Tracy McCubbin
Appearances
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You know, so start small, have success. So let's say do your junk drawer. We've all got one. Every house has a junk drawer. Get rid of the broken rubber bands, the dead batteries, like organize your junk drawer. Then see what it feels like to when you need something, you know exactly where to go for it. Start small, have a small success, and then you build on it.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
I started doing these on Instagram, things you can declutter in under five minutes. Coffee mugs, baseball caps, socks. And they absolutely blew up. People loved them. They were manageable, bite-sized tasks that people were accomplishing. And every day, I think we've been doing them for about six,
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
weeks or two months now every day i get messages from people who are like i started doing these videos i've done my whole house i didn't even really notice right that i did it when i was listening to a podcast or watching the news so it was a way to break it down into manageable chunks that people could get done feel successful and then move on to the next thing
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
you need a regular decluttering practice. You know, it's like cleaning the house. You clean your house and it doesn't stay clean, right? It gets dirty and you have to stay on top of decluttering. The clutter builds up. The holidays are right around the corner. We're gonna get gifts we don't want. You know, you're gonna like clothes you don't wanna wear anymore.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You've gotta make decluttering a part of your regular process. And this is also really interesting for people to think about. Decluttering, organizing, and cleaning your house are three separate tasks, right? I think a lot of people smush them together, but they're very different. Cleaning your house is cleaning your house. Getting a sponge, you know, cleaner, cleaning your house.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Organizing is finding a home for everything, putting it away, knowing where it lives. And decluttering is getting rid of what you don't want, need, or use. So I think people get really log jammed when they try and do them all together. And they need to understand that there are three separate tasks.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
It's baloney. Because what they're really saying is, I know where everything is. It's in that giant pile on my desk that it's going to take me 22 minutes to find it when I have to go through everything. You know, there's this idea, and a lot of people have said this, well, if I put it away, I'm not going to know where it is. And I'm like, that's not, you know, I need a visual reminder.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
I feel like if you put something away and you make a conscious decision about
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
you know these are where my pens live my pens always live in this drawer i put them away i always know where to get them you won't need the visual reminder anymore so i think when people say that they haven't set the systems up right this is where my tax documents go this is where my x y or z goes so it's about setting up systems so that everybody in the house knows where to put things away because then you know where to find them
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You know, I think it's about putting things in logical places, right? You know, putting hats and gloves to go outside in the hall closet, you know, put, you know, things that live in the kit that you use in the kitchen, in the kitchen, where I see things starting to fall apart for people is when it's there's sort of putting things away where they have space for it.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Oh, well, this should just live over here because I've got an empty cabinet. It's like, but that doesn't make any sense because those are batteries that you use in the kids' toys and the kids' toys are all the way across in the family room.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
When people don't acknowledge the emotional hold, I think when people don't understand how emotionally attached to their stuff they are, then it all sort of falls apart. Because all of a sudden, if you don't have that conversation with yourself and realize that you're making your things important, everything becomes important, right?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
If you keep everything because it's special, then nothing is special. And I also think it's like you said, not understanding that being decluttered and organizing is a regular practice, something that you got to do, you know, once a week, tidy everything up. And also the number one thing that people can do to be less cluttered. It's so old fashioned, but it works.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
My grandma drilled this into my head. Don't put things down, put them away. Okay. Don't dump it on the dining room table. Hang your coat up in the coat closet. Don't put it down. Put it away.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
stuff from people who've passed away. Someone was in your life that you love dearly and you're keeping all this stuff and furniture and things that you don't like and things that you aren't gonna use because you feel, well, how could I possibly let go of that? I can't do that.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
What I always tell people is you're keeping that stuff because you don't want to lose the connection to that person that you loved. And I don't want you to either. But if you're keeping all this stuff of theirs and it's become a burden, you're actually dishonoring their memory. I loved my grandmother, so I still love her. She's the first person I hope I see when I go to the other side.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
I have like three things of hers. I don't have that much, but the things that I have, I wear her wedding ring every day. And every time I look at it, it makes me smile. But I don't have a house full of her stuff just to honor her memory. I have a few things that I use that make me think of her and love her.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
I've been doing this for 15 years. I think I did the math recently. I have something like 40,000 hours of decluttering and organizing under my belt. I can count on three fingers how many times somebody has called me and said, oh, I want that thing back. Once it's gone, it's gone. And so it's about getting in the process of letting go. Is this thing going to help me? Is it worth it?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You know, piece of furniture that you may not use in your new house. Is it worth the X amount of dollars it's going to cost to move it across town, right? Like do the economic math of it. And it's the... And it's the sort of muck and mire of the decision making. And once you make the decision, you feel great. So it's exactly what you said.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You feel guilty or you feel like you're not being smart with your money. But if you can work through those decisions and let the thing go, you don't really ever think about it again.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
And this has been great, Mike. Thank you so much for having me on.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Thank you, Mike. Thanks for having me.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
today on something you should know if you're going house hunting or car shopping there are certain days you should and should not go then how to get organized and clear out the clutter where do you start organize your junk drawer you've all got one every house has a junk drawer get rid of the broken rubber bands the dead batteries organize your junk drawer then see what it feels like when you need something you know exactly where to go for it
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
We are emotionally attached to our stuff, right? We've created this whole story around it. My aunt gave it to me, but she's passed away and I can't possibly get rid of it because she'll be angry at me. I paid good money for this. I never use it, but it was expensive. Or this Letterman's jacket reminds me of who I used to be.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
We've created these stories around our stuff and we become attached to them. So because of these stories, we don't let go and our homes start to fill up with too much stuff.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Exactly. Look, I have helped people declutter. I've been a professional declutter and organizer for 15 years now. I have decluttered so many storage units. And I can tell you that there is nothing, there is nothing in those storage units that's worth more than someone's paying to store it.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
But because we've told ourselves this story that this is somehow important, then we're financially taxing ourselves. And I think that's the thing to understand. This is what I tell people all the time, that your home and your stuff is a tool. your home is a tool. It's where you rest. It's where you replenish. It's where you renew yourself, right?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Where you connect with your family over the dinner table or get a good night's sleep. But if it's so full of stuff that it can't function, it's detracting from you. Look, they've done the science. They've tested this. They've done so much research into how much Energy, our clutter sucks from us. If you live in a cluttered home, you have elevated cortisol. They've done it. They've proved it.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
So this is always what I say to people. It's not about creating a perfect home so that you look good on Pinterest. It's about creating a home that works for you.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
100%. And I don't make some edict about you can only have 30 books and five shirts. It doesn't work that way. What's different? Everybody's different. And like you said, some people are collectors. Some people, like I just worked with a woman who loves roosters. She loves them. She has so many rooster things around her house. It makes her so happy. It would make me nuts. But But I respect that.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
But what I'm talking about is when it stops working. If you start to feel like you don't own your stuff anymore, but your stuff owns you, that's when the clutter becomes a problem. So it's not a sort of, it has to be one way and everybody's the same. It's, has it stopped working for you? Do you have rooms in your house that you can't go into anymore?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
That's usually the first time I get a phone call from a potential new client. They're like, we have two guest rooms. We want our kids to come and visit, but they're so full of, I don't even know what, we can't use them. That's when the clutter isn't working anymore.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You know, everybody's different. I mean, there are some thematic things, you know, a lot too many clothes, paperwork, tools in the garage. But the way that it sort of presents itself as opposed to a category of stuff, it's more about the emotional hold they have. So if I go, you know, if I go into a garage and there's tons and tons and tons of tools and And it's an older couple.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
You know, the gentleman's in his 80s. He's not fixing cars anymore. He's not getting up on a ladder. Right. This is sort of the stuff of his past. You know, I go into work with young moms and their bodies have changed after having a baby, but they're keeping all these clothes on.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
from when they were a different shape, like, oh, well, I'm going to get back there someday, or that's how I'm supposed to be. You know, so much of it is about being stuck in the past or feeling wasteful. It's more about the emotional story that people tell themselves than what the stuff actually is.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
yeah and here's the thing it's like i collect cookbooks i cook all the time i love my cookbooks i have two big shelves of them i go back to them i refer refer to them all the time they're a part of my life but i'm in so many kitchens where people are like oh we don't even cook like we just have those for show so it's about are the things serving you are they helping you and
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
also about feeling good in your home. You should feel good. You should feel happy. You should want to be in your home. And so I think it's about finding the balance. Life's all about balance, right, Mike? It's like we strive to be something, but sometimes we're like, okay, we're going to have to give a little over here so we can get a little more peace over there.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
yeah absolutely so one of the things that they found and this especially applies to women but people who live in cluttered homes have raised cortisol so we know that cortisol is our fight or flight right it's the thing that keeps the kind of fat around the belly stuck on us people in cluttered homes have that
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
They did a really fascinating study where I think they did it at Harvard, where they put people in a cluttered kitchen and they offered them the choice of a carrot or a cookie. The majority of the people in the cluttered kitchen took the cookie. Then they took people and they put them in an uncluttered kitchen. They'd offered them a carrot and a cookie.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
The majority of people in the uncluttered kitchen took the carrot. And what they think that is about, and I'm not sure if you've discussed this with your listeners, but there's something that they've found called decision fatigue, which is where it's basically that sort of completely oversimplified.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
But the part of your brain that makes decisions, the more decisions it makes in a day, the more tired it gets. And when that part of your brain gets tired, it defaults to making bad decisions. So it's why when you wake up in the morning, you feel fantastic. You're like committed to I'm just going to eat grilled chicken and steamed broccoli and I'll be great all day.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
But then you've worked a 12 hour day and the kids are screaming and you find yourself eating a whole pepperoni pizza. You're making a bad decision because you've made so many decisions. So I like to say to people that clutter is a constant decision. You always have to make a decision about your clutter. Do I need this? Do I like it? Do I want it? Where should it live? Where should I put it away?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Clutter is a constant to-do list. So having a house that's really full of clutter puts you in a space where you're making decisions all the time. And you basically just put yourself into decision fatigue.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Exactly. And there's also something else that happens in the brain. And we've all experienced this in our lives. Like you have a pile of clutter on the dining room table and you walk past it every day, you kind of start to not see it anymore. Like your eyes literally zone it out. And then all of a sudden you're gonna have people over for dinner and you're like, oh, wow, I gotta clean that off.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
So we really start to see it and people get stuck. People get stuck on knowing how to start, where to start, and are really just daunted by the task. So I always tell people a couple things when it comes to their decluttering journey. First of all, spend a week just living in your house and figuring out where your house doesn't work.
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Are your kitchen counters so covered with stuff that you just don't even go in there anymore? You don't cook anymore. Are you parking your car outside because your garage is so full? Figure out where your house doesn't work. And then also, what would you gain by decluttering that space? What's the positive outcome?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
So if you clean out your garage, does that mean this winter you're going to be able to park your car in there and not have to scrape off the ice every morning? What are you going to gain by decluttering?
Something You Should Know
How to Happily Overcome Clutter & Why Pop Culture is so Valuable - SYSK Choice
Exactly. So I always tell people, start small. Rome was not cluttered in a day. This did not happen overnight. So start small and pick a category that you're not as emotionally attached to. So don't start with photographs. Like that's the mistake people make all the time. They're like, well, I tried to declutter all my photographs. I'm like, that's That's the hardest thing.