Messy vs. Clutter

Is your space messy or cluttered?

The difference between Messy and Clutter

Messy and cluttered homes illicit the same emotions: we feel stress, frustration, overwhelm, and have difficulty finding items. But, I like to make a differentiation between the two because it’s helpful in knowing if you’re dealing with a “mess” or “clutter” and what your next step should be.

Messy Moments

As humans who often live with other humans, messy happens. We don’t always immediately return an item after using it. We don’t check the mail right away. We don’t always put away our shoes. Sometimes, dust and dirt creeps in. But, messes are meant to be a TEMPORARY STATE.

Think about it - when you spill juice, you “clean up the mess.” When you deal with the spill (or mess) quickly, the “clean up” is usually simple and quick.

When your space gets messy, the solution is to reset the space. A tidy reset involves returning items to their designated “homes.” This is fast and easy when you have pre-designated homes for all your items and are aware of what you own and its function in your life. And, whenever any new item is purchased, it is easy to designate a “home” for it because you store similar items together.

Clutter is The Unknown

Clutter, on the other hand, is looking at your space and feeling unsure of what’s all there. Instead of joyful ownership and seeing your items’ individual contributions, your possessions are given the negative and generic, all-encompassing label of “stuff” (or even “crap” or “sh*t”). Instead of contributing to our lives, the items are robbing us of our energy, time, power, and joy.

When your space is cluttered, the solution is to edit your belongings in the space. By categorically removing items that no longer serve a purpose and organizing remaining items into proper “homes,” you can effectively downgrade any clutter scenario into a temporary mess.

Take action now

Start today! You don’t have to wait for an entire free weekend to start, you can begin now with baby steps and tackle a small section or pile of items. Set a timer for 15-30 minutes and block out time to reset or edit a space that is making you feel stressed, frustrated or overwhelmed. Baby steps are still steps forward! 🙌🏽