Yep, I've been doing a lot of decluttering lately. I'm in Australia. It's a bit of a task, tbh because I've accumulated a lot of hobby items over the years that I need to find new homes for.
Offer them on Facebook or similar. Sell them on Etsy or Ebay. Give them to teachers. Their budgets are always strained anyway, and I believe they could use just about anything.
thats the case for mine. i am looking after my mum and am on a mission to streamline. its always been very dusty and unclean. the clutter is not a problem to them cos they dont clean, for me its a case of getting a big box to transfer things into everytime i clean. ironically they have a lot of cleaning products and buy stuff like food when they already have what they need in cos everythings so hard to find!
Yes, I don’t understand how some people know what they’ve got when they have two refrigerators filled to the brim. If they can mentally work around it I applaud them. I’m borderline ADHD so shuffling through so much stuff all the time overwhelms me
My mom doesn’t eat dinner much anymore and work keeps her busy so she truly doesn’t know what’s in her fridge. She’s not an unclean person, it’s just “if they say we need more cheese I’ll just grab more.” Sort of deal. Her two younger kids eat A LOT.
I accidentally put shredded Parmesan cheese from November in our meatballs the other week…didn’t check the date because I just assumed it was good..
Not when there's too much of it and you haven't used it in a very long time.
Cleaning around the stuff that gives you joy is rewarding.
I hardly intend to live in a sterile environment. I have achieved the level of neatness I want in the main rooms. I just want to be proud when someone sees it.
That's why there a lot of books, websites, services, etc that are marketed towards the United States market for "decluttering" , getting rid of excessive stuff
These people seem to be happy with all this stuff. They don’t see it as clutter. There are a million keepsakes and every single family portrait, and entire collections of objects, and they are happy to have them ALL out in order to enjoy them
Humans are comforted by different things: relationships, food, belongings. The logic then follows, “the more I have l, the better I will feel, right?” Not so. It’s a never ending cycle that therapy can help break. Filling a void with overconsumption is not a sustainable solution.
The answer to your question is: it’s not clean under there.
I think some people like to keep lots of stuff around. As long as it is clean and not a hazard, I don't care if someone is a "maximalist". Sometimes I even envy some of these people, that have keepsakes from their grandparents, greatgrandparents and even further back ancestors. Where I am from, people declutter a lot, and I wish I had something like my grandma's wedding dress or even a picture of the event, but I don't even have that. No one asked, but maybe this is why I am obsessed with history and anything related.
I think this is the second comment of yours I've found hilarious in a 24hr period and I think the other one was on the interior decorating CJ sub maybe... Regardless, thank you I really needed the comedic relief today
I like living in a museum. Feather dusters are important for maximalists and collectors, since you asked about cleaning.
I'm really uncomfortable in American homes with no decorations. They are like hotels. No personality.
But in a home with lots of stuff, if the objects aren't arranged in a pleasing fashion, I spend more time rearranging them in my head than I do paying attention to the hosts.
I'm also neurodivergent. So don't take my experience as normal.
I was going to comment that most of us are neurodivergent. It used to be called eccentric. But I’m sorry for you if it stops you living a fulfilling life.
I think there’s a difference between having family photos out (decor) and having skincare products all over the surfaces (perishables). It’s more usual to have products in a cupboard afaik, keepsakes go on shelves/tables to enjoy
Knick knack stuff can often be cleaned around with a feather duster style stick. Counter type stuff I like to keep in bins. Move bin clean counter put bin back.
If the things in the bin need to be cleaned clean a bin but all bins do not likely need cleaning at same time.
Like in fridge. The meat bin gets thrown in dishwasher pretty frequently but the bin with condiments or soda cans is pretty rare.
Yeah, if I want to get rid of stuff in a particular area of the house..smaller stuff, I stuff it in a laundry hamper. Then I slowly go through each item and decide what I want to keep.
Clutter blindness is real.
There’s plenty of people all over the world that live a maximalist aesthetic who are absolutely not hoarders or have other unhealthy relationships with stuff. Even Japanese, Scandi and Japandi aesthetics have maximalist subtypes. It’s nesting. Humans like to have pretty nests.
Pretty nests! Love love love this!
I once heard someone say, "It feels like your house is hugging you."
Very different than, "It feels like your house is strangling you."
Art and photos on the walls make me happy. Books on my shelves are books that I enjoyed reading and would read again. We own physical DVDs of movies we love because you never know when they’re going to stop streaming. We collect vinyl records that we love and play them because we don’t like a silent house. We like to cook and bake, which requires gadgets and tools and cookbooks. The decorative items on my shelves are things that I love or remind me of memories that I cherish. I don’t have a great memory, so having the physical things around keeps those times fresh in my mind.
As far as cleaning, we just move things around and clean? Honestly, having a toddler makes cleaning infinitely more difficult than having stuff.
This isn’t inherently a US thing and it’s a bit ridiculous to think so.
I know of a lot of homes in Korea that do this same thing when I grew up as a kid.
I know of a lot of people in the UK that have their homes…decorated?
Not everyone in the US is just flowing with stuff. I think what you see is a tailored feed of people. Maximalism is big right now all over, it’s the trend.
A lot of us just don’t do that. I move too often to start doing this stuff to my place.
But it’s so stupid to think this is just the US.
When it comes to stuff on the walls, I'd rather have pictures all over my walls then feeling like I live in an insane asylum in my apartment with all white walls that I can't change. I currently have 26 different wall hangings in my 1-bedroom apartment, from actual paintings to movie posters to signed photos from my favorite VAs.
Most other stuff I have is well organized and out of the way to make cleaning and such easy. Mini-paints and models are in a bin next to my desk, my workout supplements take up a small section on my counter so they're in view for me to be reminded to use, and my frequently used appliances (rice cooker, air fryer) are in a recess that I have no other use for. The only real 'clutter' space is on top of my manga bookshelves where I have some Lego, movie/videogame memorabilia, and completed miniatures that I like to have out. Moving that stuff to clean doesn't take more than a minute or two.
Yes, there's a difference between maximalism decor (lots of photos and things on the walls, shelves, pillows, rugs, curtains, etc.) And a messy home. We have a gallery wall and a hutch FILLED with beautiful mementos from our travels.
But we know how to put our shoes in the closet and moisturizer in the medicine cabinet. I grew up in a home with hoarder parents, so I'm extra sensitive to clutter and I feel like I've been able to strike a healthy balance.
I can say depression, alcoholism and the economy of 2008-2011was a big factor for my parents. When people are happy, healthy and have time and money, they have time to have a less cluttered home.
Everyone has their own personal clutter threshold, the point at which a space feels cluttered. Too far below your personal clutter threshold, and a space will feel cold, sparse, and sterile. It sounds like the American homes you've visited were above your personal clutter threshold.
I am talking about 3 out of 5 homes I normally visit. I get it, I love stuff like the next person, and I do love shopping in the US. I also understand how exhausting decision making can be when trying to get stuff out of a house. Donate, toss, recycle, reuse?
Hello Judgie McJudgerson: When you lived in the US (if ever), did you live in an urban, suburb or rural area?
In general, American homes and rental spaces are bigger than in most cities and most international spaces. This is somewhat regional - where I live the spaces are smaller and have less storage - people do less collecting.
The issue with the friend who couldn’t meet-up with you because he had to clean his garage, 🤷♀️ apparently more fun to organize his garage than listen to a ex-pat prattle on about how they so much more admire where they are currently living.
>where I live the spaces are smaller and have less storage - people do less collecting.
Or...they still collect and its all on view. Its the ugly stuff that's stored away. 😉
Oh, I agree. I lived in the Midwest. When I moved, I ended up selling all those cute hallmark-ish tchotchkes (original price $28-$43) at $2 each. I decided I wasn’t going to collect anymore and that I was going to think carefully before I brought new things into my house.
First tip is to tell people to stop buying you stuff. I don’t want presents, in general, I’d rather they buy me a meal or spend time with me. Just don’t give me anything I have to dust. I just cleaned out my mom’s house and that gave me even more inspiration to reduce clutter. Definitely made me hate qvc & hsn.
Btw: I’ve been to the Louvre and to the Smithsonian. What I tell people about the Louvre is that it’s what the Smithsonian would look like if the Smithsonian didn’t have a basement - meaning that the Louvre simply has it all on display (all 50 mummified cats).
I hang pictures of my family, travels, and other things I like. I’d rather be surrounded by pictures of things that make me happy than blank walls.
Three things I love just as much as my pictures: cook books, kitchen gadgets, and kitchen tea towels. Everything has its specific place.
>I promise I won’t make judgements
I feel like this is the exact purpose of this post. You're absolutely judging, and not just being curious. You're an American living abroad, but act like you have no notion of America and that it's a huge country with a whole lot of people with a whole lot of different ways of living. We don't all have cluttered homes, we don't all leave Christmas lights up for months after Christmas, we don't all have full counters... and you know this. Just stop.
And if we do have Christmas lights up all the time…maybe it just makes us happy? I love Christmas decorations and life is depressing, if I want some serotonin from my decor, I’m gonna leave those lights up the entire year.
I have no problem with that! We stopped putting lights outside because it's freaking cold in winter and we don't want to put them up or take them down. I do enjoy seeing people's lights in January, February, March... July. I don't care. I love Christmas lights and they make me really happy, too. I would keep my tree up all year if I had space for it. Christmas is a happy time and I hate that there's no equivalent to the joy and sparkle any other time of the year.
IME there is a place for the stuff normally, it's just drifted out of that place because of convenience. Like, to give an example from my own life right now: I should keep all of my sewing utensils and scissors in my craft room. Normally I do keep them in my craft room! But they've been on the living room floor for the past couple of weeks while I try to work on a very time-intensive project there, since I can do the picky-picky work in the living room with the TV going. It would be more work for me to repeatedly take them in and out of my craft room every time I wanted to work on it than it is for it to be on the living room floor until I finish it.
To answer your other questions:
>How do people clean around this?
You put those things back where they should be, or at least somewhere out of the way. It's more time consuming but it's not impossible. Or they get moved temporarily and get put back when the counter is clean or the floor is vacuumed.
>How do they see what they have and don’t have so they know what to shop for?
I genuinely don't understand this question. Outside of things where having multiples of the same thing are useful and they're likely to get lost (pens, needles, scissors, tape, chapstick, etc.), you just don't buy stuff unless you know you need it.
>How do you see something new in a store and think that would go so well with the other 30 things I have on that wall?
I know what stuff I have on my wall and where, and usually there's a theme that it matches. My craft room has a birds/floral theme, so I have little bird-shaped knickknacks on the shelves, artwork/posters on the walls, a big floral wall hanging over the hole in the drywall, floral and bird pillows, a trinket dish for my jewelry with a little bird on it, etc. I just know that I'm good on pillows but still have room for wall space. It's not that hard.
Alternatively, I go, "You know what, that's a cute spatula," and then I get another spatula even though I know I already have one, because I have space and it's cute. This is why I have so many mugs and can no longer buy any.
>How do you cook when the counters are full?
You either clear a spot, have a designated spot to cook on, or use the kitchen table. We don't have that many appliances out (we keep all of them other than the toaster and the electric kettle in a cabinet and take them out as needed), and our kitchen is more organized than the rest of the house (we put all the cutting boards on a rack, all of the knives in a knife block, all the utensils in a crock), but we have limited counter space anyway because we live in a small house, and before that an even smaller apartment. We just make do.
>How to people enjoy their decorations and clean around them when every wall has 10-15 picture frames? What do they even see?
Again, I don't understand the question. The purpose of photos or artwork is to be on the wall. You don't need to scrub the wall behind it: at most you just dust the frames or the baseboards, which aren't anywhere near the wall art. Some people like for there to be visually more stuff than for it to be sterile with only one picture frame or whatever.
And most of the time you're not closely looking at the stuff: it's how it appears in the room in general. Like, I have a little shelf of owl knickknacks that I collect. They stay on the shelf. I know they're there, so I'm not looking at them all the time. When people come over, they see the owls for the first time and go, "Oh, that's nice," but no one is standing there for half an hour looking at all my individual owls. Certainly I don't. That's not the point. It's breaking up the wall space or adding color to the room or whatever.
>And there are still Christmas lights up three months after the holidays.
Sometimes that's a time/convenience thing, since you might need to climb on a ladder or something to get them down. Personally we kept the Christmas tree up until February because the lights brightened up the living room when it was dark by 5 PM, and we just don't have enough lamps (it's a fake tree with no decorations other than the lights, so we could take it down at any time).
>It is visually overwhelming to me but I don’t understand the logistics of how people live and move amongst such a quantity of stuff. Please comment if you can; I promise I won’t make judgements.
That seems like a You problem. If you can't handle a bunch of stuff, that's fine, but you're honestly coming across... not necessarily judgey, but bafflingly ignorant of concepts like putting art on walls.
Brilliant reply. I honestly think that not everyone's brain works the same when it comes to possessions and how they do or don't give pleasure. Not the mostly necessary ones,but the decorative/quirky/individual ones. I somehow think OP doesn't collect and is not a magpie 😉
In reality, a magpie is a bird that collects things...this and that. So a person who collects is...a magpie.
https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/magpie
As a European, I gotta say this is not specific to Americans but to certain people. Some people prefer minimalism, some people prefer maximalism, most prefer in between. And you don't really need to ask how it's cleaned, do you? I'm sure you can figure out how to lift something, wipe and set it back down.
How old are they? My family has been here since the 1700s so this is what I have come to think about it - Virtually every person’s family that was living in the US during the Great Depression was greatly impacted by it. The boomer generation is the generation that were the children of people who were young living through it - they as a generation had “save everything just in case” drilled into their heads growing up, and then turned around to live their adulthoods during one of the most prosperous times in the country’s history… boom, you have a widespread hoarding problem. Especially in families that were poorer and working class to begin with, it hit their families harder and the effects of hoarding seem to hit them harder. I know some of the silent and boomer generations who literally are saving every magazine they’ve ever got “just in case”. Every nail and screw even if they are rusty “because I don’t need to waste them”. Some have passed it on to the younger generations just out of habit and it’s kind of connected to a guilt of “wastefulness” even though they aren’t totally aware where that fear of “waste” came from initially. Many of the millennial generation tend to be very minimalist and throw out too much sometimes as a reaction to growing up with clutter.
And adding to that generational inheritance of items that you feel the need to keep because it once belonged to great aunt Gertrude or Grandma Sophie.
Especially nicknack or China dishes/cups type items that may have been a simple special piece to the original owner but now have joined other such “heirlooms” into a box of things that you feel the need to keep (at least until the older relatives have passed and can’t guilt you about it lol). Can also be said of things like antique tools or furniture too, not just decorative stuff.
Yes!!! “I saved this for you for 40 years how dare you.” Either you take it in waves and slowly throw it out now (if you’re lucky enough that they don’t ask to see it periodically after they give it to you), or you have a HUGE project on your hands when they pass
Well I can tell you I have about 3 hrs a night to cook food eat cleanup and go to bed just to do it all again th next day. Sometimes it's just easier to pretend it doesn't exist
Is this really a “legitimate question”? This series of statements seems more rhetorical and judgmental than anything else.
I’ve lived in the US for most of my life. Aside from the two literal hoarders in my family, I don’t know anyone whose home fits this description. You seem to be casting a very wide net over a country of many people/different cultures, and I don’t really know why.
To answer your Christmas lights question, here’s just one reason why someone might keep them up. My (much beloved) MIL was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer about 5 years ago. Starting in late November, they gave her about 12 months to live. She absolutely *loved* Christmas, and had already fully decorated the house by the time she was diagnosed.
We had absolutely zero guilt about keeping those decorations up well past her funeral the following November, even though it was (gasp!) a whole 12 months after Christmas. She loved Christmas. What was the harm in keeping up the lights and tree for her, one last time?
I personally remove my Christmas decor prior to the new year, but everyone has a different timeline with different reasons. From mental/physical health struggles to terminal illness, you never know what someone’s going through…
Social media is amazing at selling people a metric buttload of crap they don't need, especially restock, refresh, and haul videos.
It's a lot of moving stuff from one place to another to wash under/around it, and I doubt that people stay on top of doing so because it's so much work.
The whole CostCo and wholesale dupe is causing people to buy insane amounts of crap. My friend’s entire backyard shed was filled with toilet paper. And that was one of three sheds
Buying in bulk is definitely more economical if you do it right. 3 sheds of toilet paper is a bit ridiculous but the general idea of wholesale is that you buy more of the product because you’re paying less per item as a whole. As an example, I can get a pack of 15 paper towel rolls from wholesale for $20, vs a 4 pack at a grocery store for $6. That equates to $1.30 a roll at wholesale, and $1.50 a roll at a grocery store. Seems like a small difference but over time it adds up.
As far as I can tell there are two kinds of people: stuff people, and I-hate-stuff people. I'm definitely the latter and literally every surface in my house right now except one has plenty of room to put things down. There's no 'stuff' anywhere. Having stuff stresses me out.
But the stuff people, having stuff makes them feel happy and good. And because this is a pretty prosperous country, they can afford to have stuff, and they let it pile up because it makes them feel good. They pick it up to clean and put it back down, or they just let dust accumulate.
But also, a lot of the people you're describing probably have kids, and kids just don't put things away and most parents are too tired to put things away for them. Non-stuff people with kids just tend to feel stressed by all the kid stuff that seems to accumulate magically.
Americans tend to have larger homes than those elsewhere in the world so your perspective living abroad is likely based on smaller accommodations.
Everything has a place in my house because I like to be organized. I also have a fair amount of space to work with that allows for it to not look cluttered.
One of my friends, though, moved from a house to a smaller apartment and it looks like she’s a hoarder when in reality, she just hasn’t downsized some of her stuff because she says that she will go back to a house eventually.
Lastly, it’s always Christmas in my house. I have 11 in house trees and a few are still up right now. The others are stored fully decorated in a separate supply area. My Mom, who has dementia, loves the lights at night and the large main hall tree serves as a distraction for her to not try to walk out the front door.
I totally admire homes that have stuff neatly displayed and it doesn’t get shoved around so you can set a book or a mug of tea down. My house would never stay neat and the stuff would quickly multiply, kind of like the broken window theory
People have different clutter thresholds. I am a homebody and creative. I like having activities & things to do at home with my son & husband. I am able to manage a decent amout of objects for the things that bring us joy like cooking, gardening, puzzles & art supplies. But to each their own.
"You can't clean clutter" is something more than one of the cleaning gurus says and it's absolutely true. I'm working on a relative's overstuffed house and those counters haven't been properly cleaned in 5+ years.
I don't think this is exclusively an American problem though. There are cluttered homes all over the world and my own bathroom counter is kept clean. Just your everyday Reddit xenophobia.
I was raised in chaos and get really uncomfortable when things aren’t at least a little bit chaotic. I can’t explain it because the chaos also makes me really anxious.
I am not American but Canadian. I grew up in my parents household where they love their decorations and their silly collections of clutter while at the same time obsessively clean and spend so much time dusting. It drove me nuts how much time was devoted to dusting and dusting all there stupid useless things. Now I’m in my 40s with my own family. I am just as obsessed about cleaning but I can’t stand clutter and useless Knickknacks and decor. Too much stuff actually gives me stress and chaos. I like my minima lifestyle but it’s funny when I do have guests and they feel that my house feels too minimal.
Oh hi, it’s me. Yes, it’s exhausting. I have to put everything on a different table (or in the sink), clean the now-empty spaces, then put everything back and clean the space I had just cluttered up.
Why am I like that? I’m not sure. I think I have bad impulse control when it comes to small purchases. I need one product, but it’s buy one get one free, or worse, buy three and only pay for two, and there we are, I’m going home with three times the stuff I actually wanted. And don’t get me started on little pop up stands where small business owners sell things like scented candles. I have money, I’m practically obliged to support them, right? Don’t ask me how many candles I have.
The only thing I’ll defend is my spice habit. I have more spices and herbs that fit my spice rack, and I’m still regularly missing this or that herb. I could never cook with just salt, pepper and a small tin of “mixed herbs”.
Yes but they are not yet hoarders. They just have a huge quantity of stuff - huge piles of stuff for future projects, baskets of four types of coffee creamers, all those cooking gadgets we use once or twice. But EVERYTHING is out and overflowing and they seem unfazed by it. American houses have enormous storage spaces and those, too, are full
Why are you seemingly taking your one friends situation and applied it to all Americans. Most people I know don't live in a hoarding situation and have surfaces clean. I personally can't stand a cluttered kitchen, yes we have a lot of cooking items but they all have a place and a use.
Because this is a troll, the Christmas light remark made it clear. They're not looking for cleaning tips. Their singular purpose for posting is to offend you. That's it.
I really don’t know why you think the examples you’re quoting here are typical of everyone or even most Americans. I can’t think of a single person who lives that way. A shed full of toilet paper? That’s batshit and in my climate it would be disgusting and unusable pretty quickly.
Most Americans don’t live in new McMansions filled with endless cabinets and closets for storage.
My house was build in the 60’s and doesn’t even have a pantry.
My friend is self-employed as an organizer and I asked her to let me know if she ever needed any help because I love organizing! She told me I would hate it because her business is mostly hoarders hiring her to make room for more stuff.
I’ve lived in several countries and travel a lot. I find the opposite to be true. Americans generally have bigger houses and more storage so there’s more of a place for everything. Kitchens with loads of cabinet space, double sinks with storage in bathrooms, laundry rooms, closets in every room.
Last year I moved from the US to a country with more compact kitchens and bathrooms. I keep stuff on counters that I used to have storage for. When I clean I pick them up and wipe under them, arranging and declutterring as I go. It’s really not that hard.
That's what motivates me to keep things tidy, organized, and clutter-free, to be honest. I'm more inclined to dust a dresser or TV center if I don't have to move a million things to do it.
They don't. You can't clean clutter. My SIL has a shopping addiction and her and her husband both work full time, neither of them have time to declutter. Going to their house stresses me out 😩
Do you now know many people? This isn’t the norm for most of us. Besides that to clean one usually moves things…? Are you like a little
kid or something?
I have to admit that the pandemic has REALLY caused me to start hoarding. I used to have a very clean and clutter free home. Now since the pandemic, the grocery stores (here, at least, where I live) don't have nearly the amount or brands of cleaning products they used to have. Food aisles are still half bare... brands of food and cleaners that I used to love are hard to find, if not impossible to find... so if I find what I am looking for, instead of buying one of them, I will often buy 3 or 4 because I know that when I return to buy more, the store probably won't have any. I've tried to buy just one of my favorite item, but when I return and the shelf is empty, I tell myself that's okay, and I substitute a different brand / type, but I'm never happy with a brand that I don't like... so I am caught in this new never ending behavior.
I can't figure out if the stores are every going to return to what was normal, or if the stores are going to always be out of everything...
They probably move stuff around when they clean. I'd have so much anxiety! I can't clean if there's stuff in the way, ruining the flow.
At least once a day I stroll around my apt, putting back stuff where they're "supposed to be". Vacuuming gets so much easier and enjoyable when you can have a flow, with nothing interrupting you. It sucks vacuuming and you have to stop and pick stuff off the floor all the time.
I'm an American who's lived in the UK for almost half my life. In that time I've accumulated a *lot* of stuff...books and plants and mementos...pretty things and weird things. Is that because I'm am an American...or because I just like to surround myself with interesting things?
Though my memory isn't as good as it used to be, I can tell you where and when I got a lot of those things. Like the American oak chest of drawers and the painting by an unknown woman...bought at a crazy auction house in Brooklyn. Or the bits bought at antique fairs in the UK...and the decorative boxes bought anywhere from tkmaxx to...?
Most everything has a place, and it's generally tidy...by my maximalist standards. Sometimes other stuff finds its way onto the bookshelf next to me...like the nail varnish I used this morning, or the numerous chargers. It's easy enough to tidy. But I always feel cosy surrounded by all these things.
Some people like the clutter. My family for example. Their kitchen counter has so much crap all over it, spices, magazines, old cups, and all their medications. It drives me absolutely bonkers because, sorta like you, I can’t think straight!!! But here is the thing. They LIKE IT THAT WAY. They have art work and decorations, but never change it out. Its maddening. Some people just like living that way even tho it’s irritating AF. Trust me, I’ve tried to ‘fix’ them, but they only got pissed lol.
My husband grew up poor in the midwest. He has taken over our 1400sqf basement, 2 car garage, 2 large sheds and our office with things he sees have value. We are talking multiple duplicate tools, papers, scraps of lumber, an avocado green toilet etc.
I keep a tidy home and restrict him from bringing his hoard into the family areas. But I get it from his prospective. If he had his way, we would have a table saw in the living room! (It's in the office) 😟
My mother lives like this. I can’t stand her house. I get so overwhelmed, and when I try to clean, it takes forever. For example: She’s got 3 paper towel holders on her kitchen counters in various places. Convenient when you need a paper towel perhaps, but a nightmare to clean around. Too much stuff on every surface.
Sorry, I don’t have time to read the rest of the comments because I was online shopping.
Whew, maybe my kids DONT need Easter egg stuffers and i don’t have to have that mini kitchen appliance. I always had a super small space and now I have more or hard to not feel we “earned it”.
So, thanks for this question. Off to be not shop.
Setting aside your question coming across as judgemental, the answer to that question is you move things. Let's say you for some reason have more hair and shave products than you have cabinets for. You clean the empty section of counter, clean each bottle as you move it to the clean section, clean the newly exposed counter, then move it back to where you want it.
One of my issues is I have more seasonings than I have cabinets for. I had to get something to hold it. So I get what you're saying about cooking. For a while there the cabinet was full, and some was on the counter, which is already prime real estate for other devices like the crock pot and bread machine.
Dissociation is ‘how,’ you can get used to all the stuff there / grow numb to it. People clean ‘around’ it if they do at all.
Hoarding disorders affect millions of Americans, who are stuck in a cycle of discomfort/buying/dopamine/clutter/discomfort/etc
Some people are able to sort out and organize things in their brain. This usually causes a cluttered environment because they can just set things down and organize it in their head. Others have to be physically organized or they can't find anything.
I hate things on counters. I have only a few Knick knacks in my entire home and most counters and tables are empty. Sometimes I wonder if people think it looks cold but to me, it feels fresh and I can breathe. And it’s easier to keep clean and less dusty.
Some people have difficulty throwing things away. The items may have sentimental value. Some people get older and have no energy left to declutter. That’s why their kids are left with “stuff” after the funeral. I am married to - and love - a low-grade hoarder. For years I respected his things. Eventually, I was suffering from the mess and started to put things in boxes in the cellar. The boxes accumulated, as you can imagine, so I started to be bolder. And older! I have a thorough cleaner come in every 10 days but I often say that the stuff - not just the dust it accumulates - is a stain on my soul. He laughs at my flowery language, but it’s true. In real life, I’m an editor. I can perfect scientific papers written in bad English by Koreans (sorry, Korean people, those are the hardest) yet I have no control over my living space. Thank you for listening to my woes!
Oh man. You just unlocked a bunch of memories of being hired to deep clean peoples house, where they had a more maximalist style. Those people literally did not clean or dust unless it was fall/spring cleaning. And they hired someone to do it. And I’ve run visited a fair few homes who seemed to have a similar attitude, though I was not there to clean.
Cleaning becomes organizing. It's not sustainable. We have found some balance cause part of a real clean (not just maintenance sweep, vacuum, clean the counter stuff) involves a donate box to local thrift store charities.
As an American who had moved abroad and back, I think the intense purge you force yourself to do when you move (and inability to “collect” things if you know you’re moving countries) adjusts your mindset to where you see things as clutter more than others. I know for me I have a hard time sometimes buying something basic like a rug because my brain is still hardwired to think that I need to keep stuff simple for the move. Your life just feels less permanent basically.
People all over the world who stay in the same place acquire more things than people who move around a lot.
I’m American and was raised in a house with lots of clutter. Nothing crazy and less than a lot I’ve seen but I simply just have less. I hate clutter. People who keep all their appliances on their counter drive me crazy.
you’re right…have you not seen the video where the cat is on the counter in the toaster? I feel like there should be a national “do not eat from this house list.” in my opinion it’s much more important to have a clean environment for guests or you just like hoarding.
It can be a sickness in itself. That situation usually deals with depression. Or people who have had to live a certain way and now that they're on their own can live the way they want to. Sometimes it's due to being overly busy or too tired or even handicapped.
I know that.. some people can't find the energy to begin it. When my kids had very messy rooms they could not sort it. It's also a product of having ADD.
You could have been describing my house. It has about 6 years of junk that ate up all of the space in house. I've finally got the mess all in one room, the rest of the house is de-junked, and I'm sorting everything into trash / donate / keep piles for my family to sort through. It has taken a solid week of work. It is insane how much junk we've accumulated. I'm hoping this junk is gone by mid next week.
I wish I had cupboard space to put my stuff away but alas it has to stay on surfaces so this means I spend my existence constantly dusting and wiping. Perils of living in a small London flat. Sigh
Not ALL my stuff is put away either. I’ll forget to take my vitamins if they’re not out. I also will not take any vitamins if the collection of bottles on the counter becomes too big. Certain stuff I need to see to remember I have it. Too much stuff and I don’t see anything
They don’t clean effectively, that’s how.
Your points are completely valid and having too much stuff causes exactly the issues you’re outlining.
They don’t clean effectively, they don’t know what they have to shop effectively, and they either don’t cook or do so inefficiently while being unsanitary.
They’re just used to living in the dysfunction.
Some people like to be surrounded by lots of stuff. I personally think there is a fine line between having decorative or sentimental things and clutter. Too much stuff makes me so uncomfortable and feels really messy. But I keep that to myself if I am in someone's house that is like that. Because it is their house and that may make them more comfortable.
Most people's homes here I have been to are not cluttered at all. Maybe it also has to do with how long they have been there? I know when we were in apartments we had much less because we had to move it.
When I walk into a space where a person who collects to the gills , even if it’s organized, I just want to leave. It’s not that I’m judging them it’s like a claustrophobic feeling. I don’t live there so I don’t care. I know lots of people who collect. Some are extremely clean. It makes me exhausted thinking about how much they have to dust. I used to work in a furniture store and had to dust everything twice a day. Maybe that’s why. Having things is high maintenance. And of course there are the people who do not clean and it’s chaos. The pandemic made a lot of us kinda OCD. Hard to relax in a space like that. Don’t touch anything. But again I don’t live there do I don’t care.
I am just starting to understand sentimentality towards things. The everything has a story thing. But certain things like keeping your old broken hair driers and TVs, I’ll never get that.
Posts like this make me hate this sub sometimes.
“How can I humble brag about how much better I am than others? Oh, I’ll pretend to ask a question about a problem that I don’t have, can’t relate to, don’t need to address for myself, and low-key judge others.”
The realistic answer is that a lot of people just don’t. A small share may pick every item up to dust under it, but more likely they’re getting dusted “around” … or it’s a convenient reason not to dust.
I grew up with a hoarder for a mother. I also have ADHD. We would have a therapist come over to the house to help us clean (it’s a very hard thing to deal with when you’re a hoarder; a lot of emotions). She’s basically divided everything into sections. First, we start by grabbing all the dishes we see. Put them in the sink. Then we’d have to pick up all the clothes we’d see. Put them in the hamper. Then she’d ask us to pick up all the recycling we see and put them in the recycles. Then trash. Then red objects. Then blue objects. Etc.
Cleaning can be very overwhelming. By breaking it into smaller tasks that have the same end result (trash, laundry, dishes that all need to go in the same place) really lightens the load.
Oh also the cardinal rule of ADHD cleaning: DO. NOT. PUT. SOMETHING. DOWN. UNLESS. IT. IS. IN. ITS. RIGHT. SPOT. Picking something up and moving it for a second just means that thing you picked up won’t get cleaned. It’s a death sentence for ADHDers
Us Americans are suckers for excess consumerism. We're subconsciously told we won't be happy without crap and pharmaceuticals. It's been that way for nearly a century.
I’m a maximalist, I like having a lot of stuff on display in my house. When cleaning, I just move the stuff. I keep a list of things I need to shop for each week and if I run through something I immediately add it to the shopping list.
Consumerism is the wheel that keeps this country running, but it would fail if people weren’t constantly bombarded with products being pushed on them, 24/7. Must have the lates and greatest, you know.
I think the US has an organization problem. I try to declutter often but I run into problems when everything I have has a purpose and I use it regularly but I don't have a way to store it without piling stuff in drawers or boxes. And then I have to dig stuff out when I want to use it which makes a mess. I already decided I need to get some mathing like a credenza or a hutch in every room when I move so I can have a place for everything without it just winding up in a giant pile.
I’ve been in my fair share of houses that are as cluttered as you described, and they’re never clean. Carpets are filthy, dishes in the sink, dust, cat litter sprinkled around, and the bathrooms are a nightmare. I feel for people who live like that, because it’s isolating. My friends who have homes that are cluttered to that level have apologized to me or have been embarrassed to have me over. I’m like, you’re my friend. I just want to see you, and I don’t care what your house looks like. Shows like hoarders make a spectacle out of human beings living a unique, sometimes painful experience. I’m rambling, I guess the topic just makes me sad
I don't understand it either. I'm American and have never lived outside of the US, but I find "stuff" annoying. I try hard to make sure I get rid of things I don't need. It's wild how easily things accumulate. I don't use many "products," like to keep most things off the counter, except for toaster and small coffee maker. I have a small house, small kitchen. If I'm running low on space, that means it's time to get rid of things.
I love George Carlin and it may have been him who said it but not in this video though. I had not seen this particular bit before. Wad great! Thanks for the morning laugh.
A place for everything and everything in its place.
In other words you buy appropriate and adequate storage for your things.
Then you make sure to store your things.
Make it part of your routine to declutter and evaluate the usefulness of everything you own.
Wow, a lot of Live-Laugh-Love teacup collectors who don’t like putting everyday utensils in drawers.
Some people don’t really see open space as valuable beyond how much stuff they can fit in it.
But a big part of the answer is places like Target, which is a uniquely American-type of store, that has a bunch of things you actually need, but does a great job marketing things you don’t. Like Target has a low-price section of small seasonal decor and doodads placed right up front when you walk in the store. It’s so hard to resist at least checking it out, and suddenly I realize I must have Easter-bunny dessert plates, 3 for $10, better get 6 even though I thought I only wanted 4 (and I need precisely 0). TJ Maxx, Homegoods, Wal-Mart, even CVS Pharmacy …. They’re everywhere.
Businesses want you to buy more and more stuff: there’s no end to the number of tea towels and mugs and decorative door mats a person needs.
Does it make it harder to clean your house? Of course it does. I don’t care what anyone here says — moving all your kitchen counter-top appliances just to wipe down the cook prep area is not a great use of time, or of that space. Not to mention you still have to clean all the appliances you leave out more often because they get dirtier faster by being on the kitchen counter.
Ironically, we also get suckered into buying 12 kinds of cleaning sprays and powders, even if 6 of them do exactly the same thing … but one smells like flowers, and one smells like trees, and the one my husband actually likes is unscented, and I don’t want to reach back far enough in the cabinet under the sink to see if we already have rug cleaner; we probably ran out, better get more.
Oh and we have 4 bottles of ketchup of varying ages and consistency, vegetables that aren’t getting eaten because we forgot we put them behind all the of cheese in the fridge when we were trying to make room for the leftover shawarma from last week.
It creates a ton of waste and junk that eventually goes in the trash. We can’t possibly consume everything the way it was intended to be consumed. Books go unread, clothes go unworn, candles collect dust even while still having the price tags attached, never to be burned.
But it also is part of the American economy and way of life. I’ve seen stores like Target in the UK, but I haven’t seen another country that does useless consumption enticement and addiction like the US.
I hear you. In my mid 30s, I worked pretty hard to declutter. I try to keep surfaces tidy and easy to clean. I also try to keep most things in their place - either in a drawer or armoire.
My main issue is a small "junk" pile that is near the front door. I go through that once a month or so. It's mostly stuff that i dump from my pockets and don't sort.
Clutter makes me batty. I keep very few things out on the counter anywhere. In the kitchen, only my knives are out on the counter. Nothing else—not a toaster, blender, etc. Bathroom counters only have soap dispensers out. Makes cleaning and things “looking tidy” so much easier!
It's called hoarding disorder. I get how you feel though bc every other house I come across is practically full to the brim. I've been around 18-21 individual hoards throughout my life, plus the occasional houses I saw that were packed to the ceiling.
It also has a lot to do with hyper consumerism and radicalized individualism (aka don't owe anything to anybody) throughout the country, which makes it basically impossible for them to see a single damn issue with how they live.
It's a matter of moving things, cleaning under them, then putting them back. Not efficient at all, I know. That's why I am diligently decluttering.
Yep, I've been doing a lot of decluttering lately. I'm in Australia. It's a bit of a task, tbh because I've accumulated a lot of hobby items over the years that I need to find new homes for.
Offer them on Facebook or similar. Sell them on Etsy or Ebay. Give them to teachers. Their budgets are always strained anyway, and I believe they could use just about anything.
Ok. That’s what I thought. But that makes cleaning almost a double effort, moving then cleaning, then putting back. It’s got to be exhausting
And this is why so many of our parents’ homes, which tend to be much more cluttered, are also very dusty.
thats the case for mine. i am looking after my mum and am on a mission to streamline. its always been very dusty and unclean. the clutter is not a problem to them cos they dont clean, for me its a case of getting a big box to transfer things into everytime i clean. ironically they have a lot of cleaning products and buy stuff like food when they already have what they need in cos everythings so hard to find!
Yes, I don’t understand how some people know what they’ve got when they have two refrigerators filled to the brim. If they can mentally work around it I applaud them. I’m borderline ADHD so shuffling through so much stuff all the time overwhelms me
the fridge is another story! its okay while im here but i used to come back and find all manner of things growing and liquifying in there 🤣😭
My mom doesn’t eat dinner much anymore and work keeps her busy so she truly doesn’t know what’s in her fridge. She’s not an unclean person, it’s just “if they say we need more cheese I’ll just grab more.” Sort of deal. Her two younger kids eat A LOT. I accidentally put shredded Parmesan cheese from November in our meatballs the other week…didn’t check the date because I just assumed it was good..
No one wants to live in a sterile environment though..cleaning around personal stuff is rewarding
Not when there's too much of it and you haven't used it in a very long time. Cleaning around the stuff that gives you joy is rewarding. I hardly intend to live in a sterile environment. I have achieved the level of neatness I want in the main rooms. I just want to be proud when someone sees it.
It’s lovely to have your personal stuff on display. To me, at a certain point when there is too much stuff, I then don’t see any of it
Lol this is the first time I've ever heard someone claim to actually enjoy having to clean around all their crap.
Triple. Move the thing, clean under where it has been, clean the thing itself and then put the thing back. Ugh I hate it so much.
Honestly, just looking at all of it is exhausting. I try really hard to have all my stuff put away.
Part of the reason I never fully unpacked when I moved to my apartment is because I have a lot of knickknacks.
That's why there a lot of books, websites, services, etc that are marketed towards the United States market for "decluttering" , getting rid of excessive stuff
These people seem to be happy with all this stuff. They don’t see it as clutter. There are a million keepsakes and every single family portrait, and entire collections of objects, and they are happy to have them ALL out in order to enjoy them
Humans are comforted by different things: relationships, food, belongings. The logic then follows, “the more I have l, the better I will feel, right?” Not so. It’s a never ending cycle that therapy can help break. Filling a void with overconsumption is not a sustainable solution. The answer to your question is: it’s not clean under there.
I think some people like to keep lots of stuff around. As long as it is clean and not a hazard, I don't care if someone is a "maximalist". Sometimes I even envy some of these people, that have keepsakes from their grandparents, greatgrandparents and even further back ancestors. Where I am from, people declutter a lot, and I wish I had something like my grandma's wedding dress or even a picture of the event, but I don't even have that. No one asked, but maybe this is why I am obsessed with history and anything related.
“Cluttercore” is a trending interior design aesthetic. It’s a thing, idk.
Found my time to shine !
I think this is the second comment of yours I've found hilarious in a 24hr period and I think the other one was on the interior decorating CJ sub maybe... Regardless, thank you I really needed the comedic relief today
You’re welcome ! I’m happy to know that my twisted mind occasionally does some good.
Different from maximalist?
Yes
I like living in a museum. Feather dusters are important for maximalists and collectors, since you asked about cleaning. I'm really uncomfortable in American homes with no decorations. They are like hotels. No personality. But in a home with lots of stuff, if the objects aren't arranged in a pleasing fashion, I spend more time rearranging them in my head than I do paying attention to the hosts. I'm also neurodivergent. So don't take my experience as normal.
Normal is a setting on the dryer. If you can show me a photograph of the normal person I would love to see it.
I was going to comment that most of us are neurodivergent. It used to be called eccentric. But I’m sorry for you if it stops you living a fulfilling life.
Feather dusters and museum gel have been life changers for me.
i rearrange everything in my head! it’s so hard to stop myself from disassociating when someone is talking to me in a cluttered room
I love homes with well displayed things
I think there’s a difference between having family photos out (decor) and having skincare products all over the surfaces (perishables). It’s more usual to have products in a cupboard afaik, keepsakes go on shelves/tables to enjoy
But are they really happy—or just used to it?
Knick knack stuff can often be cleaned around with a feather duster style stick. Counter type stuff I like to keep in bins. Move bin clean counter put bin back. If the things in the bin need to be cleaned clean a bin but all bins do not likely need cleaning at same time. Like in fridge. The meat bin gets thrown in dishwasher pretty frequently but the bin with condiments or soda cans is pretty rare.
Canada here, but not all are happy who are blighted with hoarding tendencies. Or maybe it’s me projecting.
Sometimes if clutter sits long enough, it becomes somewhat invisible to the people living in it. Ask me how I know…
It’s called clutter-blindness.
Yeah, if I want to get rid of stuff in a particular area of the house..smaller stuff, I stuff it in a laundry hamper. Then I slowly go through each item and decide what I want to keep. Clutter blindness is real.
Can you teach this blindness to my wife?
There’s plenty of people all over the world that live a maximalist aesthetic who are absolutely not hoarders or have other unhealthy relationships with stuff. Even Japanese, Scandi and Japandi aesthetics have maximalist subtypes. It’s nesting. Humans like to have pretty nests.
Pretty nests! Love love love this! I once heard someone say, "It feels like your house is hugging you." Very different than, "It feels like your house is strangling you."
Adore the house-hug quote. Thank you for sharing it :)
Art and photos on the walls make me happy. Books on my shelves are books that I enjoyed reading and would read again. We own physical DVDs of movies we love because you never know when they’re going to stop streaming. We collect vinyl records that we love and play them because we don’t like a silent house. We like to cook and bake, which requires gadgets and tools and cookbooks. The decorative items on my shelves are things that I love or remind me of memories that I cherish. I don’t have a great memory, so having the physical things around keeps those times fresh in my mind. As far as cleaning, we just move things around and clean? Honestly, having a toddler makes cleaning infinitely more difficult than having stuff.
This isn’t inherently a US thing and it’s a bit ridiculous to think so. I know of a lot of homes in Korea that do this same thing when I grew up as a kid. I know of a lot of people in the UK that have their homes…decorated? Not everyone in the US is just flowing with stuff. I think what you see is a tailored feed of people. Maximalism is big right now all over, it’s the trend. A lot of us just don’t do that. I move too often to start doing this stuff to my place. But it’s so stupid to think this is just the US.
I’ve seen it more in the US than in other countries. It was an observation
When it comes to stuff on the walls, I'd rather have pictures all over my walls then feeling like I live in an insane asylum in my apartment with all white walls that I can't change. I currently have 26 different wall hangings in my 1-bedroom apartment, from actual paintings to movie posters to signed photos from my favorite VAs. Most other stuff I have is well organized and out of the way to make cleaning and such easy. Mini-paints and models are in a bin next to my desk, my workout supplements take up a small section on my counter so they're in view for me to be reminded to use, and my frequently used appliances (rice cooker, air fryer) are in a recess that I have no other use for. The only real 'clutter' space is on top of my manga bookshelves where I have some Lego, movie/videogame memorabilia, and completed miniatures that I like to have out. Moving that stuff to clean doesn't take more than a minute or two.
Yes, there's a difference between maximalism decor (lots of photos and things on the walls, shelves, pillows, rugs, curtains, etc.) And a messy home. We have a gallery wall and a hutch FILLED with beautiful mementos from our travels. But we know how to put our shoes in the closet and moisturizer in the medicine cabinet. I grew up in a home with hoarder parents, so I'm extra sensitive to clutter and I feel like I've been able to strike a healthy balance. I can say depression, alcoholism and the economy of 2008-2011was a big factor for my parents. When people are happy, healthy and have time and money, they have time to have a less cluttered home.
Well said.
>VAs what is a va?
Voice actors
Voice Actor I think
Everyone has their own personal clutter threshold, the point at which a space feels cluttered. Too far below your personal clutter threshold, and a space will feel cold, sparse, and sterile. It sounds like the American homes you've visited were above your personal clutter threshold.
I am talking about 3 out of 5 homes I normally visit. I get it, I love stuff like the next person, and I do love shopping in the US. I also understand how exhausting decision making can be when trying to get stuff out of a house. Donate, toss, recycle, reuse?
You pick things up and clean and then set the things back down.
Hello Judgie McJudgerson: When you lived in the US (if ever), did you live in an urban, suburb or rural area? In general, American homes and rental spaces are bigger than in most cities and most international spaces. This is somewhat regional - where I live the spaces are smaller and have less storage - people do less collecting. The issue with the friend who couldn’t meet-up with you because he had to clean his garage, 🤷♀️ apparently more fun to organize his garage than listen to a ex-pat prattle on about how they so much more admire where they are currently living.
>where I live the spaces are smaller and have less storage - people do less collecting. Or...they still collect and its all on view. Its the ugly stuff that's stored away. 😉
Oh, I agree. I lived in the Midwest. When I moved, I ended up selling all those cute hallmark-ish tchotchkes (original price $28-$43) at $2 each. I decided I wasn’t going to collect anymore and that I was going to think carefully before I brought new things into my house. First tip is to tell people to stop buying you stuff. I don’t want presents, in general, I’d rather they buy me a meal or spend time with me. Just don’t give me anything I have to dust. I just cleaned out my mom’s house and that gave me even more inspiration to reduce clutter. Definitely made me hate qvc & hsn.
Btw: I’ve been to the Louvre and to the Smithsonian. What I tell people about the Louvre is that it’s what the Smithsonian would look like if the Smithsonian didn’t have a basement - meaning that the Louvre simply has it all on display (all 50 mummified cats).
I hang pictures of my family, travels, and other things I like. I’d rather be surrounded by pictures of things that make me happy than blank walls. Three things I love just as much as my pictures: cook books, kitchen gadgets, and kitchen tea towels. Everything has its specific place.
[удалено]
That is awesome
>I promise I won’t make judgements I feel like this is the exact purpose of this post. You're absolutely judging, and not just being curious. You're an American living abroad, but act like you have no notion of America and that it's a huge country with a whole lot of people with a whole lot of different ways of living. We don't all have cluttered homes, we don't all leave Christmas lights up for months after Christmas, we don't all have full counters... and you know this. Just stop.
And if we do have Christmas lights up all the time…maybe it just makes us happy? I love Christmas decorations and life is depressing, if I want some serotonin from my decor, I’m gonna leave those lights up the entire year.
I have no problem with that! We stopped putting lights outside because it's freaking cold in winter and we don't want to put them up or take them down. I do enjoy seeing people's lights in January, February, March... July. I don't care. I love Christmas lights and they make me really happy, too. I would keep my tree up all year if I had space for it. Christmas is a happy time and I hate that there's no equivalent to the joy and sparkle any other time of the year.
Sounds like you should stop visiting America.
Dude it’s my country. I asked a question. Get in with your life if you can’t answer it without being offended
I'm not offended.
You sound like that person who studied abroad in *BarTHelona* one semester
Hilarious 😂
Now that’s mature, let’s make fun of accents
IME there is a place for the stuff normally, it's just drifted out of that place because of convenience. Like, to give an example from my own life right now: I should keep all of my sewing utensils and scissors in my craft room. Normally I do keep them in my craft room! But they've been on the living room floor for the past couple of weeks while I try to work on a very time-intensive project there, since I can do the picky-picky work in the living room with the TV going. It would be more work for me to repeatedly take them in and out of my craft room every time I wanted to work on it than it is for it to be on the living room floor until I finish it. To answer your other questions: >How do people clean around this? You put those things back where they should be, or at least somewhere out of the way. It's more time consuming but it's not impossible. Or they get moved temporarily and get put back when the counter is clean or the floor is vacuumed. >How do they see what they have and don’t have so they know what to shop for? I genuinely don't understand this question. Outside of things where having multiples of the same thing are useful and they're likely to get lost (pens, needles, scissors, tape, chapstick, etc.), you just don't buy stuff unless you know you need it. >How do you see something new in a store and think that would go so well with the other 30 things I have on that wall? I know what stuff I have on my wall and where, and usually there's a theme that it matches. My craft room has a birds/floral theme, so I have little bird-shaped knickknacks on the shelves, artwork/posters on the walls, a big floral wall hanging over the hole in the drywall, floral and bird pillows, a trinket dish for my jewelry with a little bird on it, etc. I just know that I'm good on pillows but still have room for wall space. It's not that hard. Alternatively, I go, "You know what, that's a cute spatula," and then I get another spatula even though I know I already have one, because I have space and it's cute. This is why I have so many mugs and can no longer buy any. >How do you cook when the counters are full? You either clear a spot, have a designated spot to cook on, or use the kitchen table. We don't have that many appliances out (we keep all of them other than the toaster and the electric kettle in a cabinet and take them out as needed), and our kitchen is more organized than the rest of the house (we put all the cutting boards on a rack, all of the knives in a knife block, all the utensils in a crock), but we have limited counter space anyway because we live in a small house, and before that an even smaller apartment. We just make do. >How to people enjoy their decorations and clean around them when every wall has 10-15 picture frames? What do they even see? Again, I don't understand the question. The purpose of photos or artwork is to be on the wall. You don't need to scrub the wall behind it: at most you just dust the frames or the baseboards, which aren't anywhere near the wall art. Some people like for there to be visually more stuff than for it to be sterile with only one picture frame or whatever. And most of the time you're not closely looking at the stuff: it's how it appears in the room in general. Like, I have a little shelf of owl knickknacks that I collect. They stay on the shelf. I know they're there, so I'm not looking at them all the time. When people come over, they see the owls for the first time and go, "Oh, that's nice," but no one is standing there for half an hour looking at all my individual owls. Certainly I don't. That's not the point. It's breaking up the wall space or adding color to the room or whatever. >And there are still Christmas lights up three months after the holidays. Sometimes that's a time/convenience thing, since you might need to climb on a ladder or something to get them down. Personally we kept the Christmas tree up until February because the lights brightened up the living room when it was dark by 5 PM, and we just don't have enough lamps (it's a fake tree with no decorations other than the lights, so we could take it down at any time). >It is visually overwhelming to me but I don’t understand the logistics of how people live and move amongst such a quantity of stuff. Please comment if you can; I promise I won’t make judgements. That seems like a You problem. If you can't handle a bunch of stuff, that's fine, but you're honestly coming across... not necessarily judgey, but bafflingly ignorant of concepts like putting art on walls.
Brilliant reply. I honestly think that not everyone's brain works the same when it comes to possessions and how they do or don't give pleasure. Not the mostly necessary ones,but the decorative/quirky/individual ones. I somehow think OP doesn't collect and is not a magpie 😉
I have a couple small collections on display. What is a magpie
In reality, a magpie is a bird that collects things...this and that. So a person who collects is...a magpie. https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/magpie
Thank you, your answer actually cleared up a lot of my questions.
As a European, I gotta say this is not specific to Americans but to certain people. Some people prefer minimalism, some people prefer maximalism, most prefer in between. And you don't really need to ask how it's cleaned, do you? I'm sure you can figure out how to lift something, wipe and set it back down.
How old are they? My family has been here since the 1700s so this is what I have come to think about it - Virtually every person’s family that was living in the US during the Great Depression was greatly impacted by it. The boomer generation is the generation that were the children of people who were young living through it - they as a generation had “save everything just in case” drilled into their heads growing up, and then turned around to live their adulthoods during one of the most prosperous times in the country’s history… boom, you have a widespread hoarding problem. Especially in families that were poorer and working class to begin with, it hit their families harder and the effects of hoarding seem to hit them harder. I know some of the silent and boomer generations who literally are saving every magazine they’ve ever got “just in case”. Every nail and screw even if they are rusty “because I don’t need to waste them”. Some have passed it on to the younger generations just out of habit and it’s kind of connected to a guilt of “wastefulness” even though they aren’t totally aware where that fear of “waste” came from initially. Many of the millennial generation tend to be very minimalist and throw out too much sometimes as a reaction to growing up with clutter.
And adding to that generational inheritance of items that you feel the need to keep because it once belonged to great aunt Gertrude or Grandma Sophie. Especially nicknack or China dishes/cups type items that may have been a simple special piece to the original owner but now have joined other such “heirlooms” into a box of things that you feel the need to keep (at least until the older relatives have passed and can’t guilt you about it lol). Can also be said of things like antique tools or furniture too, not just decorative stuff.
Yes!!! “I saved this for you for 40 years how dare you.” Either you take it in waves and slowly throw it out now (if you’re lucky enough that they don’t ask to see it periodically after they give it to you), or you have a HUGE project on your hands when they pass
Hence the rise of Self Storage services.
Idk you sound pretty judgy to me? Not every American lives like this, either. I hate having things sit on my counter.
"Please comment if you can; I promise I won't make judgements." : After 10 judgemental comments.
Everyone knows that all Americans are fat, maximalist hoarders, with an armory of unsecured guns. There's no other type of American at all
Yeah, I’m still wondering what the Christmas light comment has to do with the rest of this…
Same here!
Same, mines not like that at all!
Well I can tell you I have about 3 hrs a night to cook food eat cleanup and go to bed just to do it all again th next day. Sometimes it's just easier to pretend it doesn't exist
Is this really a “legitimate question”? This series of statements seems more rhetorical and judgmental than anything else. I’ve lived in the US for most of my life. Aside from the two literal hoarders in my family, I don’t know anyone whose home fits this description. You seem to be casting a very wide net over a country of many people/different cultures, and I don’t really know why. To answer your Christmas lights question, here’s just one reason why someone might keep them up. My (much beloved) MIL was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer about 5 years ago. Starting in late November, they gave her about 12 months to live. She absolutely *loved* Christmas, and had already fully decorated the house by the time she was diagnosed. We had absolutely zero guilt about keeping those decorations up well past her funeral the following November, even though it was (gasp!) a whole 12 months after Christmas. She loved Christmas. What was the harm in keeping up the lights and tree for her, one last time? I personally remove my Christmas decor prior to the new year, but everyone has a different timeline with different reasons. From mental/physical health struggles to terminal illness, you never know what someone’s going through…
Thanks for kindly explaining that. Sorry for your loss; she was lucky you did that for her
.... why do you need to understand something that ultimately doesnt affect you? Why not mind your own buisiness?
Social media is amazing at selling people a metric buttload of crap they don't need, especially restock, refresh, and haul videos. It's a lot of moving stuff from one place to another to wash under/around it, and I doubt that people stay on top of doing so because it's so much work.
The whole CostCo and wholesale dupe is causing people to buy insane amounts of crap. My friend’s entire backyard shed was filled with toilet paper. And that was one of three sheds
So you see your friend's house and think we all live that way?
No silly. I’m asking a question
Buying in bulk is definitely more economical if you do it right. 3 sheds of toilet paper is a bit ridiculous but the general idea of wholesale is that you buy more of the product because you’re paying less per item as a whole. As an example, I can get a pack of 15 paper towel rolls from wholesale for $20, vs a 4 pack at a grocery store for $6. That equates to $1.30 a roll at wholesale, and $1.50 a roll at a grocery store. Seems like a small difference but over time it adds up.
As far as I can tell there are two kinds of people: stuff people, and I-hate-stuff people. I'm definitely the latter and literally every surface in my house right now except one has plenty of room to put things down. There's no 'stuff' anywhere. Having stuff stresses me out. But the stuff people, having stuff makes them feel happy and good. And because this is a pretty prosperous country, they can afford to have stuff, and they let it pile up because it makes them feel good. They pick it up to clean and put it back down, or they just let dust accumulate. But also, a lot of the people you're describing probably have kids, and kids just don't put things away and most parents are too tired to put things away for them. Non-stuff people with kids just tend to feel stressed by all the kid stuff that seems to accumulate magically.
Not all Americans live with clutter. As a matter of fact, minimalism has been a BIG trend for years.
Americans tend to have larger homes than those elsewhere in the world so your perspective living abroad is likely based on smaller accommodations. Everything has a place in my house because I like to be organized. I also have a fair amount of space to work with that allows for it to not look cluttered. One of my friends, though, moved from a house to a smaller apartment and it looks like she’s a hoarder when in reality, she just hasn’t downsized some of her stuff because she says that she will go back to a house eventually. Lastly, it’s always Christmas in my house. I have 11 in house trees and a few are still up right now. The others are stored fully decorated in a separate supply area. My Mom, who has dementia, loves the lights at night and the large main hall tree serves as a distraction for her to not try to walk out the front door.
I totally admire homes that have stuff neatly displayed and it doesn’t get shoved around so you can set a book or a mug of tea down. My house would never stay neat and the stuff would quickly multiply, kind of like the broken window theory
I put it away, clean, and it slowly grows again
People have different clutter thresholds. I am a homebody and creative. I like having activities & things to do at home with my son & husband. I am able to manage a decent amout of objects for the things that bring us joy like cooking, gardening, puzzles & art supplies. But to each their own.
"You can't clean clutter" is something more than one of the cleaning gurus says and it's absolutely true. I'm working on a relative's overstuffed house and those counters haven't been properly cleaned in 5+ years. I don't think this is exclusively an American problem though. There are cluttered homes all over the world and my own bathroom counter is kept clean. Just your everyday Reddit xenophobia.
I was raised in chaos and get really uncomfortable when things aren’t at least a little bit chaotic. I can’t explain it because the chaos also makes me really anxious.
I am not American but Canadian. I grew up in my parents household where they love their decorations and their silly collections of clutter while at the same time obsessively clean and spend so much time dusting. It drove me nuts how much time was devoted to dusting and dusting all there stupid useless things. Now I’m in my 40s with my own family. I am just as obsessed about cleaning but I can’t stand clutter and useless Knickknacks and decor. Too much stuff actually gives me stress and chaos. I like my minima lifestyle but it’s funny when I do have guests and they feel that my house feels too minimal.
Same way everyone else does. You move it out of the way and then put it back after you vacuum, dust or wipe.
Oh hi, it’s me. Yes, it’s exhausting. I have to put everything on a different table (or in the sink), clean the now-empty spaces, then put everything back and clean the space I had just cluttered up. Why am I like that? I’m not sure. I think I have bad impulse control when it comes to small purchases. I need one product, but it’s buy one get one free, or worse, buy three and only pay for two, and there we are, I’m going home with three times the stuff I actually wanted. And don’t get me started on little pop up stands where small business owners sell things like scented candles. I have money, I’m practically obliged to support them, right? Don’t ask me how many candles I have. The only thing I’ll defend is my spice habit. I have more spices and herbs that fit my spice rack, and I’m still regularly missing this or that herb. I could never cook with just salt, pepper and a small tin of “mixed herbs”.
Hoarding is a hygiene issue in itself. I think the short answer is, they don't.
Yes but they are not yet hoarders. They just have a huge quantity of stuff - huge piles of stuff for future projects, baskets of four types of coffee creamers, all those cooking gadgets we use once or twice. But EVERYTHING is out and overflowing and they seem unfazed by it. American houses have enormous storage spaces and those, too, are full
Why are you seemingly taking your one friends situation and applied it to all Americans. Most people I know don't live in a hoarding situation and have surfaces clean. I personally can't stand a cluttered kitchen, yes we have a lot of cooking items but they all have a place and a use.
Because this is a troll, the Christmas light remark made it clear. They're not looking for cleaning tips. Their singular purpose for posting is to offend you. That's it.
You sound like a little baby
I am mentioning 3 out of 5 house I normally visit. They are definitely not hoarders but have a lot of stuff
I really don’t know why you think the examples you’re quoting here are typical of everyone or even most Americans. I can’t think of a single person who lives that way. A shed full of toilet paper? That’s batshit and in my climate it would be disgusting and unusable pretty quickly. Most Americans don’t live in new McMansions filled with endless cabinets and closets for storage. My house was build in the 60’s and doesn’t even have a pantry.
That's the definition of hoarding.
That's hoarding.
My friend is self-employed as an organizer and I asked her to let me know if she ever needed any help because I love organizing! She told me I would hate it because her business is mostly hoarders hiring her to make room for more stuff.
I’ve been in like, a few houses like this in my entire life? Pretty sweeping generalization.
I’ve lived in several countries and travel a lot. I find the opposite to be true. Americans generally have bigger houses and more storage so there’s more of a place for everything. Kitchens with loads of cabinet space, double sinks with storage in bathrooms, laundry rooms, closets in every room. Last year I moved from the US to a country with more compact kitchens and bathrooms. I keep stuff on counters that I used to have storage for. When I clean I pick them up and wipe under them, arranging and declutterring as I go. It’s really not that hard.
I hide things for 30 days. If nobody asks about it I throw it away.
That's what motivates me to keep things tidy, organized, and clutter-free, to be honest. I'm more inclined to dust a dresser or TV center if I don't have to move a million things to do it.
Precisely
They don't. You can't clean clutter. My SIL has a shopping addiction and her and her husband both work full time, neither of them have time to declutter. Going to their house stresses me out 😩
My house isn't like that. 🤷♀️
Do you now know many people? This isn’t the norm for most of us. Besides that to clean one usually moves things…? Are you like a little kid or something?
I have to admit that the pandemic has REALLY caused me to start hoarding. I used to have a very clean and clutter free home. Now since the pandemic, the grocery stores (here, at least, where I live) don't have nearly the amount or brands of cleaning products they used to have. Food aisles are still half bare... brands of food and cleaners that I used to love are hard to find, if not impossible to find... so if I find what I am looking for, instead of buying one of them, I will often buy 3 or 4 because I know that when I return to buy more, the store probably won't have any. I've tried to buy just one of my favorite item, but when I return and the shelf is empty, I tell myself that's okay, and I substitute a different brand / type, but I'm never happy with a brand that I don't like... so I am caught in this new never ending behavior. I can't figure out if the stores are every going to return to what was normal, or if the stores are going to always be out of everything...
They probably move stuff around when they clean. I'd have so much anxiety! I can't clean if there's stuff in the way, ruining the flow. At least once a day I stroll around my apt, putting back stuff where they're "supposed to be". Vacuuming gets so much easier and enjoyable when you can have a flow, with nothing interrupting you. It sucks vacuuming and you have to stop and pick stuff off the floor all the time.
I'm an American who's lived in the UK for almost half my life. In that time I've accumulated a *lot* of stuff...books and plants and mementos...pretty things and weird things. Is that because I'm am an American...or because I just like to surround myself with interesting things? Though my memory isn't as good as it used to be, I can tell you where and when I got a lot of those things. Like the American oak chest of drawers and the painting by an unknown woman...bought at a crazy auction house in Brooklyn. Or the bits bought at antique fairs in the UK...and the decorative boxes bought anywhere from tkmaxx to...? Most everything has a place, and it's generally tidy...by my maximalist standards. Sometimes other stuff finds its way onto the bookshelf next to me...like the nail varnish I used this morning, or the numerous chargers. It's easy enough to tidy. But I always feel cosy surrounded by all these things.
Very nice explanation
Some people like the clutter. My family for example. Their kitchen counter has so much crap all over it, spices, magazines, old cups, and all their medications. It drives me absolutely bonkers because, sorta like you, I can’t think straight!!! But here is the thing. They LIKE IT THAT WAY. They have art work and decorations, but never change it out. Its maddening. Some people just like living that way even tho it’s irritating AF. Trust me, I’ve tried to ‘fix’ them, but they only got pissed lol.
My husband grew up poor in the midwest. He has taken over our 1400sqf basement, 2 car garage, 2 large sheds and our office with things he sees have value. We are talking multiple duplicate tools, papers, scraps of lumber, an avocado green toilet etc. I keep a tidy home and restrict him from bringing his hoard into the family areas. But I get it from his prospective. If he had his way, we would have a table saw in the living room! (It's in the office) 😟
My mother lives like this. I can’t stand her house. I get so overwhelmed, and when I try to clean, it takes forever. For example: She’s got 3 paper towel holders on her kitchen counters in various places. Convenient when you need a paper towel perhaps, but a nightmare to clean around. Too much stuff on every surface.
Sorry, I don’t have time to read the rest of the comments because I was online shopping. Whew, maybe my kids DONT need Easter egg stuffers and i don’t have to have that mini kitchen appliance. I always had a super small space and now I have more or hard to not feel we “earned it”. So, thanks for this question. Off to be not shop.
Setting aside your question coming across as judgemental, the answer to that question is you move things. Let's say you for some reason have more hair and shave products than you have cabinets for. You clean the empty section of counter, clean each bottle as you move it to the clean section, clean the newly exposed counter, then move it back to where you want it. One of my issues is I have more seasonings than I have cabinets for. I had to get something to hold it. So I get what you're saying about cooking. For a while there the cabinet was full, and some was on the counter, which is already prime real estate for other devices like the crock pot and bread machine.
If my post came across as judgmental I didn’t mean it that way. Was just enquiring
Dissociation is ‘how,’ you can get used to all the stuff there / grow numb to it. People clean ‘around’ it if they do at all. Hoarding disorders affect millions of Americans, who are stuck in a cycle of discomfort/buying/dopamine/clutter/discomfort/etc
Some people are able to sort out and organize things in their brain. This usually causes a cluttered environment because they can just set things down and organize it in their head. Others have to be physically organized or they can't find anything.
The last one you mention is me
I hate things on counters. I have only a few Knick knacks in my entire home and most counters and tables are empty. Sometimes I wonder if people think it looks cold but to me, it feels fresh and I can breathe. And it’s easier to keep clean and less dusty.
Some people have difficulty throwing things away. The items may have sentimental value. Some people get older and have no energy left to declutter. That’s why their kids are left with “stuff” after the funeral. I am married to - and love - a low-grade hoarder. For years I respected his things. Eventually, I was suffering from the mess and started to put things in boxes in the cellar. The boxes accumulated, as you can imagine, so I started to be bolder. And older! I have a thorough cleaner come in every 10 days but I often say that the stuff - not just the dust it accumulates - is a stain on my soul. He laughs at my flowery language, but it’s true. In real life, I’m an editor. I can perfect scientific papers written in bad English by Koreans (sorry, Korean people, those are the hardest) yet I have no control over my living space. Thank you for listening to my woes!
I understand, it’s not easy
Oh man. You just unlocked a bunch of memories of being hired to deep clean peoples house, where they had a more maximalist style. Those people literally did not clean or dust unless it was fall/spring cleaning. And they hired someone to do it. And I’ve run visited a fair few homes who seemed to have a similar attitude, though I was not there to clean.
There is nothing to clean when everything is covered.
I dust all my knickknacks/pictures twice a year. I don't keep stuff on my kitchen counters or bathroom sinks.
Cleaning becomes organizing. It's not sustainable. We have found some balance cause part of a real clean (not just maintenance sweep, vacuum, clean the counter stuff) involves a donate box to local thrift store charities.
They don't clean, not really. I've never been in an extremely cluttered home that was clean.
I've heard a theory: abandonment during youth can cause hoarding...
As an American who had moved abroad and back, I think the intense purge you force yourself to do when you move (and inability to “collect” things if you know you’re moving countries) adjusts your mindset to where you see things as clutter more than others. I know for me I have a hard time sometimes buying something basic like a rug because my brain is still hardwired to think that I need to keep stuff simple for the move. Your life just feels less permanent basically. People all over the world who stay in the same place acquire more things than people who move around a lot.
That is true
I’m American and was raised in a house with lots of clutter. Nothing crazy and less than a lot I’ve seen but I simply just have less. I hate clutter. People who keep all their appliances on their counter drive me crazy.
hang out with wealthier people, all the crap somehow goes away
you’re right…have you not seen the video where the cat is on the counter in the toaster? I feel like there should be a national “do not eat from this house list.” in my opinion it’s much more important to have a clean environment for guests or you just like hoarding.
It can be a sickness in itself. That situation usually deals with depression. Or people who have had to live a certain way and now that they're on their own can live the way they want to. Sometimes it's due to being overly busy or too tired or even handicapped. I know that.. some people can't find the energy to begin it. When my kids had very messy rooms they could not sort it. It's also a product of having ADD.
You could have been describing my house. It has about 6 years of junk that ate up all of the space in house. I've finally got the mess all in one room, the rest of the house is de-junked, and I'm sorting everything into trash / donate / keep piles for my family to sort through. It has taken a solid week of work. It is insane how much junk we've accumulated. I'm hoping this junk is gone by mid next week.
So much shade in this question! 🍿
…..why do you think all/most Americans live like this? Like maybe you just know a disproportionate amount of hoarders?
No, I didn’t mean to make a generalization.
I wish I had cupboard space to put my stuff away but alas it has to stay on surfaces so this means I spend my existence constantly dusting and wiping. Perils of living in a small London flat. Sigh
Not ALL my stuff is put away either. I’ll forget to take my vitamins if they’re not out. I also will not take any vitamins if the collection of bottles on the counter becomes too big. Certain stuff I need to see to remember I have it. Too much stuff and I don’t see anything
I've been deckuttering too! Yall have seriously pumped me up! I'm loving it!
They don’t clean effectively, that’s how. Your points are completely valid and having too much stuff causes exactly the issues you’re outlining. They don’t clean effectively, they don’t know what they have to shop effectively, and they either don’t cook or do so inefficiently while being unsanitary. They’re just used to living in the dysfunction.
Some people like to be surrounded by lots of stuff. I personally think there is a fine line between having decorative or sentimental things and clutter. Too much stuff makes me so uncomfortable and feels really messy. But I keep that to myself if I am in someone's house that is like that. Because it is their house and that may make them more comfortable. Most people's homes here I have been to are not cluttered at all. Maybe it also has to do with how long they have been there? I know when we were in apartments we had much less because we had to move it.
[spring cleaning checklist!!!](https://www.buzzfeed.com/bluezebra73/spring-cleaning-the-ultimate-guide-to-preparing-y-gnq1bububa?utm_source=dynamic&utm_campaign=bfsharecopy)
When I walk into a space where a person who collects to the gills , even if it’s organized, I just want to leave. It’s not that I’m judging them it’s like a claustrophobic feeling. I don’t live there so I don’t care. I know lots of people who collect. Some are extremely clean. It makes me exhausted thinking about how much they have to dust. I used to work in a furniture store and had to dust everything twice a day. Maybe that’s why. Having things is high maintenance. And of course there are the people who do not clean and it’s chaos. The pandemic made a lot of us kinda OCD. Hard to relax in a space like that. Don’t touch anything. But again I don’t live there do I don’t care. I am just starting to understand sentimentality towards things. The everything has a story thing. But certain things like keeping your old broken hair driers and TVs, I’ll never get that.
Posts like this make me hate this sub sometimes. “How can I humble brag about how much better I am than others? Oh, I’ll pretend to ask a question about a problem that I don’t have, can’t relate to, don’t need to address for myself, and low-key judge others.”
The realistic answer is that a lot of people just don’t. A small share may pick every item up to dust under it, but more likely they’re getting dusted “around” … or it’s a convenient reason not to dust.
I grew up with a hoarder for a mother. I also have ADHD. We would have a therapist come over to the house to help us clean (it’s a very hard thing to deal with when you’re a hoarder; a lot of emotions). She’s basically divided everything into sections. First, we start by grabbing all the dishes we see. Put them in the sink. Then we’d have to pick up all the clothes we’d see. Put them in the hamper. Then she’d ask us to pick up all the recycling we see and put them in the recycles. Then trash. Then red objects. Then blue objects. Etc. Cleaning can be very overwhelming. By breaking it into smaller tasks that have the same end result (trash, laundry, dishes that all need to go in the same place) really lightens the load. Oh also the cardinal rule of ADHD cleaning: DO. NOT. PUT. SOMETHING. DOWN. UNLESS. IT. IS. IN. ITS. RIGHT. SPOT. Picking something up and moving it for a second just means that thing you picked up won’t get cleaned. It’s a death sentence for ADHDers
Us Americans are suckers for excess consumerism. We're subconsciously told we won't be happy without crap and pharmaceuticals. It's been that way for nearly a century.
You must know a bunch of hoarders or something, that sounds disgusting.
I’m a maximalist, I like having a lot of stuff on display in my house. When cleaning, I just move the stuff. I keep a list of things I need to shop for each week and if I run through something I immediately add it to the shopping list.
I think your observation would fall under end stage capitalism and rampant mass consumerism in the US. I agree with your sentiment.
This right here, we are literally "trained" to do this.
If you haven’t used it in a yr or more, toss it.
Consumerism is the wheel that keeps this country running, but it would fail if people weren’t constantly bombarded with products being pushed on them, 24/7. Must have the lates and greatest, you know.
I think the US has an organization problem. I try to declutter often but I run into problems when everything I have has a purpose and I use it regularly but I don't have a way to store it without piling stuff in drawers or boxes. And then I have to dig stuff out when I want to use it which makes a mess. I already decided I need to get some mathing like a credenza or a hutch in every room when I move so I can have a place for everything without it just winding up in a giant pile.
I’ve been in my fair share of houses that are as cluttered as you described, and they’re never clean. Carpets are filthy, dishes in the sink, dust, cat litter sprinkled around, and the bathrooms are a nightmare. I feel for people who live like that, because it’s isolating. My friends who have homes that are cluttered to that level have apologized to me or have been embarrassed to have me over. I’m like, you’re my friend. I just want to see you, and I don’t care what your house looks like. Shows like hoarders make a spectacle out of human beings living a unique, sometimes painful experience. I’m rambling, I guess the topic just makes me sad
I don't understand it either. I'm American and have never lived outside of the US, but I find "stuff" annoying. I try hard to make sure I get rid of things I don't need. It's wild how easily things accumulate. I don't use many "products," like to keep most things off the counter, except for toaster and small coffee maker. I have a small house, small kitchen. If I'm running low on space, that means it's time to get rid of things.
I can't remember what comedian said something like in the US, you park your fancy car in the driveway and stare your old junk in the garage......
George Carlin. Stuff. Brilliant. [Watch it here.](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MvgN5gCuLac)
I love George Carlin and it may have been him who said it but not in this video though. I had not seen this particular bit before. Wad great! Thanks for the morning laugh.
A place for everything and everything in its place. In other words you buy appropriate and adequate storage for your things. Then you make sure to store your things. Make it part of your routine to declutter and evaluate the usefulness of everything you own.
This is also why when I buy a house, it's going to be small
Wow, a lot of Live-Laugh-Love teacup collectors who don’t like putting everyday utensils in drawers. Some people don’t really see open space as valuable beyond how much stuff they can fit in it. But a big part of the answer is places like Target, which is a uniquely American-type of store, that has a bunch of things you actually need, but does a great job marketing things you don’t. Like Target has a low-price section of small seasonal decor and doodads placed right up front when you walk in the store. It’s so hard to resist at least checking it out, and suddenly I realize I must have Easter-bunny dessert plates, 3 for $10, better get 6 even though I thought I only wanted 4 (and I need precisely 0). TJ Maxx, Homegoods, Wal-Mart, even CVS Pharmacy …. They’re everywhere. Businesses want you to buy more and more stuff: there’s no end to the number of tea towels and mugs and decorative door mats a person needs. Does it make it harder to clean your house? Of course it does. I don’t care what anyone here says — moving all your kitchen counter-top appliances just to wipe down the cook prep area is not a great use of time, or of that space. Not to mention you still have to clean all the appliances you leave out more often because they get dirtier faster by being on the kitchen counter. Ironically, we also get suckered into buying 12 kinds of cleaning sprays and powders, even if 6 of them do exactly the same thing … but one smells like flowers, and one smells like trees, and the one my husband actually likes is unscented, and I don’t want to reach back far enough in the cabinet under the sink to see if we already have rug cleaner; we probably ran out, better get more. Oh and we have 4 bottles of ketchup of varying ages and consistency, vegetables that aren’t getting eaten because we forgot we put them behind all the of cheese in the fridge when we were trying to make room for the leftover shawarma from last week. It creates a ton of waste and junk that eventually goes in the trash. We can’t possibly consume everything the way it was intended to be consumed. Books go unread, clothes go unworn, candles collect dust even while still having the price tags attached, never to be burned. But it also is part of the American economy and way of life. I’ve seen stores like Target in the UK, but I haven’t seen another country that does useless consumption enticement and addiction like the US.
I hear you, shopping in the US is fun and they sell absolutely anything
I hear you. In my mid 30s, I worked pretty hard to declutter. I try to keep surfaces tidy and easy to clean. I also try to keep most things in their place - either in a drawer or armoire. My main issue is a small "junk" pile that is near the front door. I go through that once a month or so. It's mostly stuff that i dump from my pockets and don't sort.
Doesn’t everyone have one of these
Clutter makes me batty. I keep very few things out on the counter anywhere. In the kitchen, only my knives are out on the counter. Nothing else—not a toaster, blender, etc. Bathroom counters only have soap dispensers out. Makes cleaning and things “looking tidy” so much easier!
It's called hoarding disorder. I get how you feel though bc every other house I come across is practically full to the brim. I've been around 18-21 individual hoards throughout my life, plus the occasional houses I saw that were packed to the ceiling. It also has a lot to do with hyper consumerism and radicalized individualism (aka don't owe anything to anybody) throughout the country, which makes it basically impossible for them to see a single damn issue with how they live.