The Clutter Fairy Weekly #299
The Chicken or the Egg: Complexities of the Organizing Process
An audience member asked, “Is there a ‘Which came first, the chicken or the egg?’ way of thinking about decluttering?” We started pondering the conundrums we face as we work to organize—such as whether more storage ever really solves the problem of too much stuff. In episode #299 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, examines “chicken and egg” dichotomies that challenge people with clutter and offers strategies for escaping these mental traps.
We dedicate this week’s episode with joy, love, and gratitude to James Louis Gumnick (October 5, 1930–April 8, 2026). You are forever in our hearts, Dad. “All is well!”
Some content in this episode is based on results of a survey of our audience.
The next selection for The Clutter Fairy Book Club will be New Order: A Decluttering Handbook for Creative Folks (and Everyone Else) by Fay Wolf. Shop for the paperback or ebook at Bookshop.org.
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The Weekly Tittle is an exercise designed to focus your attention on a specific space, aspect, or challenge of decluttering and organizing your home. We assign a new tittle in each webcast/podcast, then check on your progress the following week.
What If I Need It Someday?
This week’s assignment is to process one or more of the “just in case” items in your space.
- Identify an item that you’ve been keeping against an uncertain or unspecified future need.
- Reflect on the real likelihood that you will need or use the item within the next year or two. When was the last time you needed or used it?
- Think about the replacement cost of re-buying the item if you should decide to declutter it right now. What is the threshold beyond which the cost of replacing this item would become uncomfortable for you?
- Now consider the costs of keeping the item—the space it takes up, the effort required to clean or maintain the item, the mental space required to keep track of it.
- Decide whether this item really deserves a place in your home. If so, assign a permanent location to display or store the item. If not, dispose of the item by any appropriate method.
For the full discussion of this week’s tittle, watch the Weekly Tittle segment on YouTube.
I am a seamstress and in the process of deciding what has to go or stay. Currently paperwork. I have printed patterns and have never used the patterns and often use the backside of paper for new patterns and some just throw out. Feel guilty but free of the paper. Bag hardware that will be sold and fabric to other new seamstresses. Not on overload but one thing at a time.