Surface clutter and deep-seated clutter
I woke up after Christmas day like most self-respecting adults in the western world, my house was a mess.
This was interesting on a few fronts:
I write about organising and decluttering.
We had a very small Christmas this year.
All four of us had decluttered the house before Christmas.
All of this got me thinking: Why was my house still cluttered?
There are different types of clutter surface clutter and deep-seated clutter.
Half an hour later most of the house looked presentable again and I had found the answer! I think there are different types of clutter: surface clutter which is easy to remove and deep-seated clutter that hangs around your living spaces for years.
Surface clutter
This is stuff that you haven’t put away quick enough in my case it was wrapping paper, boxes, a few plates from the day before and we were halfway through a board game. All of this combined made the living room look cluttered, it was however all surface clutter. As soon as we put things in the bin, the dishwasher and got back to the boardgame, the house was clutter free again.
Overall, I think there are very few homes where there isn’t surface clutter at regular intervals. Which makes sense if you think about it, you have a group of people doing things, living live this produces movement of stuff. Even if everyone is keen (or trained) to clean up you will still see live is lived in this space. Personally, I wouldn’t be too hard on yourself for this type of clutter. Ask the others in your home to put 20 minutes of effort in the spaces and before you know it, your home is back to clutter free.
During busy weekdays or weeks when everyone is at school or work you can do these types of clutter catch ups daily, several times a day or weekly as long as it gets done on a schedule that is manageable for your house and your families (or your sanities) needs.
Deep-seated clutter
This is the type of clutter that has been around your spaces for years. It is represented through the magazines you have accumulated but never go through, the books you wanted to read but are no longer interested in. But it gets better than those examples, deep-seated clutter are the VHS tapes, the electronic cables you have no idea about, the paperwork that sends you shivers down your spine or the boxes in the garage which were last opened 10 years ago when you moved in.
Deep-seated clutter takes much more:
Energy
Time
Thinking
Planning
Decluttering
Organising
That is why we tend to put it off.
Most houses have surface and deep-seated clutter
You can have a mixture of these two types of clutter in your home. My suggestion: keep on top of the surface clutter and when the time, energy levels etc. is right start decluttering your more complicated spaces.
When you are ready have a look at the Home Organising and Paperwork Courses
We offer them both in a monthly subscription service, so you can work your way through the deep-seated clutter in your life one day at a time.
