Why is it that no matter the size of our home—be it tiny studio apartment, single family home, or mansion—we seem to invariably use up all available storage space?

It brought to mind my middle school science class where I learned that gas will always expand to fill whatever container it’s in. This is kinetic molecular theory. The molecules aren’t bound up with each other so they’ll wander off to fill the space that’s available.

This is what happens with our stuff. When you notice there’s space for X item, you put it there. Then Y item joins it, and so on, until you end up with a chaotic cabinet/closet/whatever. This absolutely happens to even me.

Let us call this natural phenomenon kinetic storage theory.

Kinetic storage theory is why it’s important to containerize things and approach your storage spaces very carefully. At the outset, know that every…

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Some of my favorite ways to digitally declutter are to prune your phone’s photo collection and organize your financial documents. Today I am sharing a few other ideas for further digital decluttering. It’s so easy for clutter to build up in your digital life, and clearing it out has similar benefits as clearing out house clutter.

1. Clean up your contact list

A month ago, I had — I kid you not — over 3,000 contacts in my phone. What anarchy!

I somehow have never lost my contacts since college…they just grow and grow as I move to new phones. At one point, a bizarre Gmail setting created a contact for every single email I sent, ballooning my contacts beyond any hope of management.

Beyond any hope, that is, until last week. I was grousing yet again about my unwie…

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Have you ever noticed how many wires are in the sky in most cities? It’s kinda nuts. They’re everywhere! Wires upon wires upon wires.

I am so grateful for the modern technology and convenience these wires offer…but what I recently realized is that some of these wires are unnecessary. They’re old connections for cable and phone companies and the wires DO NOTHING.

Similarly, you may have old satellite dishes in your neighborhood. Back in my day, it was the height of sophistication to get satellite TV. TV from SPACE, people! No one could resist.

But now, at least in my neighborhood, every single house has at least one old dish hanging around, being ugly, doing nothing.

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I come to you today from the rubble of a state tax audit (cue the scary music). I may be worse for wear, but we thankfully emerged unscathed with no adjustments. My CPA and I did a (very mild-mannered) victory dance when we received the final decision.

Before I black this unpleasant months-long experience out of my mind forever, I want to share some CPA-approved lessons I learned.

What I Learned From My Tax Audit

1. Digitize everything. You don’t need to hang onto physical copies, and in fact digital versions are preferable because receipts fade with time. The decluttering fairy is pleased with this news.

   I use Dropbox* to store all my files in the cloud. The Dropbox app has a “scanner” function that turns your phone’s camera into a surprisingly great document scanner. I drop everything into folders organized by year:

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This topic interests me because I notice it’s trendy to complain about “adulting” and I see how hard it is for many to run a home. It’s not easy to do, so this is no criticism; I just wonder if we’d all have an easier time if we actually learned these important adult skills in school. Like people used to—or at least, some people sometimes used to.

Additionally, women often struggle under the mental load, the second shift, invisible labor, whatever you want to call it. The administrative work of being a person and running a household is severely under-acknowledged and under-valued. Would explicit Home Ec, done right, help with this?

Part of my mission in writing here is to professionalize the very real work involved in running a household. This not fluffy stuff; it’s hard work worth investing time and effort into getting right. The impact on home life, and by extension society, can be enormous.

Turns out the initial founders of Home Economics had a similar idea. This diverse group included abolitionists, feminists, wives of prominent scientists, among others, who aimed to spread best practices (sometimes problematically) and professionalize the work that women contributed in the home (and back then, it was always women).

I realize the way Home Ec was implemented in practice wasn’t always ideal. In my mind, an ideal Home Ec class would include things like:

• Household safety. We require restaurant workers to take a food handling class, but why not teach everyone these important skills? Also, things like how to maintain healthy air quality indoors, check for gas leaks, etc.

• Best practices for the daily operation of a house. How to do laundry, how often to change sheets and towels, how to safely and thoroughly clean a bathroom, and so on. Include ecologically mindful practices.

• Cooking instruction.

• Executive functioning. Some schools are starting to explicitly teach this, but it seems geared towards remembering homework more than remembering to take out the trash.

• Personal finance. Even just teaching the concept of compounding would be revolutionary.

• Cultural education. It endlessly expands my worldview to see and learn about other cultures and how they do things. (Small example: Many countries don’t use clothes dryers.)

My gut says we’d all benefit from such a class, but I also see it could be a minefield (like in the past when it was only offered it to girls).

I thought I’d open up a discussion with you thoughtful readers.

Do Share

• Did you get Home Ec in school, or something similar? What was it like?

• Do you see value in explicitly teaching these sorts of things? What do you wish you’d learned in school?

• What intel can you share about Home Ec’s modern incarnation (I’m told it’s “Family and Consumer Sciences” now)? Do you know of schools offering this class?

Leave a comment

Oldies but Goodies from the Archive

Let’s kick things off with a reader question.

Q: I moved into my house with great systems five years ago, and it’s time to review and tweak and declutter the inevitable slide. My question is about this question “yes but IF I do this thing again, this stuff will be vital”. I have a beautifully complete box of cake decorating supplies, and very occasionally make a spectacular layer cake, but definitely not often enough to warrant keeping the stuff. I have a CPAP machine I no longer need, but what if I need it again in the future? Those things are $5000! And on and on. I feel happy and relieved to move stuff on from the category “stuff from a chapter that is no longer current”, but what about the stuff where the chapter could return? And it would be expensive if it did? Or the stuff would make life way easier if it did? - Katie

A: I spend a lot of time reminding people that decluttering is the only non-negotiable part of home organization. Getting rid of things is both hard and essential.

As a rule of thumb, my advice is to get rid of things you haven’t used in the past year/season (see: the 90/90 rule). The pain of continuing to store something with the related mental load, space and energy requirement, is generally less than the monetary cost of *possibly* replacing it in X years’ time.

It’s ok to skip that equation.

The main point is that either the cost of replacing the item AND/OR the likelihood of needing to replace it needs to be pretty high to justify keeping something.

(I don’t focus on the cost of storage size because I find the cost of storing stuff is always higher than people estimate.)

Our reader gave one example of a $5,000 CPAP machine1. That’s definitely something I’d carefully consider before tossing out. Only our fair reader knows the likelihood of needing it again, but the cost sure of replacement sure is high.

Another common example is baby equipment for families that aren’t done—or aren't sure if they’re done—having babies. People usually keep all their baby gear till they’re totally done, but the stuff takes up serious space (don’t even get me started on baby equipment clutter…). The pain is real!

Only you know how heavily to weight the cost (monetary and otherwise) and likelihood of needing a replacement.

But let’s assume some of these items are worth holding on to. You’re not done yet!

The next task is to reduce the cost of storage as much as possible. Storage can be a slippery slope indeed so proceed with extreme caution.

Clutter begets clutter, so hanging on to one unused item can quickly turn into hanging onto 10 unused items. And once it’s a pile, it’s easier to just stick it in the back of a deep closet and not to look at it. And then you’ll have created the dreaded storage black hole.

Some tips to keep mindful retention from turning into a black hole of regret:

1. Keep the item in a visible, well lit, clean part of your home. Black holes thrive in dark, dusty areas.

2. Label when you stored it, and even note down a date when you’d like to dispose of it if it hasn’t been used. Example: “Stored 5/2025. Dispose of by 5/2028.”

3. Go through your storage areas regularly and re-evaluate what’s there. Life and needs change all the time.

Your Turn

Would you keep the items the reader asked about? What are the things you agonize over? Share anything I missed in the comments!

Leave a comment

A Note

I love reader questions because they make me think about my systems as applied to someone else’s quandary. I never would’ve written about mail clutter or laundry systems (for instance) had readers not asked me to help.

You can message me anytime with your questions, and as always I’m available for a Zoom or in-person (in Portland) organizing sesh.

I’m a fan of categorization. Of classification. Of anything that helps the world feel more organized. Clearly. Don’t even get me started on Myers-Briggs.

As we go back to school and/or ponder the remainder of the year, I’m here with a gentle reminder that there are distinct ways to care for your home, and it’s vital to understand which one you’re doing.

Often when facing a disordered space, the lines get blurry and you just go in bushwhack style. There is a time and place for this chaos method, FOR SURE.

But when you have a little time and space, it’s helpful to know your objective so that you can, you know, achieve it. This is also an excuse for me to heavily link to some juicy posts, so let’s get to it!

Tidying

This is picking this up and putting them back in their homes. It is NOT figuring out new homes for items (that’s organizing). I include resetting your space and running your daily processes in this category.

Remember that the goal isn’t “tidy” at all times;…

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My daughter’s bedroom closet is really narrow and deep (a shape we all know I struggle with), and I was never able to figure out how to set it up for clothes storage. This room was my WFH office during COVID, and then it became a room for cast-off toys.

Last week I decided to turn it into a LEGO room to support my daughter’s burgeoning interest.

Below is where we started. “Art table” in foreground, LEGO heap and random discarded items in background. Lots of scraps of paper and debris on the floor at all times.

It was always super messy, and the LEGO pieces would get everywhere. Never one to let a mess persist, I hung up a curtain so I didn’t have to look at it. (When you can’t get control of the mess, just don’t look at the mess, amiright? I have a history of deploying curtains when all else fails.)

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1. They don’t use

2. They have no plans to use

3. Are taking up valuable space.

Why do we hold onto things like this with no obvious utility?

Here’s what hooks so many of us: the idea that the item could be valuable.

People will go generations passing around stuff no one uses, no one plans to use, yet no one can bear to get rid of for this reason.

I’m here today with a reframe: They are asking the wrong question.

The question isn’t: But what if it’s valuable?

The question should be: What’s the alternative, realistically?

That grandfather clock that no longer works that a long-ago ancestor brought over on a boat (you think) might be worth a lot. If you’re going to use and love it in your home, wonderful. Problem solved.

But if not, realistically here’s what needs to happen for you to capture some hypothetical value from the clock:

1. Locate a repair shop that can fix the antique clock

2. Figure out how to transport huge thing to said shop

3. After it’s working …

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Mine is this phrase. I’ve had a hard time articulating exactly why, so I’m going to attempt to work it out in this post.

Here’s the phrase: “We have space for it, why not keep it?”

This phrase might enter your purview after you’ve found some successes with decluttering. Once you’ve achieved blissful empty space, people start coming for it. Husbands innocently suggest using said empty space to end a debate about whether or not to keep something. Family members start asking you to store things for them (Just Say No).

Now, I’m a huge fan of using your space as a limiting factor. If you don’t have room for X, then you simply can’t hang onto X. I go on about that here:

But the opposite idea—using your space as a reason to keep something—is anathema to me. I feel its wrongness deep in my bones.

Here’s an example. We have a Victorian home which isn’t Painted-Lady-intricate, but it has a lot of different paint colors going on, both inside and out. Between that and a rental property, there are a lot of paint colors to keep track of. We’ve generally kept leftover paint to use for touchups and such. Normal stuff…

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But lo, there is a lot to unpack when it comes to extra-deep cabinets and the black holes of unknown clutter they harbor.

Readers chimed in with tons of ideas for using these spaces (the comment section of this newsletter is truly wonderful). I decided to combine these ideas with my own to create an ultimate guide for making use of long/deep spaces. Think: extra-deep cabinets, under-stairs storage, under-sink areas, crawlspaces, and weirdly shaped closets.

Without further ado, here we go!

1. Store a bunch of the same thing. Nothing can get lost when you know there’s only more of the same in the rear depths of the cabinet. Toilet paper is a fan favorite for this.

2. Store single large items. Reader sugge…

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I can fit so many things here!

I’ll totally remember what I have in the back, no problemo.

Who wouldn’t want a luxuriously deep cabinet? But the reality slowly creeps in, and before you know it the back of that extra-deep cabinet is a dreaded black hole. Items go in, but never come out. Your knees quake at the thought of traversing its depths to discover what lies within.

I know this cycle well because I just recovered from 5 years with a black hole tool cabinet in our basement.

(And before you roll your eyes, I see you small space dwellers thinking you’d give anything for an extra-deep cabinet. I know, I KNOW. I’m spoiled.)

The tool cabinet started innocently enough. When we moved in, I dutifully sorted all our tools into bespoke containers, favoring old yogurt tubs and recycled cardboard boxes due to my anti-bin beliefs. Ever the good girl, I labeled everything as though a label could resist the force of a black hole.

Look, a black hole exerts 1.6 trillion times the gravitational pull we experience on Earth. My Sharpie didn’t stand a chance.

So before I knew it, my husband and I stopped looking more than 6 inches into the cabinet. If we needed something, it better be within that first 6 inches. Otherwise, we’d head to the hardware store.

The black hole just kept swallowing things until I finally couldn’t take it anymore. Most people feel calm if a quick visual scan shows a tidy home. But not me. I feel best when storage areas that no one ever sees are in order. The inside of the cabinet under the bathroom sink needs to be tidy. Ditto the basement storage areas. To me, clutter in these hidden spaces feels like an invisible cancer I know is growing and metastasizing. (Yes, I’m in therapy.)

I finally tackled it a couple weeks ago. It took several short sessions over two days because the decision fatigue was intense. So many little decisions about random screws and scraps from projects. It is very true that clutter represents delayed decisions.

I brought out a folding table and laid everything out for sorting and tossing.

Disturbingly, I uncovered…

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If we were to treat our spaces like the containers they are and respect their limits at all times, this wouldn’t necessarily be a problem. (Shoutout to Dana White’s Container Concept)

However, we don’t do this. We fill our closets, drawers, and bins to their limit.

And then we add something new and our whole system breaks down because the new thing has nowhere to go. So begins a pile, or else we buy some organizing doo-dad to Tetris in more stuff.

I’ve spent a decent amount of time in other people’s pantries over the past couple years and it’s interesting to me how people store vastly different amounts of dry goods. Sometimes it’s barely enough to fill a drawer. Other times it’s huge closetfuls (lest we forget Khloe Kardashian’s tower of cookies).

There is no “correct”…

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Something that keeps coming up in our comment threads are questions and often frustrations about cohabiting with people who have differing ideas about how to take care of their things. A common refrain:

These systems sound great but what if it’s seemingly impossible to get my partner to follow any kind of system or pick up their things?

This is such a loaded topic. The struggles people face and the deep wounds they feel are palpable in the comments. It’s tempting to not address it at all because feelings run high, but I do think sharing can help people feel less alone at a minimum. And maybe some ideas will prove helpful.

I don’t have the cure-all (AT ALL), but I can share ho…

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He is sometimes called the first management consultant, which was also my first job title out of college. I’m clearly A Type (or is it Type A?).

It’s no real surprise that my approach to household management stems from the same sort of engineering concepts Taylor studied.

I’m thinking about this in particular after returning home from a 2.5 day solo trip away. My husband ably held down the fort, but I returned to a house where processes hadn’t been run for a couple days.

The processes I’m talking about aren’t just cooking and laundry — that’s obvious stuff. It’s the sub…

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Here’s the backstory: I have some good friends in Portland who bought an adorable Victorian a few years ago. Our kids play together, so I’m over there a lot.

One day they included me in an ongoing couples debate—you know the kind—about whether to add a powder room in a hallway area. They thought maybe they didn’t have space becuase they use that area as an entry landing zone.

I could see a solution to this quandry and was itching to show them. Luckily, they agreed to partner with me for 2 hours one day to make this vision a reality. Here’s how it went down, including the principles we applied.

Principle: One place for each type of thing

I noticed that this family had 4 different places they were putting coats, and 3 places for shoes. With my mantra of one place for each category guiding the way, it was clear how we could consolidate their entryway system and free up a lot of space.

We were able to consolidate shoes to just two spots: the entryway built-in bench for the dad and kid’s shoes, and the hallway closet for the mom’s shoes.

I’m a fan of each family member having a specific spot for their shoes, rather than a grab-bag for the whole family where everyone has to dig through each other’s shoes. Which leads me to the next principle…

Principle: Don’t let stuff block important items

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Analysis paralysis can stop us from even getting started. We ask ourselves:

• What’s the most important category to start with?

• …Or should I go room by room?

• How long will this take me?

• Should I make a big pile of things to sort, or just select the items I want to declutter?

• How will I figure out where to take all the things I need to get rid of?

I clearly love a solid gameplan. Indeed, that’s what I often do with clients in our virtual 1:1 sessions. It can be helpful to build a strategy and step by step plan before diving into a big organizing project. (If you’d like my help planning out your holiday organizing project, grab an hour with me!)

At the same time, if you find yourself endlessly swirling in the gameplan stage, I say skip it. Just start somewhere. If every…

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My mom visited recently. She is a next-level expert on cleanliness and WILL find that bit of dust behind your dresser, no matter how thoroughly you think you’ve cleaned. She’s truly gifted at cleaning and commits to it with her whole heart. One of my strongest childhood memories is of her cleaning the kitchen floor on hands and knees (“the only way to really see all the dirt!”). Somehow I did not inherit her gift for cleaning. I guess with the next generation it genetically morphs into a love of organizing.

However, sometimes my commitment to organizing is hard to see. For instanc…

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Then the unthinkable happened.

My husband ::gasp:: dropped the box.

The box became the seat of anarchy. Nails and screws mixed together, thumbtacks strewn about, wall anchors sprinkled about. A true horror show.

I lived with that for months. Technically, the box was perfectly usable. But every time I opened the box (why am I constantly in need of nails and screws? I do not know), instead of joy I experienced a pang of annoyance.

This week, I decided enough was enough. I finally did something about it.

I dumped out the whole box on the dining room table and sorted everything into piles, then put things back in discrete compartments.

It took maybe 10 minutes, but the effect will last so much longer. Peace, at last!

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• Solo parenting

• Two kids home sick

• Several overdue projects you urgently need to address

• One kid clogs the toilet

• Then you realize your packed-full dishwasher didn’t run last night because it’s broken

Life is challenging enough when all our systems are up and running, but when one fails, you start to see how vital each piece of the house machine really is.

A dishwasher is just one small part of the house, but when you rely on it working, you don’t have the space for it to stop working. Now there are no dishes for breakfast because you don’t keep a ton of extra dishes. You don’t have time to wash the dishes by hand because two sick, cranky kids need to be fed NOW. And the pileup compounds throughout the day.

After a brief (or not so brief) moment of panic, I took some deep breaths, grabbed some quick snacks for the kids, emptied the dishwasher, washed everything and put it back into the dishwasher to dry. I talked myself down by r…

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