What if I told you that decluttering is only 25% about getting rid of stuff? And the reason most people struggle with decluttering or keeping their home tidy and clutter-free is because they're missing the other 75% of the equation. This is something that you almost never hear decluttering and organizing experts talk about.
And I'm going to break down why that is along with one simple rule that I've mastered after 10 years of minimalism that not only helped me purge 30 years of clutter and mess, but also to keep my home clutterfree forever. Hi there and welcome or welcome back to my channel. My name is Mura and this is A to Zen Life.
And I'm an exporter turned minimalist. And almost 10 years ago, I embarked upon a journey to declutter the 30 years of stuff that I've been drowning beneath after losing my parents and my childhood home. And then back in 2019, I finally succeeded in getting rid of over 90% of our stuff, at which point we moved overseas for a while.
And believe it or not, since then, our family of four has lived in five different homes, including a 1,200 square foot one-bedroom apartment, a four-bedroom condo in Berlin, a two-bedroom temporary apartment that we moved into when we repatriated back to the USA, and that we had to move out of in one day because of some crazy mixup with paperwork, which was just so so fun. the three-bedroom townhouse that we moved into after the paperwork debacle and now our first house house with a yard in the suburbs of Chicago. But you know what all of those homes have in common?
No matter their size, no matter their layout or floor plan, and no matter which country they were in, I have been able to get and keep every single one of them clean, tidy, and clutter-free. And I can assure you, it's not because I love cleaning or because I went out and bought a ton of fancy bins. It's because I finally understood the one simple rule that I'm going to share with you today.
So, going back to when I first started decluttering, I honestly thought that decluttering alone was going to fix my problems and give me a clutter-free home that was easy to manage. But what I and a lot of people don't realize is that decluttering by itself does not address the root cause of our clutter problems. One mistake that I used to make all the time was I would fill up my car with a trunk full of donations and drop them off at Goodwill and then drive around to park up front and head inside to shop.
And I know that I'm not the only one who does this because I've spoken to and work with a lot of people who say they want to declutter on one hand, but who are struggling with impulse spending or even shopping addiction on the other hand to the point where they can't even walk into Target without dropping $200 or $300 every time, even when they only went in to buy milk and eggs. No amount of decluttering is going to fix habits like those. And over time, I realized decluttering is only 25% of the solution that adds up to a clutter-free home and life.
And not addressing the other 75% of the equation means that you're quietly undoing your own progress in the background. It's like for every one step you take forward, your habits keep pulling you three steps back. And that's why today I want to teach you the one rule that changed everything for me and helped me master the art of clutter-free living, which I like to call the table rule.
Imagine your clutter-free home like a table. And a table needs four strong legs to stay balanced. And if one or more legs are missing or broken, the table will collapse.
And the same thing is true for your home. So, the four pillars of a clutter-free home are outflow, inflow, systems, and mindset. And if you're not used to thinking this way, I know it might sound complicated, but it's actually super super simple.
And understanding this is the secret to a home that always stays tidy and clutterfree. So, the first pillar is outflow. And outflow is all about decluttering and letting things go.
And it's what most decluttering tips and videos tend to focus on. Most decluttering content stops there. It treats outflow as if it's the whole solution when in reality it's just one leg of the table.
And if you only focus on outflow, if decluttering is the only thing you ever work on, your table is never going to stand for long. So, let's talk about the other three factors that almost never get the attention they deserve. The second pillar of the table rule is inflow.
And inflow is everything that comes into your home. This category includes everything from shopping purchases to freebies and gifts to family handme-downs and things like that. And if the inflow of stuff into your home is equal to or even more than the stuff flowing out of your home, then I think you can see the problem.
So, here's the thing. We live in a time where it's never been easier to buy stuff on a whim. And billions upon billions of dollars are being spent by companies each year figuring out smarter and better ways to trick you into spending your hard-earned money on crap you don't need.
And all of it is designed to make buying feel effortless, harmless, and like something you deserve. Which is why we've now added words like frictionless shopping and treat yourself culture to our lexicons. It's gotten to the point where inflow doesn't even feel like a conscious decision anymore.
It feels more like a reflex. And when buying becomes a reflex, your decluttering efforts quietly turn into a hamster wheel of shuffling stuff into and out of your home. And then we wonder why our homes feel so chaotic.
If inflow isn't intentional, then no amount of decluttering will ever be enough. And so for me, this pillar was a huge wakeup call because the moment I learned to stop treating shopping like a fun hobby, not only did that slow the inflow of stuff into my home, but my decluttering efforts also became 10 times more effective. That's one of the reasons our family makes it a habit to do at least one no spend month per year.
And this past year, we actually ended up doing two complete no-by- months, which if you do the math, means that 15% of the 52 weeks of the year, we spent almost nothing on non-essentials. But speaking of math, both inflow and outflow together are still only 50% of the equation. So now, let's dive into pillar number three of the table rule, which is the systems pillar.
And when I say systems, I want to be very, very clear about what I don't mean. I don't mean Pinterest perfect closets, color-coded pantries, or clear containers with labels all lined up nicely in a row. This is another area where I think decluttering and organizing videos have kind of lost the plot because they're focused more on aesthetics versus creating functional systems, especially if it means they can make a few quick bucks selling you all of the pretty baskets and organizers in their videos.
But after many, many years of teaching people about decluttering, organizing, and minimalism, I found that most homes aren't actually lacking in storage. What they're lacking is logical systems. Things aren't given proper homes close to where they get used.
There's friction in everyday routines and the storage systems that they're using are designed for a fantasy version of their life instead of their real actual lifestyle. So, for example, if your mail doesn't have a clear landing zone, it will start piling up all over the place. If your kids shoes and backpacks don't have an obvious home, they'll just live on the floor of your entryway.
And if you shop for clothes whenever you feel like it, instead of with rhyme or reason, then the end result is a closet overflowing with clothes that still leaves you feeling like you have nothing to wear. But when your systems are designed in alignment with your home, family, and lifestyle, then decluttering, organizing, and maintaining your home become something that runs on autopilot. And any subsequent clutter, and mess are no longer a sign of personal failure.
They're just feedback. Once your systems match your actual home in life, your home finally starts working with you instead of against you. Speaking of which, before we move on to the fourth pillar, I just wanted to give you a quick heads up that my five-star rated decluttering course, Clutter GPS, is now on sale just in time for Christmas and the new year.
But I really want to emphasize that Clutter GPS, isn't just about decluttering. It teaches you all four pillars of the table rule, outflow, inflow, systems, and mindset. And this is the exact framework that I've used to get and keep five very different homes clean, calm, and clutter-free for good.
This course has over 7 hours of text and video lessons on how to declutter your home and life step by step, as well as a bonus miniourse on how to sell, donate, or give away your clutter and 50 plus pages of minimalist and money-saving printables, such as my popular no spend challenge printables and the budget binder that you see me using in a lot of my videos. So, not only does this course teach you how to clear out physical clutter, but you'll also free up cash, time, and mental space. So, if you've been wanting to reset your home, your habits, and your finances for the new year, this is the perfect place to begin.
Just check the link in the description box or pinned comment below if you're ready to take the next step towards a happier, richer, and more clutter-free future for the new year. And finally, that brings us to the fourth pillar, which is mindset. And honestly, I think that this is one of the toughest pillars to work on because it's hard for a lot of us to notice the habits and behaviors that are dragging us down either because we've been doing them for so long or because they're things that we always thought were just normal.
In fact, just the other day, I did a deep dive into that topic. In this video about the psychology of impulse spending and why it's so hard for us to change our old habits. And in that video, I shared a story about how I relocated our silverware to a new drawer that was further away from the dishwasher in order to make unloading the dishwasher in the morning easier.
And I mentioned that even though it's been months and months since I did that, I still catch myself reaching to open that old drawer when I need silverware. And I was tickled pink when one of my followers commented on that video to share her own story about how she still catches herself reaching for a pull string to turn on the light when she goes into her kitchen. Even though it's been 11 years since she moved out of the home that had that feature.
Like the saying goes, old habits die hard. And even though that story might seem light-hearted, it actually explains so much about why clutter and mess can feel so difficult to overcome. Even when we know how much they're adding to our stress and overwhelm.
Clutter isn't just about objects. It's about patterns. Patterns of thinking, patterns of reacting, patterns of buying, keeping, and holding on to things.
And most of the choices we make around stuff aren't even conscious decisions anymore. They're just habits and behaviors that we're running on autopilot. So, when we only focus on decluttering and organizing without ever examining the thoughts underneath, we leave the root cause of the problem untouched.
It reminds me of the dandelions in our yard because if you just grab them and try to pull them out, you only get the top part. And meanwhile, there's like 3 ft of root underneath that you need to worry about later. I always say that physical clutter is a manifestation of our internal clutter and the stories we tell ourselves about our stuff and ourselves.
And if those stories stay unchallenged, clutter will always find its way back into our homes and lives. And this is where the table rule really comes full circle for me. Because if you look at all four of the pillars together, you realize clutter is less of a house or mess problem and more about breaking free of old habits or adjusting to big life changes.
And if you found this video helpful or interesting and you're ready to simplify your way to a home and a life you love in the coming year, be sure and give this video a like and subscribe to my channel if you haven't already. And be sure and go check out one of these videos that YouTube thinks that you'll like. Or I'll see you next week.
Until then, take care. Bye-bye.
