WEBVTT - Second Cup: Limit the stacks of stuff

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning,

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<v Speaker 1>This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's

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<v Speaker 1>tip is to limit the stacks of stuff. Often a

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<v Speaker 1>small stack turns into a big stack, but a stack

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<v Speaker 1>won't start where there isn't one. This insight can help

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<v Speaker 1>you make any space look more orderly. My family moved

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<v Speaker 1>into a new house about two and a half years ago.

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<v Speaker 1>We threw out or donated a lot of stuff before moving,

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<v Speaker 1>but plenty of things still made it into the boxes.

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<v Speaker 1>As we were unpacking, we found stuff that didn't have

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<v Speaker 1>homes or still needed to be donated. So I put

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<v Speaker 1>some donation boxes in the upstairs hallway. That's also where

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<v Speaker 1>I stored some boxes of things that didn't have a

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<v Speaker 1>home or needed to be put away some time. And

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<v Speaker 1>there those boxes sat for quite a while. Curiously, they

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<v Speaker 1>began to attract other random items. The piles in the

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<v Speaker 1>hallway stayed there, slowly growing and just generally looking like

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<v Speaker 1>a mess. Then a little over a year ago, we

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<v Speaker 1>took the donations where they needed to go and found

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<v Speaker 1>homes for things and dumped everything else. The empty boxes

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<v Speaker 1>went out with the recycling. The hallway was suddenly clear,

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<v Speaker 1>and then a funny thing happened. No one has stacked

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<v Speaker 1>anything in the hallway since then. Since everything got put away,

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<v Speaker 1>everything stayed put away. No one leaves the random items

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<v Speaker 1>sitting on the floor in the hallway. If they did,

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<v Speaker 1>it would probably look so out of place on a

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<v Speaker 1>completely clear floor that I or somebody else would put

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<v Speaker 1>it somewhere else immediately. While stacks of stuff attract more stuff,

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<v Speaker 1>an empty surface tends to stay pretty empty. Maybe it

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<v Speaker 1>is related to the broken windows theory of crime. The

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<v Speaker 1>idea is that if people see broken windows and the

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<v Speaker 1>windows don't get fixed, they figure no one cares, no

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<v Speaker 1>one is watching, more vandalism happens, whereas if the windows

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<v Speaker 1>get fixed, people wind up behaving better. They know that

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<v Speaker 1>order is expected. Now. I don't know if the evidence

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<v Speaker 1>is completely clear clut on that as a matter of

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<v Speaker 1>police policy, but I do know that in my house,

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<v Speaker 1>the existence of a big pile of stuff indicates that

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<v Speaker 1>people don't really care if the stuff piles up, so

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<v Speaker 1>people put more stuff there rather than taking the extra

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<v Speaker 1>few seconds to find things real homes, the pile gets bigger,

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<v Speaker 1>whereas if the surface is clear, people think twice before

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<v Speaker 1>putting a random sock or a broken toy or a

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<v Speaker 1>piece of trash there. Someone is going to wonder why

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<v Speaker 1>there is a broken toy sitting right there in the

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<v Speaker 1>middle of the hallway. It gets noticed in a way

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<v Speaker 1>that it doesn't when it is merely thrown on top

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<v Speaker 1>of a box of random donations or items with no homes.

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<v Speaker 1>So if you would like a space to look more orderly,

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<v Speaker 1>try clearing off stacks of stuff as much as possible.

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<v Speaker 1>Maybe just put the stacks in a box and put

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<v Speaker 1>the box in a closet. It doesn't really solve the problem,

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<v Speaker 1>but people will think twice about creating a new stack.

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<v Speaker 1>You might even combine small stacks into one stack, so

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<v Speaker 1>more space is clear, and so it is harder to

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<v Speaker 1>stack stuff on top of the taller stack. I have

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<v Speaker 1>done this with mail and magazines. If people see piles

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<v Speaker 1>all over the counter, they just add to it. But

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<v Speaker 1>a single stack that's a bit more precarious in height

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<v Speaker 1>invites a pause. Do I want to add to this

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<v Speaker 1>and risk the whole stack toppling? That moment of pause

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<v Speaker 1>isn't a bad thing. Now. To be sure, this doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>always work. I try my best to keep certain kitchen

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<v Speaker 1>counters clear, but certain members of my family will see

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<v Speaker 1>the empty counter as an invitation to throw their stuff

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<v Speaker 1>completely across it, as if six other people don't live

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<v Speaker 1>in the house with them. But the evidence from my

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<v Speaker 1>hallway suggests that removing the stacks does have something of

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<v Speaker 1>a positive effect from a clutter perspective, so it might

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<v Speaker 1>be worth a shot. In the meantime, This is Laura.

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<v Speaker 1>Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

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<v Speaker 1>our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast. If you've

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<v Speaker 1>got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach me at

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<v Speaker 1>Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast is a

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please visit

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