Your Clutter is Lying to You (Here’s How to Stop Listening) | Clutterbug Podcast #329

Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast

Clutterbug

Leisure, Home & Garden, How To, Self-improvement, Education

4.7 • 2.2K Ratings

🗓️ 8 June 2026

⏱️ 54 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hey Clutterbugs! Today we’re talking about how to declutter when you're emotionally attached to everything. Your clutter is telling you stories, and most of them are lies. We have to learn the decluttering psychology behind why we keep things we don't use, love, or need—and how to finally let go of sentimental clutter, guilt, and shame. A few months ago, a 20-second clip of me telling a client "no stories" during a decluttering session went viral—millions of views, and the comments weren't all kind. But through my own journey and after years of decluttering for clients, I've discovered that we talk ourselves into keeping things by telling elaborate stories about why we might need them, why we should use them, or why letting go makes us a bad person. In this episode, I'm teaching you how to spot the toxic narratives your belongings are whispering to you—shame, identity, and scarcity—and how to rewrite the story so you can take your power back. You'll learn: The "story spotting" tool: red flag words that mean you're about to talk yourself into keeping something How to separate facts from stories (42 coffee mugs vs. "it would be wasteful to get rid of them") My personal story about Joe's grandmother's guilt-inducing sweaters and how I finally let them go Real examples from my recent NYC makeover with Chloe and Gretchen Rubin How your Clutterbug organizing style affects the stories you tell yourself And of course, there’s a challenge involved: find one space where clutter is telling you a toxic story. Clear it. Then ask yourself: what is this space telling me NOW? Because clutter makes us feel small and suffocated. But space? Space makes us feel endlessly big. Let's rewrite the story together, Clutterbugs! Want to get organized? Learn 6-Step The Clutterbug Method: https://clutterbug.thinkific.com/courses/Clutterbug-Method You can find more Clutterbug content here: Main YouTube Channel: @Clutterbug Website: http://www.clutterbug.me TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@clutterbug_me Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/clutterbug_me/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Clutterbug.Me/ #decluttering #declutter #organizing #homeorganization #clutterfree #minimalism #declutteringtips #organizingtips #clutterbug #emotionalclutter #sentimentalclutter #howtodeclutter #organizeyourhome #declutteryourlife #adhd #adhdorganizing #cleaningtips #homehacks #organizationhacks #clutterhelp #messyhouse #organizingmotivation #declutteringmotivation #tidying #tidyingtips #homeorganizer #professionalorganizer #organizingstyles #clutterbugmethod #butterflyclutterbug #beeclutterbug #cricketclutterbug #ladybugclutterbug #letitgo #minimalist #simplify #simplifiedliving #intentionalliving #mindfulness #mentalhealth #anxietyrelief #overwhelm #momlife #busymom #workingmom #productivity #selfcare #personaldevelopment #mindsetshift #podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Your clutter isn't a moral failing. It's a story that you keep rehearsing and it keeps talking to you,
0:06.7	telling you the same old thing over and over again. A few months ago, I was helping Jessica McCabe.
0:12.6	At first, I went to her home and helped her declutter and organize. And then she was so inspired.
0:18.6	She wanted to continue on with the rest of the house. And she had one
0:22.0	room in particular called the Doom Room that was absolutely so chaotic. She needed a little bit of
0:29.4	help so I was on a coaching call with her. And during that coaching call, I cut her off mid-sentence
0:37.0	in maybe perhaps a harsh way and just told her no stories.
0:42.1	And there was a short clip, like 20-second clip of this situation that completely went viral.
0:48.0	I'm talking like millions of views and the comments were kind of like not always so nice.
0:53.9	There were people who thought I was rude. There were people who said, oh my gosh, I could never talk to someone like that. Or they said, I would cry if you ever said this to me. This is a whiteboard. I got this whiteboard specifically. No stories. I don't care. Listen. No. Pick pick it up again is it health and wellness related
1:12.6	it is not is it some this is really helpful because we've already done almost the rest of the house so if it
1:19.8	doesn't belong in the rest of the house which it clearly didn't exactly want in health and wellness then it
1:24.2	doesn't go here exactly because your stuff in this room is health and wellness.
1:29.0	You have rules for what stays in this room.
1:31.0	The most important thing that we have to do in this room is set ground rules.
1:35.1	And every room, it's really important to identify the purpose and the things that you do.
1:41.0	But when you have a multi-purpose room like this, it's even more important.
1:44.6	That means nothing that doesn't belong in those categories can go into this space.
1:50.0	We're really clear on what belongs and that boundary means that it will stay tidy long term.
1:57.0	So part of me wanted to defend myself, but also I'm really excited that this message
2:02.8	is getting out because I've helped literally hundreds and hundreds of people declutter. And
2:08.4	what I've seen are these patterns, these patterns that keep creeping up over and over again.
	...

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