Clutter can have a negative impact on your mental and physical health. In fact, many psychologist are starting to discover that having a clean, decluttered and organized home is essential to health and wellbeing. It is becoming part of the wellness paradigm. It is also a lifelong journey. Like most healthy choices, it is a lifestyle change, not a short-term solution. In this episode Sheri and Candice will dive in to the health benefits of decluttering and share tips to help you live a more intentional, healthy, and decluttered life.
EPISODE NOTES
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Classes with Sheri
Yin Yoga & Meditation On-line Classes
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https://linktr.ee/candicerogersdesign
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https://linktr.ee/sheridavidson
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https://linktr.ee/candicerogersdesign
Minimalist
https://www.theminimalists.com/
Marie Kondo
Life Changing Magic of Tiding up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Contact Candice:
candice@candicerogersdesign.com
FB/Insta: @candicerogersdesign
Contact Sheri:
FB/Insta: @element5_wellness
Clutter can have a negative impact on your mental and physical health. In fact, many psychologist are starting to discover that having a clean, decluttered and organized home is essential to health and wellbeing. It is becoming part of the wellness paradigm. It is also a lifelong journey. Like most healthy choices, it is a lifestyle change, not a short-term solution. In this episode Sheri and Candice will dive in to the health benefits of decluttering and share tips to help you live a more intentional, healthy, and decluttered life.
EPISODE NOTES
This post may contain affiliate links to products. We may receive a small commission for purchases made through these links at no cost to you.
Classes with Sheri
Yin Yoga & Meditation On-line Classes
https://linktr.ee/sheridavidson
20 Minute Interior Design Discovery Call with Candice
https://linktr.ee/candicerogersdesign
Sign-up - Health + Dwellness - Newsletter
https://linktr.ee/Healthdwellness
Sign-up - Sheri Davidson - Newsletter
https://linktr.ee/sheridavidson
Sign-up - Candice Rogers Interior Design - Newsletter
https://linktr.ee/candicerogersdesign
Minimalist
https://www.theminimalists.com/
Marie Kondo
Life Changing Magic of Tiding up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing
Contact Candice:
candice@candicerogersdesign.com
FB/Insta: @candicerogersdesign
Contact Sheri:
FB/Insta: @element5_wellness
Unknown Speaker 0:13
Welcome to the health and wellness podcast.
Unknown Speaker 0:16
I'm Sheri Davidson.
Unknown Speaker 0:17
And I'm Candace Rodgers. This is our quaint, warm space, where we will share our passion for wellbeing and explore everyday living and health, wellness and design to help you thrive in your life.
Unknown Speaker 0:41
Welcome to the health and wellness podcast. I'm Sheri Davidson.
Unknown Speaker 0:44
And I'm Candace Rogers. This is episode number 13. Lucky 13. Yeah, we are going to be talking about decluttering. Organization today. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 0:56
and I'm going to be talking about the health benefits. Most people might not know that there are actual health benefits to keeping a tidy, organized decluttered. space.
Unknown Speaker 1:07
And then I'm going to talk about your environment tips on decluttering, your interior design. And so let's get started. Sheri, let's talk about the health benefits.
Unknown Speaker 1:17
Yeah, well, most people would probably never make the connection. But there are some really great health benefits, we have too much stuff. And we have an attachment to all this stuff. And it's a lot to manage. And so going through your spaces, or reorganizing can help lower anxiety can help with reducing stress can improve sleep, improve productivity, it can also reduce allergens help address hidden behavioral issues.
Unknown Speaker 1:53
That's interesting.
Unknown Speaker 1:54
And it can free up time and just it just is more positive. Yes. And who doesn't want that in their life? Exactly. It's worth it's worth the it's worth the
Unknown Speaker 2:04
journey. Yeah, I mean, it can free up time. And it can also save you money, too. It can save you money. Yeah. Because then you're not really buying stuff that you maybe already have that you can't find.
Unknown Speaker 2:15
Yeah, so there's a financial. And also, I think, just to add to that, you know, if you are an impulse buyer, and you become more mindful of what you have in your space, exactly, also save you money, right? And so before you actually buy something, you can
Unknown Speaker 2:30
be more thoughtful about it and think about how you're going to be using it. Is it really something that you need? One of the things that that my mom is like a really big like, gadget person, and it's like everything has a gadget, and I don't necessarily believe that especially like in the kitchen. Yeah, we don't need a gadget for every single thing. Like we don't need a gadget to slice lemons. We don't need a gadget. Avocados. I mean, you can use a knife you can use I mean of course we probably need a peeler it's a little bit that's but something that some
Unknown Speaker 3:04
used its marketing at its bed is making us feel like we don't have enough that we're missing something. Like Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 3:10
those add those hard boiled egg cookers. Those electric ones is a mess. Oh, eight minutes. Well,
Unknown Speaker 3:17
do you have one? No, but I know that I know. It takes eight minutes to boil an egg if you know Yeah, yeah, you want to soft mean it's
Unknown Speaker 3:24
doesn't I mean, it's just as easy just uh, I stained my eggs. Yeah, and so it's super easy. I mean to steam the eggs. It doesn't take long and so you don't need like an additional gadget. I feel like we don't need a gadget for everything. No, I agree. I agree. And that's where you start getting this clutter. Yeah. And then you got to find a space to store it or then it's on the countertop. So yeah, I think just being I think that's really good being more thoughtful about what you purchase a thoughtful about how you're going to use it. Yeah, when you have less stuff. I do think that you are more thoughtful about how you're using something.
Unknown Speaker 4:03
Oh yeah, absolutely.
Unknown Speaker 4:04
Right. And then I also believe that things that have multi purposes. So when you purchase something, you know maybe it isn't just for one thing you know like if you have a great set of knives, yeah, that can do so much. You don't need all these other little essential to me, Yeah, me too.
Unknown Speaker 4:22
I good knives or I cook so much and it is an essential.
Unknown Speaker 4:26
I do think that that is worth an investment is a really good set of knives because that's something that will last you are out of time.
Unknown Speaker 4:34
Yeah, it's an investment. Right and especially if you cook a lot, I mean, maybe if you're not cooking as much as we do that maybe it's not something that
Unknown Speaker 4:41
makes it easier though even if you're not, you know, a great cook. I think it makes things easier when you have a nice set of knives plus it looks nice. I agree. You know, there are some really beautiful knives out there that are I have a pair of ankles. Yeah, I
Unknown Speaker 4:55
love the ankles. Yeah, I agree. I think there are some essential But I think being more mindful about those things and knowing what you value, right, I think knowing your values when you're when you were decluttering is very important. Right? Right. So if something is important to you, like I, like I said, I cook, right is I get so frustrated if I go to someone's house, and I cook, and I grab one of their knives, and I cannot get through a tomato, right? You know, I'm like, oh,
Unknown Speaker 5:27
how do you do this? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 5:28
I have a friend. They're
Unknown Speaker 5:29
like, well, I don't cook. So yeah,
Unknown Speaker 5:30
my best friend. And she's like, I'd go to her house, and I'd cook or you say,
Unknown Speaker 5:34
Are you over there? Like sharpening her knives? No, because
Unknown Speaker 5:37
they're not even we're sharpening?
Unknown Speaker 5:40
No, okay. But I think you know, so knowing what, what what's of value to you, knowing your values, I think is really important when you go through this process of decluttering. You know, you want to make sure something is adding value to your life. Yes. You know, that's always the question, I'll ask, like, is this gonna add value to my life? Like, if it's sitting in my room? Or if it's sitting in my living room, and I look over at it, what does that do for me? Right? I have, like, some of my artwork, like, anytime I get artwork, it's usually when I travel. And so you know, that big piece I got, I guess,
Unknown Speaker 6:13
Tibet?
Unknown Speaker 6:14
Yes. And so when I look at that, not only is it peaceful for me, but it reminds me, of my travels to Tibet, I have this other. It's like a ceramic pot that I got from my birthday from one of my really good friends. And I don't see her much anymore. I won't get rid of it. Because when I see it, I think about her, and it represents travel. Right? So I think that So to me, that adds value to my life.
Unknown Speaker 6:39
Yeah. So when you have something that is thoughtful, that means something to you, and it's good quality, it makes you happy. Yeah, I totally believe that about artwork. I know that artwork is an investment. But I do believe that investing in nice artwork, that means something to you. Like I always say, when I look at it, I have to like feel something I know that sounds kind of cheesy, but when I want to feel happy, I want to get some sort of a feeling out of the artwork that I purchased, and then it's worth the investment. And it adds to your space. And you can keep it again for a lifetime and you can pass it down and then it's going to mean something to somebody else. And and so I feel like there's quality over quantity. I may have already said that. But I really believe in that I believe in investing and you don't have all your artwork doesn't have to be an investment piece. But it could even be an inexpensive piece of art. That means something to you like something you've got from your travels, you know, you've seen in my house, I do the same thing. I have lots of things from my travels. I have some pieces from India, I have rug rugs from India, I have artwork that means a lot to me that were painted by local artists in Atlanta that I've collected. I also have some masks that I have on the wall that I got in Costa Rica. And so I just try to be kind of thoughtful and things that are going to make me happy remind me of happy times. And then when you look at them, they do evoke some sort of a feeling.
Unknown Speaker 8:11
Yeah, absolutely. I think it's you live a more intentional and meaningful life when you pick quality over quantity. I know that I don't know if you've heard of the minimalists but there are podcasts I love them. They always they say ask does it bring joy or bring tranquility or increase your well being when you when you're looking
Unknown Speaker 8:31
sort of like Marie Kondo
Unknown Speaker 8:33
doesn't bring you joy?
Unknown Speaker 8:34
Yeah, yeah. She wants to know if it brings you joy when you look at something and I do I do believe that I mean, that sounds cheesy but it's also not it's like when you are trying to decide if you want to hold on to something or not it's like what what is what is this piece mean to me? You know, or what are the what are these like 100 pairs of socks I made are really mean 100 pairs of socks.
Unknown Speaker 8:57
That's when you get into the 8020 rule. Yeah. You know,
Unknown Speaker 9:02
you can have a sock might not you might not you know mean something to you but you know, what do you need them all. So eat them off.
Unknown Speaker 9:08
You know that the whole 8020 rule is you were 20% that is true. It's true. So you know one of the things there are a couple of different things that you can do. I and I one thing I really liked that I read somewhere that in your closet like if you want to get rid of clothes, turn all your hangers around backwards. And then over the the time about two to three months when you take something out and you wear it put it back in when you hang it the right way. And then in two or three months, you take a look in your closet and you see what you've seen what you've worn and it's about 20% of what is in your and
Unknown Speaker 9:43
it is Yeah, what I do in my closet. The system that I use out is very similar to that hanger system. But what I do is I get a hanger and I tie a ribbon or a scarf on it. And then everything that I wear goes on one side of that And so then after a few months or after the season, I do it by seasons. Yeah. So after the season, I can look at what's on that side of that hanger that has the ribbon on it. Yeah, and see what I've been wearing. And it really is about 20% of what's in my closet. I mean, you, you tend to wear the same things over and over. And so then I get rid of the rest. I go through these purging phases, actually, and get rid of stuff.
Unknown Speaker 10:26
I like the idea of seasonal because you know, if you have if, and that's if you can categorize or take all your winter stuff out during the summer, because obviously, you're not going to wear that stuff in the summer, right? You're not going to wear your sweaters. Why should that be part of your 80%? Right. So I like the seasonal Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 10:45
I don't mind seasonal. And there's obviously things that you're all that you're going to need, like, you know, right now, we're not going to any like, you know, dressy events, but when we were I mean those items, you don't really fall into that category, you have items that you don't really wear all the time. Yeah, but you do need to go through those periodically. And with that, I would say if I haven't worn it in two years. Time, yeah. If I have not worn this in two years than it needs to go, yeah.
Unknown Speaker 11:15
I have jeans, I'm more than five
Unknown Speaker 11:17
years ago, they need to go.
Unknown Speaker 11:19
Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 11:22
They need to go.
Unknown Speaker 11:23
You're gonna cut them off in a jean shorts.
Unknown Speaker 11:25
Yes. No. They need to go. Their own style Anyway, I'm
Unknown Speaker 11:30
sure.
Unknown Speaker 11:30
So I did one time I went through this. I was going to live a minimalist life, I was going to get rid of everything. One thing it taught me is what I do value. Because I love books, and I love learning. I have so many books. I can't quit buying books. Yeah, and I really need to stop. But that's something I'm working on. But I got rid of all these books. I got rid of all my interior design books from college. I got rid of all my Fung Shui books. Wow, I got rid of so many books. And after I got rid of them, I felt this huge loss. Oh my goodness. And to this day I read I regret doing it.
Unknown Speaker 12:10
Books for me are one thing that I think that especially if it's books like that, like you're a book lover. I'm also a book lover, but I think you're way more than I am like I like reading unnecessarily say I'm a book lover. Yeah, I like reading. If you seen the home edit those girls that do the home edit.
Unknown Speaker 12:27
I'm familiar with them. I'm not I haven't seen a lot of their stuff. But I they're
Unknown Speaker 12:30
super, super popular. And they have a really cool, great way of decor with your books and organizing. And it's so cute. The way that they do it. They do it by color. So it's like the color of the rainbow. And then they organize it they put all the blues together all the yellows together all the reds and pinks together all the greens together on the whites together. And it's beautiful. Yeah, and I do think that you can I also I decorate a lot with books, like I use them to write to raise things up. And so a lot of my my design books I you've seen them, I use them in people's homes, I look at some of their favorite books that they haven't used them for coffee table books, and I believe in having books around that also mean something to you just that Okay, I'm gonna have this coffee table book. That point should mean should now but you don't really care about you now
Unknown Speaker 13:21
know mine are all health related. Yeah, somehow philosophy, design, all things that I don't be at all things that I enjoy.
Unknown Speaker 13:33
Yeah. And if you decorate with them, you can also read them. So it's multifunctional. And then it reminds me of things.
Unknown Speaker 13:39
I guess there's a book I haven't read yet. And I hear it's so good. It's called breath. And I told it's in my head a stack about this big that I need to read. And but I look over and I'm like, right. And you know, sometimes it's a to do list that probably I could get rid of. But sometimes it's like, right, breathe. Yeah, right. Like, yeah, breathe. So I feel like, for me, that was a lesson learned that I will never get rid of my books again. Now there'll be I will get rid of books that I bought a book once that sounded really interesting. And when I got it, I realized I didn't like it at all. And so I took that two
Unknown Speaker 14:13
thing and exercise just like the closet it's like or just go through your books and realize which books really mean things to you and that you want to keep and then get rid of the ones that don't but especially if you're a person that loves books, but I I'm totally on board with books, nice books and using them you know, in your home to decorate with. I think it is a great way to decorate to also have something that means something to you. They look pretty, they're functional. You can read them. I mean, yeah, I like books. Yeah, I
Unknown Speaker 14:45
do too. So I should share this too. It was a vertical bookshelf. So instead of putting books article one, right, yeah. They you laid them horizontal. And but the bookshelf was vertical.
Unknown Speaker 14:58
Yeah. So I was tall. superpower when
Unknown Speaker 15:00
you hang it on, I guess you can hang it on the wall.
Unknown Speaker 15:03
You can hang on the wall like that, and also see freestanding ones that you can do that with too. And so and when I like to decorate with books, I'll literally put them horizontal and stack several of them. And then you've seen in my, in my own home, where I'll put a vase on it, I'll use it for table tops. And like I said, I'll put a lamp on it. And I move these books around all the time. I don't usually have the same books, like I'll move some of them upstairs, I'll move them downstairs, and it's just kind of based on like, what if I want to grab one and look at it? You know, and read it? Yeah, but I like collecting interior design books. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 15:40
I think most designers do. Yeah, I had so many interior design books. You know, anytime I had a project, you know, I would just go grab all these books just so I would have like
Unknown Speaker 15:50
an inspiration. It is inspiration. Yeah, travel, I love travel books. Those are inspiration and even books with art. And those are inspiration too.
Unknown Speaker 15:59
I like travel a lot. Like if I go well, when I went to Iceland last not last year, because last year was COVID. But the year before I bought a travel book to Iceland. And then when I went well, and then I want to do the the Komodo Komodo trial in Japan. So I bought that so I can start reading about it. And I enjoy seeing those on my shelf.
Unknown Speaker 16:19
Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 16:20
because it's something that I've done in the past. And it's something that I'm looking forward to. Yeah. So So I think, you know, I think just that conversation, like if it brings you value, and it's something that you really love,
Unknown Speaker 16:32
I totally agree, do it. I totally agree. But I
Unknown Speaker 16:35
think you have to do some, some people might already know what those things are. And then others might really have to work at it right? It's true. To figure out again, it goes back to those values, like you love to travel, you love interior design. I love to travel, I love health. And so knowing what those values are, then you can start going through your stuff if you have a lot of stuff and it can help narrow those things down for you. Yeah, I think that's really important.
Unknown Speaker 16:58
Yeah. And I think to just start small starts mean, I think if you if you think about all the things that you need to declutter or organize, it can get really overwhelming. I mean, and then not only is the clutter overwhelming, and then just thinking about it can give you anxiety or just so the emotional attack Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 17:16
we have to stress can be overwhelming.
Unknown Speaker 17:18
Yes. I don't have a lot of emotional attachments to stuff. That's one of the things that Yeah, I'm
Unknown Speaker 17:26
I feel very loyal to my stuff.
Unknown Speaker 17:28
Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 17:28
it's not it's it's, I want a new dining room table. But I love my dining room table. I have this loyalty to my even my car.
Unknown Speaker 17:36
Yeah, I don't have loyalty to the only thing that I have a loyalty to is my artwork. Yeah. And some of the things that I've collected through the year. So I do have a lot of loyalty to those. But other than that I have I don't have any loyalty. I don't can't think of any piece of furniture that I have loyalty to like, I'll get rid of it in a heartbeat. If if I can.
Unknown Speaker 17:57
I don't know what it is. I just have this like you've been. You've been with me all this time. Yeah. Like, how do I just get rid of you? Like I've had you since I was in? Yeah, no. And I also i can't i like timeless things. And one of the questions I always ask myself, too, when I buy something is am am I going to get rid of this? Yes, in a year? Or am I gonna want to get rid of
Unknown Speaker 18:21
the whole quality over its quality on anything? Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 18:24
I mean, I think some trendy things are fun. And it's I think they're okay. But typically, I I want to be able to keep this.
Unknown Speaker 18:32
Yes. And I think that's very important with furniture, especially, like I said, quality over quantity. I think if you invest in some good pieces of furniture, again, they will last you for a lifetime. And then you can keep those pieces and like you said with the trendy items, I don't really believe in purchasing like really trendy furniture pieces, or lighting or things like that expensive pieces anyway, actually, I think timeless is better. Yeah. And if you want to do something trendy, do it in a paint color, do it in a pillow or some accessories and those things are inexpensive, and you can change them several years down the road. Yeah, and talking about furniture like repurposed furniture, let's say you have something. I'm thinking about repurposing some of my furniture that I have. And I'm just thinking about, you know, sanding them down and give me giving them a new coat of paint, putting on some fresh hardware. And it looks like a brand new brand new furniture. And so there's no reason to like get rid of stuff. Yeah. And then rebuy stuff. And then you know, what do you do with that old stuff and then if you have an attachment to it, you know, I feel like you have to keep it. And so even like upholstered items, everything can be re upholstered, like you can put like a really cool piece of textile on like your your grandmother's chair that you inherited and you could keep the the wood, the nice wood, that it's on. Maybe Touch it up a little bit, and just repost it and make it a new piece. I mean, it can, you would be surprised when you when you repurpose furniture like what it could end up looking
Unknown Speaker 20:10
like Well, absolutely. But I think again, it goes back to values too. If you don't know what you your likes are and what you value, then you're just changing all the time. That's true, right? So if you like for me, like I know my likes, you know, I know the next self I love big like, I love sofas. You know, the sofa I want, right? I know how important is for me to be able to jump on my sofa, sit on my head if I want sprawl out. And just be cozy and comfy. Yeah. And so I know that when I buy my next my sofa is that now but the one I want the cloud, right? Like I'm super excited about that. But if I didn't know my likes, then I might buy something that was more elegant and you know, a little bit more stiff and loaded, you know, not that the slide is not luxurious, you know, where you're kind of, you know, sitting more up, right? I wouldn't be happy with that. So I want to change it.
Unknown Speaker 21:08
Yeah, and that's a that's where interior designers can come in because most people don't know what what it is that they like and so when you talk to a professional, they help you through that they find out they ask you like what is important to you is comfort important to you is coming home and sprawling out on the sofa. Is that important to you? How much time do you have on your hands? And that's another thing like there's so many questions we go through this whole programming phase with interior design where we get to know the client and we get to know what it is they really need and then we recommend things to them. I don't think everybody does that what interior designers every interior design does not know they should should they should get a good and better interior designer will ask you all those questions because you know ultimately you're designing for the client and then you are being hired by them and that's who you're designing for. You're not designing for yourself as an interior designer. So even though you have a look or you may be having a stetic but you're still designing for the client's needs so any that yes
Unknown Speaker 22:16
but I don't I don't know of that. That kind of questionnaire like if somebody because you know a lot of people already note like they think they know what they like till they get it right and then they're like yes not what I really want
Unknown Speaker 22:30
well any good interior designer should I agree with you. Yeah. questionnaire getting to know you finding finding out how you function in your home, finding out what you need in your home so that way everything that you have like you said has intention and is is thoughtful and is something that you like or love and it's not something that you're going to want to get rid of. Yeah, speaking of sofas though, another one of the tips that I have for not being cluttered is not to have a bunch of throw pillows I already said this about in your bedroom to make things easier about making your bed but and I know this is you know an oxymoron coming from an interior designer people think oh you know interior designers like more stuff and fluff but not a lot of us do you know like I said it is how does it function? I mean it can still be beautiful and you don't have to have a lot of throw pillows on your sofa I think if you have a beautiful sofa it kind of speaks for itself and then you have like one or two pillows and then everything looks clean and it doesn't look cluttered is easier for you you know to just have those two pillows on there and things don't look so cluttered. So as a tips
Unknown Speaker 23:42
I have a lot of throw pillows on myself but you like them I love I love it. You love I love like sinking into them. Oh it's a different thing for me like when I'm on my sofa and I've got a pillow over here pull over here I'm wrapped up in a blanket. Oh, but
Unknown Speaker 23:56
you're being they're functional. They're
Unknown Speaker 23:58
functional. And I just I love being I love pillows. I think that's where Finn gets it. We both love pillows but there's just a comfort and it for me, but I could probably use maybe just a couple on my
Unknown Speaker 24:11
yes maybe that should be on your list of
Unknown Speaker 24:14
I've gotten I started you know I go through this every spring yeah I think springs a great time to declutter and not do any kind of detox that Yeah, you want to do yeah, I started I'm going to go through my closet. Now you're going to be able to declare what I'm gonna Yeah, I I took a bunch of stuff to Goodwill.
Unknown Speaker 24:35
I like I like I think it feels good. It feels good. Like it didn't keep it from
Unknown Speaker 24:39
being annoyed. Feels good to declare.
Unknown Speaker 24:40
It feels
Unknown Speaker 24:42
good right? I love I love Virginia makes it feel told the world I don't know what it
Unknown Speaker 24:48
is I analysis the storm
Unknown Speaker 24:51
like
Unknown Speaker 24:52
pushed in since the storm. It just wipes all the plants completely out like all my all my stuff. Outside needs to be redundant. I feel like there's this start this fresh start right that I'm doing and so why not do it in my house as well, right. And I live a very simple life and I've chosen that life. I you know, I live in an apartment super cute, charming. And I've thought about buying things over the year, but I don't want the stress of taking care of it. Right. I think eventually, one day I will own something because there are pros and cons. Yeah, but right now it's just this it i don't i don't have to take care of everything I do. I do do the gardening. outside and the plants. I don't know if I'd call it gardening. But um, but yeah, protein just feel so good. I think purging is a interesting word to call it but I say it all the time to purge. And that's
Unknown Speaker 25:46
what I call it, I call it get heard of being because I literally am like purging the closet purging your spice drawer. That's another one that we tend to. I mean, that's I actually need to tackle that right now. I have like spices that I think I've had for like
Unknown Speaker 26:00
many years, I did that. But then I got it, I got a new spice rack. So I did do that. But my kitchen is on my my kitchen is on my forefront right now of places to really organize. And I wouldn't say it's cluttered. But I think more organized, I want to organize it in a more organized way.
Unknown Speaker 26:20
Yeah. And speaking of kitchens, I have some tips for that too. In my kitchen that I have is pretty organized. I like having a space for everything. And I don't like having like one of the big things that I went through was Tupperware I had so much Tupperware and I just went through it one day. And I'm like, I'm going to keep the good pieces. This is all I need. Yeah, and it was really great not to have all of that, you know, just in the drawer taking up space. But I also believe not putting a whole bunch of stuff on your counters, just not having like tons and tons and tons of stuff on your counters. If you can keep them somewhat clutter free and organized. Maybe just a couple of appliances, mental clarity, mental clarity. Yeah, one of the things that I always recommend to people that are remodeling or renovating their kitchen, or you know, building a new kitchen, is to think about getting when I call it is an appliance garage. And or it's a cabinet. And I actually have one for my coffeemaker here, and it's just it's a cabinet with a with a pullout. And the coffee is in there. And it's always plugged in. And so I just close that up, and it has the coffee machine, it has the sugar, the, the spoons as everything on it. But you can also do that with your kind of like small appliances. So it's called an appliance garage or an appliance cabinet. And you can put your toaster in there your blender, you can even have your microwave in there, your coffee pot, and then you can have pull outs, and then when you're done, you just close the door and you don't see all those appliances. They're still plugged in. They're still functional, you can get to them easily, but they're not all on your countertops. Yeah. And so, you know, like,
Unknown Speaker 28:02
sort of a small space like me.
Unknown Speaker 28:05
Yeah, but you can still think of ways to put things away, you know, or or make them more decorative when they're on your countertop. Love for you. It's a challenge. Okay, well, maybe I'll have to come over, you might
Unknown Speaker 28:18
not get rid of this stuff. Yeah, I
Unknown Speaker 28:20
you know, and I think the kitchens really hard again, I cook a lot. And I don't need a lot of the gadgets. But some of the stuff like I have a spiral or you know that I use zucchini like spaghetti. I don't use that all the time. I don't probably don't even use it. 80% of that. I mean, 20% of the time, right. But it's something that I appreciate when I do
Unknown Speaker 28:39
think aspiro a spiraliser thing is important, because you can't really do that on your own. You can't do it on your own, you want to make zucchini knows
Unknown Speaker 28:45
you and I have my crock pot or my pressure. It's all in one now. You know, yeah,
Unknown Speaker 28:51
the crock pot, the pressure cooker,
Unknown Speaker 28:52
I have that I have my toaster, I have my coffee maker, I have a dehydrator that I could probably get rid of. But I'm like, but sometimes I like to do maybe
Unknown Speaker 29:02
find somewhere where you can put it away where it's not, you know, it's not readily available, but things that you don't use all the time. Maybe there is a space where you can put it, I need you to come well, and you and maybe it says the scenario or sometimes people I don't really I don't I don't want to encourage this because but sometimes I think it can be useful is to have some sort of off site storage. But I also feel like once you get that off site storage, then you start putting things in there that you don't really here's the here's the key. Here's the thing with the office and
Unknown Speaker 29:35
you're paying for something, there's there's, it's another thing that you can do when you're trying to declutter, but you are not sure you want to get rid of something yet is that you put it in offsite storage, and then after a year,
Unknown Speaker 29:49
you see that you didn't even need it.
Unknown Speaker 29:51
Yeah, and if you really, really need it, then you'll go back and get that Yeah, put it back into
Unknown Speaker 29:56
basically what happened was me with my storage unit, I put all that I had to you know I had to hold on to these things, and I had them all in storage. And then after like a year and a half, I was like, I didn't even use any of that stuff. And I spent how much money a month, you know, paying for the storage. So I got rid of it all.
Unknown Speaker 30:13
I did the same thing. When I moved back from Austin, I went into storage, because I moved in with my ex boyfriend. And so most of my stuff was in storage. And after what a year, year and a half later, I went back and I would I would go to the storage unit, every once in a while to get stuff, I was different. I was different, you know, a lot of the stuff that I thought I liked, he didn't like I didn't like it anymore. And so I went through a purging, when that happened as well.
Unknown Speaker 30:39
So are you changed your 10 that can be good too. Like, if you're going through like a moment in your life that is life changing. It might feel good to purge to get rid of those things that hold memories that you don't want to hold on to.
Unknown Speaker 30:54
So if that could be very positive, too. And I think that is part of the, you know, that's part of the attachment, we have the things. And that's part of the work that has to be done the things that will get triggered when you start to declutter, if you're holding on to like, say, a divorce, and you have pictures, and that's great. If you're moving forward, and you guys are on good terms, maybe you had kids, but if you are not moving forward in your life, if you're stuck in your life, and you look around and you have all these memories of a time that you wish you had again, maybe it's worth looking at,
Unknown Speaker 31:28
right and saying that, I hate to say this, but I keep saying that I'm going to get rid of my, my wedding photos that I have. And then people keep telling me to hold on to them. And I'm like, why? Yeah, why? Maybe I can hold on to like a few, you know, maybe like, get like one box or or hold on to
Unknown Speaker 31:48
allow me to have all those photos. You can put them all in you can put them like scan them and get rid
Unknown Speaker 31:53
of they're already on there. They're already on DVDs. Well, then I would
Unknown Speaker 31:57
I know if you have them as a like if you have them on a DVD. Yeah, that's how do we have DVD players anymore? Well, I
Unknown Speaker 32:05
have an external one that I've seen that Yeah, because this, you know, my laptop doesn't have one, but I do have one that I can put them in. But I mean, it's like I wanted to but other people kept telling me to get rid of them. So I'm like, Okay, I'll just I mean, I they're just sitting there in a cabinet somewhere. So I'll just hold on to them, you know?
Unknown Speaker 32:24
Well, I guess the question, does it bring you joy? No.
Unknown Speaker 32:31
I won't be that friend.
Unknown Speaker 32:34
We'll have a burning party.
Unknown Speaker 32:37
You know, the minimalist. Talk about a packing party. Oh, okay. So they
Unknown Speaker 32:42
think I did read that on the minimalist somewhere. Yeah, basically,
Unknown Speaker 32:45
you have parents come on, you have friends come over you panics? Yeah, you pack everything in a box. I mean, I think it is kind of extreme. But you pack everything in the box. And as you need things, you get it out, like you label the boxes. And as you need things, you get it out.
Unknown Speaker 32:57
And friends can be brutal when it comes to getting rid of your stuff. So sometimes you need that help. They can be like, No, you don't need this. Put a glass of wine helps. Yeah.
Unknown Speaker 33:07
They'll be like, darn, why did I get rid of that?
Unknown Speaker 33:09
It's so it's so interesting. like to see like the emotions that come up around stuff. Oh, yeah. You know, I mean, I know it's extreme. But I used to watch quarters. Yes, I totally, I did too, because I find it the mental health part. You know, like, there's a reason these people are holding on to all of this stuff. And, and most people on our podcast, you know, like, we're just talking about your daily clutter. But I mean, it's that it that just shows you like our stuff is just an extension of who we are, like, in our spaces are a reflection of who we are. And I love walking into people's homes. I don't like be I'm not like a peacock by like peeping Tom, or anything or I'm not being judgmental. But I just think it tells so much about a person when you walk into their home and see what it's like. Right. And I think it says a lot about like spaces that are very cluttered. It tells you a lot about what's happening inside their head. And I mean, if you I don't know, I know. I remember when I was in high school, a friend of mine, her parents were a professor's and they were incredibly smart. And their house was a wreck all the time. It wasn't dirty. It just there was a lot of stuff everything everywhere. And I just remember caught my hand like how do you find anything in here? like weird? Like, where are your keys? You know, um, so but I don't think that means I just Is it because their priority wasn't there? Or is there something like in your like, how you process?
Unknown Speaker 34:38
I don't know, it just I think sometimes people get really busy. And then clutter starts. Yeah, and then sometimes it gets out of hand. Yeah. And then once it gets out of hand and it becomes overwhelming and then you don't know where to start and then you feel just kind of stuck because they're so it gets to be so big. The pile gets to be so big. That you're like okay, that pile that would have taken me too. Just a couple minutes to get rid of stuff. Now it's gonna take me hours and what would I rather be doing? Would I rather be getting rid of that pile? Or would I rather be watching? It just becomes an idea something on your checklist to do? Yeah, I think coming up with a, you know, we talked about habits before. And I think, you know, coming up with some sort of a system for yourself even even cleaning out your email box, you know, coming up with some sort of a system can help. You know, even if it's with like, I have an issue with sorting my mail, like I keep junk mail and keep it and then eventually I'll go through the entire pile. But you know, honestly, I need to come up with a system where I get the mail, and anything that is important, I should put it in a basket. And then the junk mail just goes right into the trash. Yeah. And systems are always good. Yeah. And then I think just, you know, eventually it becomes a habit. Like we said, you know, you start your system, but you know, it is it's difficult. I think, you know, the other thing that you need to think about decluttering is on friends the Monica closet team member that were Avantika was so clean, and everything had to be organized. He was like almost OCD, right? And then she had this one closet that she just like threw everything in it. She didn't want anybody to see it. And then when she opened it, all of this stuff daughter was in there. Yeah. So anyways, you need to clean your cabinets in your your junk drawer. I mean, I think it's okay, sometimes to have a junk drawer. Everyone has this. Yeah. But I think it's good to also go and, you know, do like our Marie Kondo, and like fold your linens and make them look nice and keep the interior of your cabinets. And I also believe in these little buying these little bins for your drawers where everything can kind of be separated, have its own little space, it just makes it a lot easier. I don't know about you, but I love The Container Store editor. I go, I can't go in there. Yeah, cuz I will I go nutty every time I go in there. And I have like a full basket of stuff. So that's kind of a lot. I like to buy organizational thing. So I'm a little nerdy about that. I also have a label maker, which I like to make labels. So making labels for things I think makes it easier to find
Unknown Speaker 37:15
this saves you time when you when you can do that. And if you can make it easier, the better. You know, we talked about habits. But it's it's it is a life journey.
Unknown Speaker 37:27
Right? Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 37:28
it's not something you do one time. So you really do need to make habits around it. And you need to pro Yeah, comes in this place. And you need to make make things easy. So things don't start to pile up again. Exactly. And
Unknown Speaker 37:39
that goes back to also when we talked about making healthy choices to help. Yep, exactly. If you can organize, if you can organize in a way And have you know labels on things, if you can organize your refrigerator was in clear bins with healthy snacks, all this all this benefit your life. Like if you think about decluttering an organization, like if you weren't decluttered if you were organized, and you had this extra time, what are the things that you could do with your life? What are the other things you can enjoy
Unknown Speaker 38:07
frees up time and then and then you you begin to spend more time on the things that are more valuable to you. Right. So again, know your values, right? I think that really, really is important. And I think we said it earlier you mentioned earlier to start it's a process and to start small. Yes. And I think that is a great place to start. And then when you do reach a milestone or you do do something or you get rid of that, you know junk mail,
Unknown Speaker 38:33
celebrate. Yeah, do that dance dance, go Hey, I did this. Yeah,
Unknown Speaker 38:38
you know, and I think that you will continue Jerry was
Unknown Speaker 38:43
doing Eric guitar, by the way was
Unknown Speaker 38:48
well, one other thing I wanted to say and I know we talked a little bit about Fung Shui that in Chinese medicine, stagnation is a big it creates a lot of conditions in Chinese medicine or Eastern medicine and when you have stagnation, there's frustration there is irritability and it's it's like traffic right? What happens when you get stuck in traffic
Unknown Speaker 39:12
you get frustrated frustrated like road rage some people get angry right
Unknown Speaker 39:16
your house is the same way and when you think about energy flowing through your house in your it's cluttered there's stagnation, there's no energy flow there's no
Unknown Speaker 39:25
energy here
Unknown Speaker 39:26
and it can't so you know whether you believe in Fung Shui or not. There is this flow that happens in your house as well as in your body when you open that front door. So if you're opening that front door and there's good energy flowing in, it's not going to get anywhere
Unknown Speaker 39:42
exactly that's the whole point of like a really nice entryway. Yeah, you know or even like your mud room. Let's say you have a mudroom if you come in through the garage. I know that can be a space of big clutter. I think that too. When you come in, the first thing that you see to me needs to be Something that's nice because it's it's the first thing you see when you calm is the last thing you see when you leave and that and then you don't want that having bad energy or putting you in a bad mood or making you think about you know what you need to be doing like I really need to clean this area or it makes you stressed I mean that's not the first and last thing that you want to see so I think making it at least organized and look nice but the the whole function a thing I do believe in like I
Transcribed by https://otter.ai