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Cluttercore and imperfect, “normal” homes are trending; A sign that we’re done chasing perfectly curated, aesthetic, and often unrealistic living spaces. Now, I try to maintain organization and I personally love Marie Kondo but I also know that I’m still working on becoming an organized person. In the past, this was not the case. I was a clutter bug, and whenever I finally did take the time to deep clean my closet, bedroom, kitchen, cabinet, and life – it was chaos again the next day. I’m a Mama now and have to have some semblance of order. I’ve always wondered if it was because of a space issue but I think it was just because I had too much stuff. But how much stuff is too much stuff? Introducing Cluttercore!

Influencers Introduce: Cluttercore

Home decor influencers on TikTok and Instagram often post about their beautiful, modern, and chic homes with crisp white cabinetry and a gorgeously styled home. I find myself wondering—how do they all live in these amazing houses? I envision a butler like Geoffrey from “Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” living in their home, or Niles from “The Nanny,” who keeps everything squeaky clean. The irony is that I actually have Niles at my house. He’s an amazing vacuum. (He’s my roomba). That story is for another day.

There’s been a trend on TikTok and Instagram recently to normalize old-fashioned, smaller homes. Along the same lines (but definitely more extreme), Cluttercore is becoming popular among Gen Z. Cluttercore is defined as “filling your space with things you love, even if that means things get a little cluttered; An organized mess.”

Take It From The Professionals

Marie Kondo is very much against this trend. I’m also not a great fan of this trend and don’t think it will stick – I think it is another fad, however, the concept behind it is “home-positive”, another type of movement next to body positivity. I found this quote from a professional organizer, Jane Stoller from “Organized Jane”. She says, “I think we have become obsessed with being Instagram-perfect. Our bodies, fashion, and our homes…It is exhausting because it is impossible to keep up with,” And that includes our spaces. She continues by pointing out that we want to spend our time enjoying our homes and making organizing routines and systems work for us. “Of course, sometimes we can clean up for guests, photos…but it does not have to be the norm.”

When celebs post their imperfect homes, which is a rarity, are they more relatable?

They can be! For example, have you watched the show, “Get Organized With The Home Edit” with professional home organizers, Clea and Joanna? They work with various celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Drew Barrymore to organize their spaces.

“Celebrities normalizing their messier spaces is a great start,” says Stoller. “In the ’90s celebrities began showing us their make-up-free faces, and this helped our self-esteem! The same goes for our self-esteem about home organizing. I’d love to see more celebrities show us the inside of their junk drawers as that is where real clutter lives!”

 Size doesn’t matter when it comes to cluttercore

 A perfect home does not exist. But the major key to being organized is to make your home feel like you live in it. Your home should feel collected, not cluttered. Your home should feel like a sanctuary. Now I’ve lived in a 900 square foot house, a 900 square foot apartment, a 1,300 square foot ranch. I don’t consider these places to be huge but they felt huge to me because they were full of items, memories, and love! But it never felt cluttered but it did feel full. So when it comes to clutter core, from a minimalist’s viewpoint, you will know how many items in your home do not serve their purpose and are just quite literally “clutter”. That’s for any square footage of house.

Don’t be afraid to ask for help!

If you really feel overwhelmed by clutter and struggle to organize even one room in the house, I would personally grab these two books by Marie Kondo. They are life-changing. I’m serious. You may even consider calling in a professional for help. I’ve never used a professional organizer but I love following along with professional organizing accounts on instagram for inspiration on how to create my own organized spaces. I’ve also used this book. I consider it my home organization bible. I’ve learned so much from this book. You’ll want a copy of it. I knew once things were organized and in place, the clutter from our minds would feel at ease at well.

Because I am an Interior Designer, I always have a ton of ideas on how to help with organizing your space and creating spaces to be able to start the organization process but I’m not a professional organizer and are happy to work alongside professional organizers. I recommend it because a professional organizer can tailor your experience to you and your family’s needs. A professional organizer is a fresh set of ‘eyes’ that can help transform your space into a new vision. Like me, a professional organizers can save you so much time sorting through items, creating unique storage solutions, and making your life more efficient. And you can focus on spending more time on the things you love.

Make cleaning part of your routine to avoid cluttercore

 Decluttering can be an emotional process. Some of can easily declutter and let our items go immediately without a second thought. For others, it can bring up their thoughts and beliefs around the items and the “need” for stuff. So, my take on it is to declutter gradually, but do do it all at once.

I agree with Marie Kondo that you focus on it until all of it is done but do as much as you can in a day but not all of it in a day. Rome wasn’t built in a day. Neither was the amount of items that you’ve accumulated in your lifetime. And while you are decluttering the items that you are working through, clean them too with natural cleaning products! I think that it can be hard to toss or donate items if they hold sentimental value or if there is an ounce of doubt on whether or not I’ll ever need or use that item again. I’ve learned not to stress about it. Because that means that I live in my house and so can you!

It is perfectly okay to live in a normal home. We don’t have to be organized or decluttered to perfection. However, clutter can affect our minds, and stress levels, and also be hazardous for tripping and other expired products. So take inventory of your home and do a refresh. You’ll be so glad that you did!

Adios, cluttercore

Once your home is organized thanks to the professional you called in or with working with an interior designer to help you design organizational spaces within your home—or when you finally had some time and mental energy to tackle the main space – take some time to think about ways to keep clutter away!

Be intentional about what comes into your home

Material items will come and go but the memories and experiences that are created by the use of those items last forever. So, simply put, don’t allow clutter into your home! Go through your things once a quarter. Get rid of the old toys that children or even the dogs don’t play with. Ultimately, this creates room for what you may want to purchase in the future.

Start today and start small. Make a donate, sell, or trash box and put it right in a visible spot in your home as a constant reminder. And once you get to a point where you feel refreshed, at peace, and in balance with your space, you’ll have found your holistic home.

If you are interested in learning about creating a holistic home, come save your spot for the next round of “Holistic Home Refresh” now!

Love,