So many comments about my attic door and table!! 😂 For those who don't know, I am filming in my attic, which I am in the process of decluttering so my "set" is in progress. That door leads to a small storage area and the ottoman isn't usually in front of it - I was moving items around up there and didn't put it back before filming!!
@@tarynmaria_ looks like my living room minus the rug. I don't like having too much furniture to clean or dust. I love the open space. It's so calming.
I have two pieces of word art on hand-painted driftwood. One reads: "Be not afraid of shadows" (Richard III). The other reads: "DO" in mango-coloured paint. That's for when I'm depressed, to DO something. Anything. Scoop out the litter box, do the dishes. Anything.
I have a mirror with stick on word art. It covers a scratch on it. The words are "The best things in life aren't things". That's my only word art and I like what it says.
Re cable management: It's possible to drill a big round hole in the back of a bookcase, cabinet, etc. (Use a large circular drill bit.) You can then place the bookcase or whatever against a wall with an outlet, thread a power strip through the hole, and have a nice, discreet spot to recharge your stuff.
No words!! No words on anything - don't like them. Don't like words on clothing either. or bags. I like things to be solid colours and no breaks with pictures or words!!!
Now, I have a lot of plants and most are in one room. And everyone who enters my house absolutely loves it ! It’s like a fresh air oasis. If done right, it’s very visually pleasing ! 😊
@@katie7748I found those who have it, aren’t happy at all. Do we really need anymore stimulus? We’re dealing with computers, phones, noise, media, and on and on.
I always despised that one the most. I’ve seen it on tshirts also ! And Hobby Lobby still sells those ! Although, the shelves look full, I don’t think anyone is buying them.
I DEFINITELY appreciate the dangers of a tripping hazard! We love having an area rug, but we have kids and a dog, the rug is washable, and our house would ECHO without it in the living room. (And there is absolutely no way I'm covering up original hardwood with wall-to-wall permanent carpet.)
@@tinywalnut6337 My grand parents got rid of all of theirs as soon as they hit retirement age 👍🏻 And we have none mainly because I have dogs and it’s more things to clean and my 91 year old dad lives with us. Don’t need him tripping
Okay, I agree with the word art. Best one I've ever seen is above a doorbell. The sign reads "Ring the bell - Win a dog!". And as you ring the bell her three dogs all start barking. Makes me laugh every time I visit her house!
@Indyexpat Back when I was a scout, my Daddy always bought all my thin mints and peanut butter sandwich cookies. My customers were always so disappointed.
Never been a fan of word art especially in a living room, however I do have a small plaque with a comical saying in my kitchen which brings a smile to my face.
I have a painting, handmade, with blue crystals around it. It says; "Do not disturb me when I'm cooking." From Breaking Bad, but every visitor thinks it's cute.
I purchased a couple baskets with lids for cable management in my living room. I run the cables through the handle holes. It is such a huge improvement.
I love your videos. Your voice and demeanor is calming, encouraging. You are spot on with your advice and never come across as judgy. Great job on another great video.
True. It is YOUR home. Decorate how you like, but I also don’t want to “put off” friends and family. Lol. I like less stuff, and just have some random unique pieces where folks who enter say, “oh wow, so cool”. 😊
Love this video. Just discovered you and subscribed. Truth here. I am a hoarder. Working on my problem. It is something I have to fix at my pace. I am maybe 70% better than 2 years ago. What you said about taking a photo of a room and being able to actually SEE the clutter has really helped me.. When I look back at old photo's I realized how bad it was. Thanks for this video!!!!
I live in a small (672 ft2) house. It's easy for it to look cluttered! One thing that helped on the open shelving was the canvas storage boxes. They hide the contents and act as a container to organize them. Paper clutter gets me: I'm a teacher, so I have a lot of books, always have papers, and struggle with writing projects. Having a home for the paper is absolutely key. I'm still working on cord clutter. You brought up some good ideas. My house is small and older, so there aren't many outlets in a given room. I'll see if some of your cable management ideas can help me. My goal is to have one of those robotic vacuums.
I hate fitted carpet so I have hard floors, but I do have a rug under the sofas. It defines the area and feels cozy and it can be sent away for washing if necessary.
We've got machine washable area rugs for bedrooms, the living room, and our bedroom hallway. I canNOT stand rugs or carpets otherwise, they just get disgusting.
I read somewhere that things on the floor cause stress because our primal instinct reacts as if it´s dangerous. I guess because when people lived in nature, you had to be aware of things on the ground.
I actually concur with every bit of this. And I loathe dusting. That is my least favorite chore. So much so that I’ve even gotten rid of some of my belongings because I get sick of dusting around and on them.
I have word art...always gives visitors a chuckle😅 Front porch...."Please remove your choos".......that refers Jimmy Choo(shoes) Flip-flops welcome!.....( I live in them) Kitchen...."The only reason i have a kitchen is because it came with the house " ( I only cook because i have to!) Utility room...." What if the hokey cokey really is what its all about?" "I may not have lost all my marbles yet,but there's a small hole in the bag somewhere" And if i find any more that amuse me...I'm buying😅
I love it! I love going to someone’s house and reading the funny or encouraging messages all over the house. My grandma used to post. Newspaper clippings of funny or encouraging things on the wall of her bathroom! lol 😂 it made the go so much more enjoyable back before smart phones! 😂
Quick note on flipflops, if your heel starts to hurt you need to stop wearing them. They don't offer foot support and can cause foot spurs which is very painful. I loved flipflops, still have several brand new ones stored away but feet pain became unbearable. Swapped for crocs which offer cushioning and support, not pretty but definitely comfortable.
I love your videos! We recently moved into a house about 3x larger than our last and I’m trying to declutter what I do have before I add more. The house looks a little empty right now but I’d rather have an empty home than let my “stuff” overrun me
You are so right in so many ways. But think outside of North America if you could, and realize that some countries do not build closets into homes. The only place we have for our vacuum cleaner, toilet paper, grocery bags, mop, soda crates, and recycling is in our stairway. Thankfully we don't use our stairway often, but it's stuffed. When the chimney sweep comes (by law every 6 months) I have to move a bunch of soda and water crates out of the way for him to get upstairs. Why don't older European homes have closets? No idea. However we don't have the problem of a big metal fridge with magnets and papers - our fridges are mostly built into the cupboards so no magnet will stick to them anyway *lol*
People who don't travel have no idea how different homes are designed in other countries . You have to know something to begin with to "consider" it. She's probably just not aware of it at all. Traditional European homes don't have built in closets because they had wardrobes/armoires, etc and people can buy cabinets for other items as well. You don't have to spend your life looking at your shoes and vacuum cleaner because you don't live in North America.
People who don't travel have no idea how different homes are designed in other countries . You have to know something to begin with to "consider" it. She's probably just not aware of it at all. Traditional European homes don't have built in closets because they had wardrobes/armoires, etc and people can buy cabinets for other items as well. You don't have to spend your life looking at your vacuum cleaner because you don't live in North America. Those stair baskets look like clutter and they're dangerous. Stairs are only designed for walking, not for storage.
True, although most European homes have built in cupboards, which I love, for storage! Even in the U.S., a lot of older homes (like mine) don’t have closets. We had to build a pantry and we added cupboards for our vacuum and cleaning items.
I agree with everything you suggested!! I also do not like things in corners! I recently got a robot vacuum cleaner and that solved the 'putting things on the floor'!!
Visual clutter tips! Visual clutter is ruining your home. Here are 10 common mistakes that are making your home look cluttered. And of course, how to easily fix it! #declutteringandorganizing #minimalism #decluttering Click here for a clean & tidy home!  / @tarynmaria_ Items mentioned: Cable management box: amzn.to/3YGnbEK (similar to mine) Cord hider kit: amzn.to/4cn0LeA Join my mailing list for emails that will make your life easier! eepurl.com/iB2aE2
Only reinforces what I’ve known for most of my life…I’m an AMAZING decorator! I have always detested crap hanging off refrigerators, I have an $8,00O dollar Sub Zero that I had cabinetry added , can’t put a magnet on it even if I wanted to!
My tip for issue #1 (cable management/clutter)... if you have the ability, either with a new home build or remodel, is to add twice as many power outlets/receptacles as required by code. Too often, builders put in the bare minimum and spacing is terrible because of it. Not having to stretch power cords to farther outlets down a wall will reduce the look of cables and the clutter they produce. I *think* most code requires 12 foot spacing on outlets on a wall (and no more than 6 feet from a corner), so perhaps go for 8 or even 6 feet between them. Maybe even less for walls you know are going to have lots of electronics. It also eliminates some reliance on power strips because you run out of receptacles and gives you far more options on device placement. (I'm adding twice the number of receptacles to each room I remodel as I go thru my house, just for that reason)
Such a great tip! My home is over 100 years old and we hardly have any outlets - we've paid to add a few more but it's a big pain when dealing with cords!
@@tarynmaria_ Another thing is to look at quad box receptacles in place of standard duplex for areas that have more then two devices needing power. Relatively simple upgrade and reduces need for power strips.
These are really great tips - you mention a bunch of areas I already knew about, but others I hadn’t thought of (like groups of plants). Looking forward to working on some of these in my home!
wow, I am totally guilty of everything you mentioned, I looked back at old photos of past places and currant and I would say, I am definitely a clutter magnet, LOL
I don't mind it in other people's houses. I find it cute and interesting to see how others do it. Family pictures, fun magnets, artwork, calendar and/or to do list, all kinds of neat things. For example, my aunt and uncle had a fridge you couldn't even see because it was *COVERED* in various magnets, pictures, school artwork, all kinds of stuff. It was one of the few places I ever felt loved, welcomed, wanted, so to me it was comforting to see family things. (Their whole house would give most of you pretty intense anxiety...they have stuff absolutely everywhere haha) Alternatively, I prefer the front of my own fridge to be barren. The sides have a calendar and other practical things but the front cannot have anything on it. It never used to bother me until we moved here...
My walls are pretty empty but I like it- and idc I love my ‘Stay Awhile’ sign just have it & a large clock in the livingroom otherwise there would be nothing on our walls. It feels welcoming I think
I agree with you about not putting things on the floor. My mantra is nothing on the floor except furniture legs, also trash cans because you can’t really keep those up off the floor.
It is possible that the reason your husband tosses things on the floor all of the time is the fact that you are picking it up all of the time… my ex- husband did this as well…I too believed for a long time that this was some kind of personality or gender difference. You know some people are this way and some other people are this other way. Not so, in my experience people who toss things on the floor do so because somebody is constantly picking that stuff up… and they like it tidy.. they just don’t like tidying. Once I realized that I was heavily contributing to this behavior I exited that relationship. Now I have a much more considerate male partner who actually cares about me.
I don't think it's possible in our case as I'm not picking the things up myself and they eventually get taken care of. I think people have different thresholds for mess - but that's ok! It keeps the world interesting!
@@tarynmaria_ ok, in my case I definitely have a very law threshold for clutter… especially floor clutter … as it prevents me from walking freely among other things… my ex would sometimes take care of the stuff on the floor but by that time days or weeks would have passed by… most of the time I would have picked stuff up so I could breathe. Now that I know this about myself I no longer inhabit living spaces with people who have a very high threshold for clutter or who show too little consideration for people who have a very law clutter threshold I am glad you are able to make it work 👍
@@Lilly-xg5xw my husband and I was the exact opposite. I'm fussy about my house being clean but my bedroom was a different story. My entire life ive thrown dirty clothes on the floor. One day after a few months of living with my husband, I was going to do laundry so I went around the bedroom picking up dirty laundry. That's how it's been done since I was a small child. Well I noticed I was picking up HIS clothes. That pissed me off. He shouldn't leave his clothes laying around for me to pick up! My brain said but you leave your clothes on the floor. But I pick them up I replied to my commonsense side of my brain. Commonsense brain said yes but he has to look at the mess until you do....OHHHH lightbuld turns on. I started using a hamper. It took about a month to make it a habit but now even the bedroom stays clean.
There are many men (and women, too) who live alone and throw their clothes on the floor. They don't have anyone else to pick up after them, that's just how they are.
I HATE CORDS! Everything should be cordless. Or why do they put a black or brown cord on a beautiful lamp with brass? Why not a gold cord and gold plug? Im sure it’s more costly. I do not like dusting, as well. Whoever invented the swifter duster is a genius, in my opinion. And the long one for high areas? Awesome. I finally put my papers, etc. on the side of the frig, also. Great idea. Love your videos!
New sub here. I love how personable you are. I learned a couple of new things here! A couple more that I did recently (coz it felt right) and now I understand why.
I also never found it necessary to hire a realtor when selling our homes. I don’t need a stranger to point out to a potential buyer… “and here’s the kitchen”. Well, duhhh ! Lol We also don’t need signs that say EAT or GATHER or anything else like that. Like, we know it’s the kitchen 😂😂😂
Just moved into a smaller place where the word art wall stickers were in every room. When we went to remove them the drywall came with it in some places. UGH.... This did me in for the word art.
@lobstermash • Same here, especially the stuff on stairs. I have mobilty problems, and I hate to visit one of my friends because of the shoes on almost every step, or the laundry hamper needing to go upstairs. I'm genuinely terrified of tripping and falling.
Not only the stairs please. But make sure you have a clutter free path from upstairs to downstair at all rooms and from front to back of your house. Keep the floors clutter free if you have vision and or mobility problems.
Never had this entryway problem. I don't think anyone told us to do this, we just took our stuff to our rooms. My kids have always taken their stuff to their rooms and I never told them to lol Having NO place to put clutter also helps.
Please tell this to all those elementary school teachers! Classrooms are so cluttered they look like hoarder houses! It's a wonder any child can concentrate!
I have set up a noticeboard inside the boiler cabinet door in my kitchen. I used self adhesive cork tiles and pins. The front of the boiler is metal so I use a magnetic hook to hang our calendar. I have a pen pot with a magnet on the back which lives there too. Under the boiler we have room for a shoe storage system. We live in a cottage where the front door opens straight into the kitchen and there is no hallway.
Nothing wrong with word art. I have a few plaques on our kitchen wall. They look perfect. They’re cream and white on a white wall. And it’s organised properly and not just scattered randomly.
Some great tips here, but I have to ask about the mail. I see it in every decluttering video and wonder if it's an American thing? I find things in my mailbox once, maybe twice a week, and it's only flippers trying to buy every living space possible and Kaufland - the only store that still brings leaflets (other stores luckily stopped doing that). I throw them out right away. All the bills and bank stuff are sent by e-mail. And that's it. What do you get by mail in the US that it's so much paper clutter? Genuine question.
It's 100% a US thing. It's all junk mail! I've even paid to take my name off lists and it's barely made a dent :( It's not like that in other countries for sure.
@@tarynmaria_ Oh wow, that's horrible. Thank you for your answer. I'd go insane sorting through such junk mail all the time trying to see if there's anything important. Poor trees :(
I like to start somewhere I see when I walk into the house so I like to start with the entryway. Or, I think the kitchen counter is another great place!
Anything left on the floor, now belongs to the dog. If you don't want it chewed, slept on, wrestled with, slobbered on, or dragged across the floor, please don't leave it there.
Sometimes, everybody loves my organized creative desk and above shelves It's a part of me. Btw the rest of my flat is essentialistic. Art supplies are my essentials 😊
Same. Especially in the kitchen or those Godawful open concept "spaces." Kitchen dust is grimy. Have fun keeping those shelves and everything on them clean!
Cheap hint: I repurposed a shoe box. Covered it in brown paper and cut a small hole in each end. It has the bulky bits and excess lengths of all those TV etc. cables in it, and the cables go in and out. And I bought packets of clear cable clips off eBay for barely anything to keep the exposed cables in order. Everything looks neat and tidy now where there was once utter disaster. Next: tackling my home-office cabling!
I had to laugh at this, Taryn. My husband perpetrates all the don'ts, which I'm constantly trying to correct. For instance, he just doesn't see the cables and cords, until the clutter get to the point where I lose it (we now have cable management boxes). He also uses the floor for storage. True story: when I moved in with him (back when shiny leggings and headbands were a thing), there was nothing in his closets or drawers or cabinets. Everything was on the floor! I moved my stuff into the empty storage spaces, and have been trying ever since to train him to use them, too. And don't get me started on the way he drops things any old where and never puts anything away. We've made some progress over the years, but it's been a challenge. Fortunately, he's full of other wonderful qualities, so I can laugh at his "housekeeping", or at least shake my head, because it's just so extreme!
Might check out Dana K. White (a slob comes clean), she talks about being the type of person who tended to just let things leave her hand as soon as she didn’t need it. She came up with how to deal with it and what helped her change some of her mindless habits.
Hi! Have you maybe thought of hanging a few nice hooks at the front door? That could be a good solution and if you get some pretty ones I bet it would look nice!
My bedroom is the only room that is cluttered. My closet is two and a half feet wide. Not everything fits. I had to add a closet bar to a wall. There wasn't an armour big enough for my wardrobe. Plus, I have a bureau set to store folded items. I need clothes for work, play, outtings and storage isn't an option. I hate things on the floor, even under the bed.
Hobby lobby is still selling these word art signs so is everyone else. Women seem to like them. I do agree that too much clutter will definitely make a person feel stressed out unless you are a sloppy person who really doesn’t care about their messy home. It is all about being a neat person.
