Ep. 583: Too Much Clutter? Searching for Lost Items? Try These Hacks. Plus a Self-Knowledge Question.

Happier with Gretchen Rubin

Lemonada Media

Health & Fitness, Education, Self-improvement

4.7 • 13.2K Ratings

🗓️ 22 April 2026

⏱️ 38 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

We talk about a specific, easy way to reduce the unworn clothes in your closet, and we also share a listener’s clothes-related hack for keeping track of lost items. We explore an interesting distinction: are you a nostalgic person or an expectant person? Resources & links related to this episode: Take the "Four Tendencies" quiz Check out my book Outer Order, Inner Calm Check out the I Want You To Know journal for a Mother's Day Gift Elizabeth: Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg (Amazon, Bookshop) Gretchen: Nonesuch by Francis Spufford (Amazon, Bookshop) Get in touch: podcast@gretchenrubin.com Visit Gretchen's website to learn more about Gretchen's best-selling books, products from The Happiness Project Collection, and the Happier app. Find the transcript for this episode on the episode details page in the Apple Podcasts app. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Lemonada.
0:06.4	This message comes from Harvard Business School Executive Education.
0:10.3	Now is the time to invest in yourself and change the world with your voice.
0:14.0	Our programs connect you with faculty at the forefront of their fields,
0:17.3	introduce you to a global network of leaders, and help you step into your full potential. The next chapter is yours. Let us help you write it. Apply today to accelerate your future. Learn more at HBS.me slash accelerate. That's HBS.m.m. slash accelerate.
0:49.2	Hello and welcome to Happier, a podcast where we talk about strategies and solutions for bringing more happiness into our everyday life.
0:56.2	This week we'll talk about why you should try on every pair of pants, and we pose an interesting know-yourself better question. Are you a nostalgic person or an expected person? I'm Gretchen
1:03.7	Rubin, a writer who studies happiness, good habits, human nature. I'm in my little home office
1:09.2	in New York City, and joining me today from Los Angeles
1:12.5	is my sister Elizabeth Kraft, and Elizabeth, you and I have had sessions where I basically
1:18.2	force you to try on every pair of pants. That's me, Elizabeth Kraft, a TV writer and producer living in
1:23.8	L.A., and yes, Gretch, you have helped me go through my jeans many a time.
1:28.9	One of my favorite things to do. But before we jump in, we have a few updates.
1:33.3	Yes, this comes from Kara. She says, your recent episode about how questioners answer questions
1:39.3	gave me amazing new insight into a frequent source of conflict between me and my husband. I never really
1:45.4	thought of him as a questioner, but after hearing this episode, I think he definitely has
1:49.9	questioner tendencies. I'm an obliger with some upholder tendencies, and I tend to be pretty
1:55.2	direct in my communication style. It drives me crazy when I ask him a question, and instead of providing the information I
2:02.2	wanted, he answers a slightly different question that gets at what he thinks might be motivating the
2:08.0	inquiry. Example, question, what time is our son's soccer practice? Answer, I could take him.
2:14.4	If I follow up with more questions trying to get a straight answer, he often perceives
2:18.9	it as being interrogated while I get more and more frustrated. It leads to many dumb arguments.
	...

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