not my first priority and now that I have the time there are a lot of emotions and realizations to contend with. Slowly and mindfully I have let go of truckloads of stuff that no longer fit into my life. People just see what they want to see. | My kitchen and clothes closet are workable but are far from minimal. | Happy to leave an injury behind and starting an exercise strength training routine |
| Evelin | mental health problems. | paperwork - I usually deal with incoming paper right away or at least within one week. I have rather organized binders where I file all the papers I need (or want) to keep. Every now and then I go through them to see if there is anything that can be tossed. Everything is labeled, so even my husband can find whatever he may need. | I want to leave behind the "just-in-case-items" and I want to use up my crafting supplies. |
| Jill | That who I am and where I came from are important to me, part of my identity. My ancestors struggled to make a good life, faced heartbreaks, and I want to honor those. | The bathroom has sufficient storage for our needs-3 nice deep drawers, under sink cupboard and a linen closet. I have pared down the number of towels and grooming products that will fit and are easy to take out and put back away so things are not left out. There is sufficient lighting and heat, and the surfaces are fairly easy to clean and keep clean. | There were so many repairs that needed my attention the first two summers after I retired. Now that I have a handle on those, I am ready to renew old connections to people, improve those that I currently have, and make new ones. |
| Anonymous user | I was born into it. | Bathroom and my bedroom | People who do not add nothing to my life. |
| Pam | the need for physical help at times when I need it. | the kitchen, cooking, washing up and putting things away. | the constant sense of overwhelm.. |
| Anonymous user | How much it makes me feel bad about myself and my abilities, and how embarrassing it can be. | Laundry | The first half of 2024 was fine, but the second half was personally terrible. I hope to work on improving all my personal relationships in 2025. |
| Anonymous user | I would share don’t give up. It doesn’t have to be perfect. It doesn’t have to be completed in a day. Just keep at it. Acknowledge the wins, no matter how small! | The middle room closet. | Letting go of perfection Celebrating the areas that I continue to maintain as organized |
| CHRISTINE | Do it now Before it is too late Before an illness or injuries make it so much harder to do | Food and groceries Including a large freezer | So long excess paperwork Hello closet organization |
| Hila | It is bad habit. | To finish task. Put clothes in the closet | I happy that I have only stuff that I need. No more thinking about donating. I need to finish some courses that I bought and didn't finish |
| Anonymous user | I got behind during the pandemic when I oversaw the virtual schooling of our grandchildren for 11 months and have not been able to catch up. | Laundry routine. | Resolved health issues for our family. New resolve to get organized in our new home which we moved into at the beginning of the lockdown. |
| Danetta | If I don’t see it, it doesn’t exist. Anything filed will never be looked at again. Anything in a drawer will be forgotten for months. | Dishes Clothing Shoes Food Camping equipment auto interior | Leaving behind health issues I struggled with for 6 months Wishing for More travel, including short trips |
| Lela | Knowledge: Lasting joy and peace is directly connected to relationships, not physical objects. | Paperwork & decor | 2024: bad experiences & memories 2025: more peace & outdoor time |
| Tamara | Fear about decorating. Making a plan to tackle one room, wall, and box at a time. | ||
| Anonymous user | Realistic planning and follow through consistently. Do a fifteen minute declutter every day on one small area to maintain organization. | My areas and the shared spaces are good. | I am leveling up my fitness routine with some new challenges |
| Kim | It is important to regularly re-visit extra 'stuff' and justify its existence in your home if you don't have the space for it. | Clothing. In 2024 I purged my wardrobe because I work from home. I donated a lot of beautiful clothes so someone who needs them for work every day can use them. | Friendship clutter. In 2024, I decided to de-clutter friendships that were not serving me. |
| Cee | My struggle is not having time I desire to dedicate to declutter and organize. I fault myself for not saying no to others most times. I know I can accomplish my goal if I sechudle uninterrupted time for me on a regular. | Keeping up with Monthly bill payments. Utilize digital and paperless options to assist with less paperwork. This allows the paper I am decluttering to be 90% old papers which accumulated from years ago and acquired from deceased relatives. | Leaving behind allowing others to dictate my time. Making myself higher priority focusing on my health and well-being. Clearing and organizing is a must to keep my mind healthy. |
| Celina | is that it has proven to be useful to keep some thing time and again. E.g. packing material - I literally had to purchase some bubble wrap only once. other than that, I reuse it all the time, thus I store it. Along with some enveloped and bags that I removed the shipping labels from. This is true ecology and sustainability! | kitchen stuff. I got rid of everything I don't use, because I don't cook. So, many spices went to my family, etc. I got rid of forks, because I only use spoons, etc, etc. | fear of getting a loan on my tiny apartment, so moving into a tiny apartment instead of rental with flatmates. |
| Anonymous user | I want to organize other peoples stuff and it’s not my business but it’s really hard to let go of being pushy about them letting me take control. | My closet is pretty clutter free. | Toys my kid was willing to donate! New books |
| Kathy | Letting go .. Stained shirt, sweater that rides up not comfortable, top that always shows my bra. Pins that are broken or damaged stones missing etc. Letting go Fear that this is a hoarders episode about to be televised. | Stuff is full and organized ..... But have plenty... | Goal to write 5 things I'm grateful for every day. Easier than failing on something impossible to give up. |
| Marsha | That I need help from them emotionally! It helps me to talk about my struggles and not be judged or ridiculed! | I’ve been listening to Clutter Fairy since the bad audio days and I read Don Aslett’s book “Clutter’s Last Stand” over and over again since the 80’s! So most of my house 80% is orderly and clutter free but I have a “DOOM ROOM” and a problematic garage! | Getting my affairs in order after a scary health crisis! |
| Lynn | There is no deadline except for the one you impose on yourself. Depending on the state of affairs and physical ability, it takes time. Just keep moving forward making progress. Decluttering is never finished so make it a routine habit to constantly evaluate your household inventory to keep things under control. | The majority of my house is mostly satisfying. There are two areas on my 2025 1st quarter list to complete. My incentive and reward will be installation of new flooring in the bedrooms. After that, I plan to go through the house again to inventory and refine the areas I want to improve and thin the herd some more. | Leaving behind the need to do everything myself. I can't do it all anymore and want to hire people to once a month help me with the deep cleaning of house and garden. I can still do the daily maintenance but the deep cleaning us getting physically harder for me. Am looking forward to the extra road trip opportunities the hired help will give me to enjoy more of life away from the house instead of spending all my free time in my recliner recovering from the strenuous efforts t to keep up with the deep cleaning. |
| Ellen in W Michigan | What I wish people could understand about my struggle with clutter and organization is . . . that sometimes it is pain and limited energy that slows me down, but it is often the anticipation of the pain, energy drain, or difficulty that slows me down. Then I procrastinate because I am dreading the job, more than because I don't know how to do the job. | My laundry is never a problem. I don't have enough clothes to get out of hand and my system works for me. My kitchen is new and I love seeing all the clean, beautiful counters too much to let it get bad. Or at least I haven't in the two months I've lived here. I love walking out in the morning and seeing clean, clear countertops. I helped design the kitchen and made sure there was a space for my most important things. A few things had to be changed (the cabinets delivered had slightly different measurements than the display models), but I just got rid of some more stuff until the fit was good. | I am so happy to have the stress of moving behind me. I'm hoping never to have to move again. I want to spend more time with family this year and a friend and I are planning a small trip. |
| Ernestine | ... that I have little energy even when I have time available." | I'm sufficiently organized with my clothing. Not perfectly organized but good enough to suit me. | I'm Iooking forward to leaving behind the overwhelm of 2024 and to making a new home part of my 2025 life. |
| MS | Decluttering 15 minutes a day for a month is 7.5 hours of decluttering. Imagine how much you'd get done in 7.5 hours. | Closets, cupboards, routine work like cleaning | 2024 unrealistic expectations 2025 travel and better health |
| Anonymous user | That it gets exponentially easier. Every bit counts - and although it may seem like it is taking a long time to see results, they do come- and then it gets easier and easier. A continuous habit of gifting also helps. | Clothes. Yay ! | Happy to leave a lot of clutter behind. Looking forward to having more house gatherings and guests staying over. |
| Dawn | It's just as real as the issues they're facing in life. Example: DH just doesn't get it. He thinks he can clean everything up of MINE in a short time. Of course, this would mean getting rid of things I value; only I can determine this. In the same way, he looks at my solution to HIS issues as "too simple." | Regular life happenings (e.g., getting groceries, putting them away, ordering medications, addressing them when they arrive). | 30 pounds. 🙂 More regular resistance training to firm things up. |
| Theresa | When your spouse is a shopper/ collector/ not on board, especially as we are getting older and our adult children don't want material things from us (old or new), it is time-consuming and tiring finding ways to get excess anything out of the house. | My bedroom and our guest bedroom. That said, there are 8 additional rooms in our home I try to work on as I can. Garage is totally his and very full. | Have had to accept I'm not the reader or cook I once was, so will leave behind the expense of purchases in those areas. I always look forward to progress in my relationships, health, home, and spiritual growth. |
| Yvonne | Decluttering is a process that never truly ends because things are always going to find their way back into your home, especially if you don’t live alone . | My clothing. | I’m looking forward to leaving guilt about decluttering sentimental stuff behind. And, I’m looking forward to not trying to keep up with other people! I’m looking forward to having more control over my finances as a result of buying fewer things . |
| Anja | My life turned around to become totally different 5 years ago and since then I have lost a lot of physical capacity. | Overall tidyness is great but there still is a little too much stuff anyway. It is more than I am able to use or actually cherish. | I like to leave self criticism behind and welcome being even more kind to myself and also loved ones. |
| Hawthorne | -that I'm on a use it up challenge. While I have been on a no-buy year, people still give me things to upcycle pushing my cluttered craft shelf to its maximum capacity. Things that would otherwise go straight to the landfill. The struggle is real and progress is slow | My wardrobe is excellently organized with plenty of space for my clothes to breathe | I am happy to leave behind all of the empty totes of fabric that I have used up in 2024. With 2025, i look forward to getting my sewing machine off the floor and on to my crafting shelf |
| Name (click to view full survey response and comments) | Complete the following statement: “What I wish people could understand about my struggle with clutter and disorganization is _____.” | Describe an area or aspect of your life or home in which you are already sufficiently organized. | Describe something that you’re happy to leave behind in 2024 and something you’re looking forward to making a part of your life in 2025. |
