Some closets hold clothes. Others hold everything that has nowhere else to go. For one mom of two young boys, the primary bedroom closet had become the second kind, and she decided it was time to open the door and show the world.
Hannah, who posts on TikTok as @heyhannahlee, says she has spent the past year documenting her escape from survival mode as a mom of two boys, four and under. In her latest video she announces that she is getting rid of over half of their belongings. “I think people thought I was kidding,” she says, “but we’re on day two, and we have a long way to go.”
The family lives in what she calls a very normal 2,000 square foot home. With four people, she says, you might think that is plenty of space, but they are bursting at the seams because they have way too much stuff.
@heyhannahlee
The Everything Closet
Hannah “hesitantly” welcomes viewers into her primary bedroom closet, which she calls probably the second worst spot in the entire house. She says she is a little embarrassed to show it, but she wants to be honest about what a house under pressure really looks like.
The closet acts as the family’s everything closet. It stores their linens, their medicine, their luggage, and, as she puts it, “clearly all of my extra home decor” that she needs to finally part with. There is another problem too. Thanks to what she calls a fabulous builder, all of the rods in the closet are currently falling down. She and her husband have done their best to reinforce them.
She has already picked her reward for finishing the whole house. Once the decluttering is done, she wants to spruce up this closet and maybe add a few built-ins. That goal is why she is taking this room so seriously, and she wants to finish it as fast as she can. She is desperate to get the space back to a functional place where she does not feel stressed every time she walks in.
Donating Without Second Thoughts
The decor was the biggest category to go. Hannah says she is not even thinking twice about her donate pile. Her reasoning is simple: the items can better serve someone else somewhere else, and they are not serving her when they are shoved into a corner or a closet.
She also has a plan for where the pieces will land. She has sisters, neighbors, and friends who would all love cute home decor spread throughout their houses. In her words, it does not all need to be sitting in her closet.
The emotional heart of her video comes when she explains why this matters. She says it is overwhelming to try to manage so many things because there is only one of her and “a million of them.” Any parent of small children can relate to that math.
By the end of the day she had cleared half of the closet. She shows a before picture to remind viewers what she started with, then the progress. “I only got to half the closet today, but I am honestly so proud,” she says. She adds that it is really nice to be able to see exactly what they have. She also shows the bins and baskets she is keeping to organize the rest of the rooms, her donate pile, and the project waiting for tomorrow.
How To Tackle Your Own Catch-All Closet
A closet like Hannah’s is common in homes with young kids, and it is a great place to practice decluttering because the rewards are so visible. These steps can help you make progress in a single day.
- Empty one half at a time. Hannah stopped when half the closet was done, and she still felt proud. A partial win beats a stalled project.
- Sort into four groups: keep, donate, relocate, and trash. Items that belong in another room should leave the closet right away.
- Make the donate decision quickly. If a piece is only taking up space, someone you know may enjoy it more.
- Keep containers for last. Once you know what is left, pick bins and baskets that fit the actual stuff, not the stuff you used to have.
- Photograph the before and after. Seeing the change is a strong motivator for the next shelf.
Why Moms Are Letting Go Of Half
Cutting a household’s belongings by more than half sounds dramatic, but the logic holds up for families with little ones. Fewer toys, fewer clothes, and fewer decorations mean less to pick up, less to wash, and fewer decisions at the end of an exhausting day. Many parents report that the difference is felt almost right away in the daily routine.
It also helps to remember that stuff is easy to replace and time with small children is not. Hannah’s year of documenting her journey out of survival mode shows what the goal really is. She is not chasing a magazine look. She wants a home that functions and a room she can walk into without a knot in her stomach.
If your own everything closet looks similar, pick a date, clear a little space, and start with the pieces you already know can go. Day two may be hard, but as Hannah shows, every shelf you finish makes day three easier. Decor can find a new home with a sister, neighbor, or friend, and the room you get back is worth far more than what you give away.
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