Keeping my home (with kids) from becoming a raccoon nest
A semi-annual guide to decluttering, auditing and restocking
Every January and June, I turn into a raccoon.
Unlike a raccoon, though, I’m not looking for trash. I’m looking for clutter.
If you read How Two Ex-Management Consultants Run a Household, you already know my brain loves systems. My heart, on the other hand, loves hobbies. My whole family does! We bike, swim, puzzle and board game together. We play tennis and golf (some of us better than others). My husband and I are members of a monthly wine club. He’s in a summer golf league, and I'm on a year-round tennis team.
When people hear this, they always ask: How do you make time for hobbies when you both have “big” jobs and two young kids?
Sometimes I joke about how I don’t watch TV or get manicures, but the more honest answer is that I run an efficient household. My mental load stays low enough on a weekly basis that I’m not too overwhelmed to enjoy a hobby.
Every January and June I do a full house declutter, audit, and restock. These months hit at natural reset points: post-holiday and post-school year. It takes a few weeks—sometimes I’m only able to devote 20 minutes a day—but the reward is that I carry less “home” mental load for the following five months.
Why bother decluttering at all?
Because clutter is friction. It slows everything down: mornings, bedtimes, cooking, packing, leaving the house, making a grocery list… everything! Conversely, less clutter means fewer frantic “where’s my…” moments and fewer panicked Amazon orders to replace said items.
Intentionally having “less” calms my nervous system and gives me mental space to do my professional work efficiently, which leaves me with more time and energy for joy.
But it all starts at home.
How I Declutter, Audit and Restock
I’ll walk you through my semi-annual declutter and home audit process, giving special focus to the 5 trouble areas in most household, along with the systems I have in place. I’ve even included a downloadable guide with a room-by-room checklist!
What works for my linear brain is to start with