Organizing devices are actually clutter
Buying more stuff just leads to...having more stuff.
Welcome to those just joining us from Culture Study! I’m so happy you’re here. As you get settled in, you can learn more about what to expect from Your House Machine here.
Here is a proposal that might upset you: Respect the amount of storage space your home offers you. Stop trying to add more space with extra bookshelves, dressers, side tables, and organizing do-dads. Your closets and cabinets are what they are, let us live in their reality.
I realize this may be controversial (and rich) coming from someone who lives in a multi-bedroom detached home. But hear me out.
No matter how big or small, your home has finite space available. We’ve all taken trips where we experience the thrill of living out of a suitcase, realizing that we don’t actually need 98% of what we have in our house.
Yet at home we fall under the spell of our stuff. We buy a second dresser to hold our partner’s clothes because there simply isn’t space in the first dresser. We notice that actually an armoire would totally fit in the living room if we move the couch. Maybe we could get a corner bookshelf thingie since that corner is just sitting there empty. Think of all the things we could store!
The problem with this approach is it sparks induced demand. This economics concept holds that when you increase the supply of something at a low cost, demand will rise to meet it. This is often applied in urban planning—building a bigger freeway leads more people to choose to drive to work. Creating more public transit options leads to more people riding the bus.
Similarly, if you add a cabinet in your dining room, before you know it it’ll fill up with stuff. Then you get another cabinet and it too will fill with stuff. Now you have clutter plus two clunky pieces of furniture and you’ve solved nothing. Alas!
Here’s an example from my life.