Millennial Meg has a confession: she has historically been devoid of systems. Her mail piles up on a flat surface by the door, her shoes spill out onto the floor, and she describes herself as a “go where the wind blows” kind of person. That is lovely and whimsical, she says, until it comes to running a home. So she asked Dawn of The Minimal Mom for help, and Dawn gave her time, attention and some very specific advice. Her new motto: who is she to argue with Dawn?
The first thing Dawn noticed was the shoes, and the answer was not a better shoe rack.
The Shoe Test That Costs Nothing
Meg’s entry area had too many shoes for the space, so they kept ending up on the floor rather than in the little individual cubbies. Dawn’s advice: look at the pairs shoved in the back of the cubbies. The shoes on the floor are the ones getting worn. The ones jammed at the back are not. That is good data, so move those out. Extra shoes can live in bedrooms, leaving room by the door for the pairs that are actually in use.
Meg took it seriously. She admitted she is not exactly stepping out on the town in Crocs, so she did not need four different pairs. She donated the oldest pair and a second pair she did not need, keeping her black and purple ones, which she really wears. Flip-flops that cost about $5 at Old Navy and that she never wore went too. She kept her rain boots, her workout shoes and the pair she wears all the time. Her daughter’s sandals and rain boots were moved to the daughter’s room because they will not be needed soon, and her husband’s shoes have their own drawers.
Dawn’s second point was about real estate. The space by the door is prime, so the fancy shoes, which Meg wears once or twice a year, belong up in her bedroom closet. Meg even noticed that putting shoes in the new spot was easier than where they had been.
The Clutter Catcher Basket
Next came something many of us could use: a clutter catcher basket. Meg grabbed a bushel-and-a-quarter basket for $2 at Target and set it up for homeless items, like a pair of gloves nobody could identify.
Dawn said a basket can actually be better than a drawer, because you can move it around and it is contained. The idea is that it reduces the number of big decisions you have to make in the moment. Instead of puzzling over whose gloves they are, you drop them in the basket, then on the weekend ask your husband to look through it.
But there is a catch, and Meg learned it on her journey: you have to follow up. Check the basket once a week, and see whether what is in it is really what you want to keep.
Flat Surfaces Collect Clutter
Dawn also pointed out how much “inventory” comes into a home each week, and that flat surfaces are where it collects. Her fix is to give that stuff a fast, easy place to go. And some of it never needs to be kept. Meg had a promotional hat she was about to put away “where the hats go.” Dawn’s reaction: why? If nobody has ever worn it, throw it out. Meg tossed it, along with a Milwaukee Brewers hat she bought, despite caring nothing about baseball, and a promotional hat her husband had gotten. She kept the one baseball cap she actually wears.
A Mail System in Bins
The mail was next. Meg’s system has a few parts:
- Open it right away and throw out the junk. Meg opened a “very important” envelope and found it was just another credit card offer.
- An action item bin for anything that needs a decision or task, such as consolidating her retirement accounts.
- A “time will tell” bin that stacks with the action bin, for things she is not sure about.
- A set time each week to go through the action bin, ideally with her husband. Sunday morning or evening could work, so the bin does not become another beautiful place to store clutter.
- A backup container, about $5 or $6 from Target, in a spot near the door, so that if the system fails on a busy day, mail still has a home rather than spreading across the counters and the car.
Why Procrastination Is the Real Clutter
Meg said she has known for five or six years that she should consolidate her retirement accounts. The reason she has not, she explained, is that she has imagined it as a long, painful and confusing process. The reality, she suspects, is that the app her mom recommended will make it simple. She cited Dana K. White’s book on procrastination, which talks about this very problem: dread is often bigger than the task.
She was also candid about how she feels. When she printed Dawn’s household management binder, she nearly cried, because she realized how much she would like to feel organized, follow through and not have 16 tabs open in her head. Dawn did not ask her to promote the binder, she says. She is simply sharing how it felt.
Borrow Her Fixes
- Check the back of your shoe cubbies. If shoes have not moved in months, they can go.
- Put rarely worn shoes in the bedroom closet and keep the prime spot for daily pairs.
- Buy one cheap basket for homeless items and empty it every week.
- Do not store promo hats, tote bags and freebies. Throw them away.
- Sort mail once, standing up, near the trash can.
- Put the next step on the calendar, whatever it is, and be kind to yourself.
Meg said she will be back the next week with her daughter’s big bedroom makeover, and plenty more decluttering to do before then.
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