I work out of an office. Most days, it’s just me. However, from time to time, I host a few others.
For that reason, I keep a set of four coffee mugs around. I drink coffee most of the day when I’m alone. And if there’s a meeting happening, I’m certainly brewing a fresh pot for anyone who wants it.
Yesterday, I noticed something out of the ordinary, despite working alone all week, all four of the coffee mugs were out of the cabinet.
One was next to me with fresh coffee, two were dirty in the sink, and the fourth was sitting on the counter, next to the sink.
It has been a couple busy days—the first week of the Uncluttered Course always requires a significant amount of my energy. And we just started up this Tuesday. Because my days have been full, I’ve fallen into a common trap:
I didn’t need to wash my coffee mug because there was a clean one still in the cabinet, so I just left it out dirty.
We do this all the time.
When life is not busy, or my attention is not divided, it only takes a few short seconds to hand wash my coffee mug and put it away before I leave the office. So I often do.
But during this busy week, when my attention was divided, and there were other things on my agenda, it became too easy to leave the cleaning task undone—even though it would have only taken a few seconds.
This is how our excess possessions lead to a messy home. When we have more than we need, there is less incentive to clean up along the way. And when our attention is pulled from one thing to another, this excess gets left out all too often.
Much of the mess in our home is a result of having too much stuff.
Just think of the different ways this plays out in our homes:
• We leave dirty dishes in our sink because we can grab a new one from the cabinet.
• We don’t clean our pots and pans or spatulas because it’s easy to grab a different one.
• We leave out the blanket in the living room because there’s another one in the bedroom.
• Our dirty clothes piles grow taller and taller as long as there’s something clean to wear in the closet.
• Our kids leave their toys out, all over the house, because there’s always another one they haven’t played with yet.
• Rubber bands and pens and paper clips collect in our junk drawer—way more than we’ll ever use.
• Coats gather by the backdoor because everyone in the house is wearing a different one today.
• Books and magazines and newspapers pile up on our counter because there’s always a new one to read.
• Phone charger cords can be seen in every room of the house because there’s always another one in the room we are heading to.
• Our linen closet shelves fill up with towels and sheets because there are so many that rarely get used.
• And the list goes on and on: tools, board games, yarn, shoes, sporting equipment, DVDs, video game supplies, purses…
For me, in this specific scenario, it didn’t take long to wash and dry my coffee mugs and put them back where they belong—eliminating the small mess.
But in our homes, it’s a different story.
The average American home has over 300,000 items inside of it. That’s a whole lot of excess… and a lot of mess because of it.
If your house is messy all the time, maybe you’ve got too much stuff inside it. Owning less will help you keep it clean, among other benefits.
Maria Pinto says
I got a small coffee pot named Capresso and it comes with a reusable wire filter basket. For those of you who have a pot that requires a filter they have reusable cloth and hemp filters too.
Cassandra says
ohhh I didn’t know they made reusable cloth filters, thanks for sharing!
Norma Gutierrez says
This is the very reason when given new dishes, I took out only 3 of each.
Now if I could only get my son to clean up after himself.
Jeanne says
Hi Joshua,
I’ve been a follower now for a couple of years and really enjoy your posts. They have challenged me to think, but more importantly, to act. It’s been truly life changing.
Here’s my “challenge” back to you: taking the time to wash that cup is a form of mental decluttering; a rote task to engage in after all that brain work. You recently featured Meg Holstein on your site and she wrote about a book called “Rest: Why you get more done when you work less.” I am one chapter in and it’s powerful and profound. Sometimes, on really intense workdays, I save all my dirty dishes (gasp!) and wash them at the end of the day, focusing on the sound of the water, the smell of the detergent, and the satisfaction of literally seeing a task accomplished (which can be hard to see in virtual world work.) I am resting my brain and decluttering my mind through this simple act. I wouldn’t dare do this on a daily basis but every now and then it’s a sanity-saver. :)
Here’s to life-long learning and growth! Thanks for your guidance.
Becky says
So very true. Your words of advice are always so full of wisdom snd useful.
Ma levert says
Good habit building, been trying with my kitchen to keep counter de cluttered and on top of dishes. Rinse my coffee mug every time and my huge tea mug. Each time I look I manage to move more off counters, almost all free space now. At same time I am instilling same habits jnto my 2 grandkids, 7 and 5 living with me. I am struggling to climb out from under years of excess shopping including my mother’s clutter after she passed. It’s easier to keep good habits cleaning up behind myself but will take years to de clutter.
Every evening I watch minimalists videos on tv while sorting stuff. It’s helping keep my on the right path.
Brenda Ziegler says
I needed to read this today!! We have so many coffee cups! My husband has so many cups from his organization & I can’t get rid of them. We even have boxes of them downstairs. I have so much stuff from my business as well that I need to do something with too!
Bronwyn says
Could you donate anything to a shelter or the like?
Sandra Pinnix says
Brenda, There are many great organizations where you could donate some of your “excess” items. I did this and found it not only liberating; but, also very gratifying, knowing my “excess” was going to help others who have a genuine need.
Susan says
Good lord: I sit here with dishes all over the place since I haven’t done them in three days, and I said just the other day, “I need to buy more spoons and forks.” Ummm, NO, I need to keep up with the damn dishes.
Dana Snyder says
You will feel so much better if you do! Wishing you the best!!
Sara says
Excellent eye opener! Love it.
Joshua… you don’t use a keurig instead of a pot? It’s so much easier!!
joshua becker says
No, I much prefer freshhly-brewed coffee. And don’t get me started on the amount of clutter from those things :)
Mark Tagawa says
Have you considered a pour over? I’ve been doing pour overs recently, and they turn out quite well.
Judy says
Agree with you 100% on the coffee thing! I like a fresh brewed pot! And it is much more affordable too—- and don’t get ME started on the landfill waste from the pods!
Angie says
Not to mention the amount of waste from the little plastic cartons! There are reusable ones, but I imagine most people use the disposable ones.
Natalie says
I was so happy when mine broke! I barely drink coffee! Only reason I had it is because we live in beautiful SoCal and get a lot of visitors from the Midwest & I wanted to have coffee to offer them! What a people pleaser! So yes! I was so relieved when ours broke!
NICOLE M HOBSON says
I really like this site. Every article I read brings some new small piece of joy and common sense to me. The coffee mugs is a difficult one for me. Mine are all hand made by a different artisan. Reading this had made me, once again, reassess my coffee mug situation. And my linen closet. And my coat closet.
Thank you for the continual insite.
Christy Blackman says
As usual, your post comes at a perfect time…I’m in the middle of having new floors installed so my “stuff” is everywhere. Mostly out in the garage and on the back patio. I thought I was doing a fairly good job of decluttering and minimizing things(I’ve been at it for three years)until I had to move it all out of the house. My goal is to only move half of it back into the house.
Kari says
Hi Christy,
This is awesome. During a 3 year period I moved about 4 times. Each time I had to re-evaluate whether I wanted/needed something. That’s the thing about moving stuff out of your place. You realize how much stuff you actually have. It’s usually more than what you thought, and then can’t believe all that fit in that small space. =)
Good luck!
Melissa says
Thanks for the checklist, I am a check list nerd and enjoyed reading over them.