Organize Your Life & Home: The Simple System That Gives You More Time & Energy | The Home Edit

This conversation will make your home and your life feel lighter and easier in the first 10 minutes. Clutter is stealing your time, draining your energy, and you are about to learn the fast and simple way to take back your sanity. Even better news: You do not need to spend an entire weekend to get organized. You need a simple system that works for your real (and very busy) life. Today, Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, the organizing experts behind The Home Edit, are here to help you clear the clutter, take back your space, and make your home feel easier to live in. They are removing the shame from the entire process. Clea and Joanna walk Mel through a live, 10-minute clear out of her junk drawer and prove that you can start small, spend zero dollars, and feel an immediate difference. In this episode, you’ll learn: -The 4-step method to edit, categorize, contain, and maintain any space -The 80/20 rule that makes every room or drawer feel organized -The 3 questions that make it simple to decide what to keep and what to throw out -The right place to start when your entire home feels overwhelming -Why you should never start organizing in with your closet -The one question that stops decision paralysis -Why your mess keeps coming back -How to create simple systems your family will follow -The daily drawer that makes mornings faster and less stressful This is not an episode about making your home look perfect. It’s reclaiming your time, your energy, your mental clarity, and your peace. By the time you finish listening, you’ll know exactly where to begin: one drawer, 10 minutes, and a few simple decisions that will make your life feel so much better. For more resources related to today’s episode, click here for the podcast episode page: https://www.melrobbins.com/episode/episode-421/ Follow The Mel Robbins Podcast on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themelrobbinspodcast I’m just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist, and this podcast is NOT intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I’ll see you in the next episode. In this episode: 00:00 Introduction 06:59 The NO COST Way to Declutter Your Home 08:11 “I Don’t Have Time to Organize”: The Truth About Clutter and Time 09:56 The Daily Drawer: A Simple System That Makes Mornings Easier 14:02 The Right Place to Start Decluttering When Your Home Feels Overwhelming 16:20 The First Step to Organizing Any Room in Your Home 22:16 How to Organize Mail, Paper Clutter, and Messy Countertops 26:09 How to Declutter Anything: The “Need, Use, or Love” Method 35:05 How to Organize a Junk Drawer Step by Step Without Buying Anything | NO COST 48:47 The Biggest Decluttering Mistakes, and How to Avoid Them 52:10 Why the Mess Keeps Coming Back, and How to Make Organization Last 54:16 Why Clothes Are So Hard to Let Go Of 55:32 How to Declutter Your Closet Without Getting Overwhelmed 57:09 Sell or Donate? What to Do With Clothes You No Longer Want 58:42 Small-Space Organization: How to Create More Storage Without More Room 01:00:12 How to Know When Your Home Is Organized Enough 01:01:31 How to Get Organized When You Feel Overwhelmed: Try the Low-Bar Method Expedia. The one place you go to go places. — Follow Mel: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melrobbins/ TikTok: http://tiktok.com/@melrobbins Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melrobbins LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/melrobbins Website: http://melrobbins.com​ — Sign up for Mel’s newsletter: https://melrob.co/sign-up-newsletter A note from Mel to you, twice a week, sharing simple, practical ways to build the life you want. — Subscribe to Mel’s channel here: https://www.youtube.com/melrobbins​?sub_confirmation=1 — Listen to The Mel Robbins Podcast 🎧 New episodes drop every Monday & Thursday! https://melrob.co/spotify https://melrob.co/applepodcasts https://melrob.co/amazonmusic — Looking for Mel’s books on Amazon? Find them here: The Let Them Theory: https://amzn.to/3IQ21Oe The Let Them Theory Audiobook: https://amzn.to/413SObp The High 5 Habit: https://amzn.to/3fMvfPQ The 5 Second Rule: https://amzn.to/4l54fah #organization #home #thehomeedit

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Mel Robbins?

  Hey, it's your friend Mel and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast.

• 0:08Mel Robbins?

  Have you ever had an experience where you walk into your house at the end of the day, you look around and you think, why does my house always look like a yard sale? Well, you're not alone. And whether you live in a studio apartment or a big old house, the overwhelm and frustration that you feel about the clutter in your space, I have that too. I walk into my closet and I think, what is up with all these jeans? And why can't I get rid of them? Why do I have this broken brooch for my great grandmother? I've never even met her. Why are there 21 pens in the drunk drawer? Or four spatulas? Who needs four spatulas?

• 0:49Mel Robbins?

  And my favorite, why is it that you can spend all weekend organizing? And by Monday afternoon, it's just as disorganized as before you started organizing it? Well, today, that ends because you are going to get a simple, fun, amazing way to deal with your stuff and to get organized. Our experts are going to teach you a no shame method to go drawer by drawer, just 10 minutes at a time, doing what you can. And here's the best part, everything that you're about to learn today, it's free. You don't have to buy a thing because you don't need another basket or container, do you? You and I need a better, more consistent and fun, simple system that you can stick

• 1:34Mel Robbins?

  to. And you're going to laugh. You're going to see yourself as we go through my struggles with clutter, but you're going to realize really quickly that this conversation is about something way deeper than those packed drawers in your bathroom. It's about giving you what you deserve. Time, space, peace, and freedom.

• 2:06Mel Robbins?

  Hey, it's your friend Mel and welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast. I am so fired up for our conversation today. It's an honor to spend this time together. And if you're new, or someone shared this episode with you, I just want to take a moment and welcome you to the Mel Robbins Podcast family. And boy, have you picked a winner of an episode because we're going to talk about how to make everything easier. You're going to learn a shockingly simple and fun way to organize and declutter your life. Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are the powerhouse duo behind The Home Edit, where they organize spaces for busy parents, families, roommates, and everyday people who are tired of moving the same pile from one place to another. They are the authors of three New York Times bestselling

• 2:51Mel Robbins?

  books, the stars of Netflix Emmy nominated series Get Organized with The Home Edit, and the hosts of ABC's revival of extreme makeover, Home Edition. Clea and Joanna have almost 10 million followers online and they understand what you and I are dealing with. Too much stuff, not enough time, no clear place to start, and a home that feels harder to manage than it should be. Today, they will remove the shame and teach you a crazy, simple system that's going to leave you feeling free, empowered, and in control. Clea and Joanna, The Home Edit is here in Boston. Welcome to the Mel Robbins Podcast.

• 3:34Speaker 01

  It's the best.

• 3:35Speaker 02

  We are so honored to be here.

• 3:36Speaker 01

  It's thrilling.

• 3:37Mel Robbins?

  Well, I invited you to the studios in Boston instead of my home in Vermont because I was too embarrassed to have you.

• 3:45Speaker 02

  You're not the first person to tell us that.

• 3:48Mel Robbins?

  I have followed you online for years and I will tell you upfront, I am so excited to talk to you because I have had a very mixed relationship with you too, because I've seen how beautiful your work is and it has stirred both inspiration and a bit of, shall I say, shaming of myself when I see your beautiful pantries and color coded stuff. I'm like, I don't think I'm ever gonna-

• 4:16Speaker 01

  We're gonna erase that. Okay. We're gonna erase your shame.

• 4:19Mel Robbins?

  You are?

• 4:20Speaker 02

  Yes, absolutely. It's for inspiration, but it doesn't have to be what you absolutely need to strive to become.

• 4:26Speaker 01

  Yes, our Instagram, it's our portfolio. Of course, it's going to show all the beautiful things. You know, we like to say that the things that we put on Instagram, it's like having a wedding album. It's not the marriage, it's the wedding album.

• 4:38Speaker 02

  Yes, and we need to lower everyone's standards for what organization has to become. Yes, Clea is exactly right. It's our portfolio. Of course, we're going to make it pretty, but this doesn't have to be exactly how you live.

• 4:48Speaker 01

  Correct.

• 4:49Mel Robbins?

  I love you.

• 4:50Speaker 01

  We want people to live in a way that makes them feel good.

• 4:53Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 4:54Speaker 01

  And that's what organizing is about.

• 4:55Speaker 02

  It's self-care. And that's what we need to make sure that everyone knows.

• 4:59Mel Robbins?

  Okay, so hold on. You just said so much stuff. I need to like tap the brakes a little bit and just make sure I am taking my own color coded highlighter out and, and just waving it through the air to say, there were so many things I want to make sure that as the person's listening or watching, they got it. You said, organization is self-care.

• 5:18Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 5:18Mel Robbins?

  You also said, your beautiful photos are your portfolio. And so think about the things that you're inspired by online. When you think about whether it's interior design or organization, the work that you do at The Home Edit with, you know, people's houses that are hiring you to come in, that that's your portfolio, much like you look at the wedding album, but it's not the marriage.

• 5:41Speaker 01

  Exactly. It's the, it's the beautiful imagery. It's the inspiration. It's what makes you excited, but it's not, it doesn't have to be your life.

• 5:50Speaker 02

  No.

• 5:50Speaker 01

  Your life has nuance. And you know, wedding album versus a marriage is the way we think about what organizing should be. And of course, the photos and the imagery is going to be beautiful.

• 5:59Speaker 02

  Yeah, and it's a snapshot.

• 6:00Speaker 01

  But it's a snapshot.

• 6:01Speaker 02

  I mean, it's a still snapshot. This isn't movement in life.

• 6:04Speaker 01

  Right.

• 6:05Mel Robbins?

  And so let's start this way, Clea and Joanna. If the person listening takes everything to heart that you're about to teach us about, quote, organization, even if your life feels chaotic, your home feels chaotic, what might change in my life if I, if I follow what you're about to share?

• 6:26Speaker 01

  Mental clarity. Having physical clutter is a burden. And without it, it brings you mental clarity and a clutter-free brain. You know, it's not just about the tabletop. It's not just about what's in your cabinet. It is a mental burden to take in things around you that are not organized and don't have systems. It is a drain on your energy. And so when people say, well, I don't have time to organize, you know, this kind, you don't have time to not be organized.

• 6:56Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 6:57Speaker 01

  Like you need to be able to take a breath. You need to not be searching for things that before school drop off-

• 7:03Speaker 02

  It takes so much more time not to be organized than to be organized. And organizing is not a one and done, and it doesn't have to happen all in one sitting. I think that's the other misconception about it too, is that people think, okay, I have an hour, I'm going to organize my whole house, or I'm going to organize whatever whole space is. No, let's do it in pieces so that it's not so overwhelming. And each piece is powerful in itself.

• 7:21Speaker 01

  Organizing should be manageable. It should be maintainable, sustainable. It should not give you stress. It should take stress away. And again, we're here to remove the shame that everyone has.

• 7:35Speaker 02

  Yeah, no shame.

• 7:36Speaker 01

  I don't care if you organize, you know, one cabinet of mugs, you know, it's something. And it brings you immense freedom to know that the things that you have in your home, that you made a calculation, you chose these items to be here, and you remove the things that don't belong, that don't bring you any happiness.

• 7:56Speaker 02

  It's choosing to be active instead of passive with your belongings. And it changes everything when you have that shift.

• 8:02Mel Robbins?

  I'm sitting here thinking about the fact that you start to feel like you have an avalanche of things.

• 8:08Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 8:09Mel Robbins?

  That you don't know what to do with.

• 8:11Speaker 02

  You don't. And you just feel paralyzed by your stuff.

• 8:13Speaker 01

  People get paralyzed by it.

• 8:14Speaker 02

  And it's just the worst feeling, which is how we both got into this, is because it's the most freeing feeling to free yourself of all of this clutter that's in your mental space, but also in your physical space.

• 8:25Mel Robbins?

  And I'm thinking about the fact that this has been true for me when I lived in a studio apartment in law school. It's true now that I have a nice home.

• 8:34Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 8:35Mel Robbins?

  Absolutely.

• 8:35Speaker 02

  You can fill whatever space you have. So if it's a tiny studio, or if it's a humongous mansion, it doesn't matter. Both things can be cluttered or not.

• 8:42Speaker 01

  We have a very important golden rule of organizing, and it's the 80/20 rule. Much like eating, you don't want to be more than 80% full because it doesn't feel good. So if you organize the way we're told to kind of treat our bodies, it's the same thing. 80% full, give yourself that 20% breathing room. And honestly, I don't care if you're not color coded and, and you know, make it Instagram worthy. If you keep your home to that level, that 20% gives you so much mental freedom and it gives you so much peace.

• 9:17Speaker 02

  Oh, it's just, we get so-

• 9:19Speaker 01

  I know, we're such nerds.

• 9:20Speaker 02

  We get so excited talking about it because it is, it's freedom. And one of the things that we so love about organizing is it doesn't even have to be expensive. It can cause this massive shift in your entire life and cost $0. Literally, it's the edit. The edit is the magic. It's where the exhale happens and it's 80% of the job of organizing.

• 9:39Mel Robbins?

  That was another thing you just said, that I want to make sure you get. So I've always used the word organizing and from here on out, I'm going to use the word edit.

• 9:47Speaker 01

  Yes, we put it in our name for a reason. The Home Edit. The edit is the single most important thing you can do for your home and yourself, and it costs $0.

• 9:58Mel Robbins?

  I love this because you're right, organizing, I'm just like moving stuff around.

• 10:01Speaker 02

  Yeah, and it feels overwhelming and it feels like you're cleaning and all this. No editing, you're curating the things that you need used in love.

• 10:07Mel Robbins?

  This is going to be one of these conversations where I forget I'm supposed to interview you.

• 10:13Mel Robbins?

  Because I'm gonna be so up in my own head dealing with myself and picturing places in my home.

• 10:20Speaker 01

  We shouldn't have done this in Vermont.

• 10:21Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my God. Well, that'll be act two.

• 10:23Speaker 02

  It's a magic trick, though. Changing the way that you think about it is half the battle also.

• 10:28Mel Robbins?

  Okay, well, let's talk about something that we need to change the way we think about. Because so many of us think we don't have time. That the clutter's not really the problem. The problem is, I don't have time to deal with the clutter. What do you say to the person like me who says, well, I just don't have time to do it?

• 10:44Speaker 01

  There's an old adage, maybe we made it up, I don't know.

• 10:46Speaker 02

  They're old, actually.

• 10:48Speaker 01

  That organized people are just too lazy to look for things. Because we just want something in one spot.

• 10:54Speaker 02

  Right, we don't want to look for it.

• 10:56Speaker 01

  I don't want to search around.

• 10:57Speaker 02

  I don't either.

• 10:58Speaker 01

  I don't want to have to look for my child's favorite water bottle before school.

• 11:01Speaker 02

  Right, or your keys in the morning. Like, what a way to start your day, to look for your keys for 15 minutes. No, let's have a spot for them that they always, your keys are always here.

• 11:08Speaker 01

  Every physical item in your house should have some home. It doesn't have to be like in a bin.

• 11:13Speaker 02

  No.

• 11:13Speaker 01

  It just needs to live somewhere.

• 11:15Speaker 02

  In the same spot. So every morning, your keys, you know, they're there.

• 11:17Speaker 01

  You always know where to go, you always know where to put it away. And it's just that easy. It can be drilled down to being something that simple.

• 11:23Speaker 02

  And it's a system. And that's the other piece, too, which is, we'll get into later, which is not to overcomplicate the system.

• 11:29Speaker 01

  Right.

• 11:29Speaker 02

  You have to have simple, sustainable systems. Trust us, it is time well spent.

• 11:36Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 11:36Speaker 02

  To take that small amount of energy and just focus drawer at a time.

• 11:40Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 11:41Speaker 02

  Cabinet at a time.

• 11:41Speaker 01

  Doesn't have to, doesn't have to be overwhelming.

• 11:43Speaker 02

  And do not do the house. Like, we would never advise you to even do a room to start with, ever, ever, ever. That's not where you want to go.

• 11:49Mel Robbins?

  You don't even start with a room?

• 11:50Speaker 02

  Absolutely not.

• 11:51Speaker 01

  Absolutely not.

• 11:52Speaker 02

  You'll be paralyzed in the corner. Like, it's so overwhelming to start with a room.

• 11:55Speaker 01

  You need to start so small. And who doesn't have time to just go through, like, one bathroom drawer?

• 12:01Speaker 02

  Let's just do a drawer. Let's start with a drawer.

• 12:03Speaker 01

  Everyone has time for that.

• 12:05Speaker 02

  And 15 minutes in the morning, even just the edit. We don't even have to organize it. Just 15 minutes of an edit.

• 12:10Speaker 01

  And then every morning, when you get ready, we like to set up something called a daily drawer. It's that one drawer that has, you know, your dental, if you wear contacts, if you, you know.

• 12:19Speaker 02

  Your daily drawer, things that you know you need every single morning.

• 12:21Mel Robbins?

  Okay, I'm already wrong in my bathroom, because I'm like, okay, wait, where is this stuff?

• 12:25Speaker 01

  Like, organized people are just too lazy to look for things.

• 12:27Speaker 02

  And it's self-care. This is so important that people realize this. It is for your mental and physical well-being that you do stay organized.

• 12:35Mel Robbins?

  It's also for my marriage. I mean, I am gonna be celebrating 30 years of marriage this year, but my poor husband has watched me for decades.

• 12:43Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 12:43Mel Robbins?

  Race around, particularly in the morning, looking for things.

• 12:46Speaker 01

  Looking for things.

• 12:46Mel Robbins?

  And I have to stop and say to myself, and I'll say this on behalf of you as you're listening and watching, too, we don't have to spend the rest of our lives as this version of ourselves, wasting time looking for things that we need.

• 12:57Speaker 02

  No, and it's a muscle. Organizing is also a muscle. It doesn't, you don't have to be born good at it. You can learn to have a system that works for you, and you are organized. You can call yourself organized.

• 13:06Mel Robbins?

  All right, let me ask you another question, because as you're listening or watching, maybe you feel the way that I feel, which is, how can I be successful at work? How can I raise kids and have them fed? How can I be in a relationship and my dogs get fed? And yet, I can't manage my own house or my own closet without having a panic attack?

• 13:32Speaker 01

  Well, okay, let's break that up a little bit.

• 13:34Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 13:34Speaker 01

  First of all, what you just described, you're a really busy person, right?

• 13:39Speaker 02

  And most of us are. Like, I'm sure all of your listeners are very busy people.

• 13:43Speaker 01

  Very busy. You are highly functioning. And you simply just need to take something off of your list, which is, again, not racing around the house, trying to search for a million things. You actually deserve a break. You deserve to have some peace in your home so that you can deal with all the million things you have going on. If you are a super busy person, again, whether it's kids and work and feeding dogs and, you know, signing homework slips and all.

• 14:12Speaker 02

  It's a lot.

• 14:12Speaker 01

  All the millions of things.

• 14:13Speaker 02

  It's a lot.

• 14:13Speaker 01

  And organizing actually takes something off of your plate.

• 14:16Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 14:16Speaker 01

  It is a small amount of energy to put into something that has such a long-lasting effect, and it actually removes, like, a burden. It's not, it doesn't add to it. People have to rethink and shift their, their idea of what organizing is. It's not another chore.

• 14:34Speaker 02

  No.

• 14:34Speaker 01

  It actually removes so many chores from your plate, because you just don't have to think about it. It's plug and play.

• 14:41Mel Robbins?

  And I'm loving this idea of systems and the edit.

• 14:45Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:46Mel Robbins?

  Because I have spent a lifetime shoving things behind doors.

• 14:49Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 14:50Mel Robbins?

  Putting things in baskets.

• 14:51Speaker 02

  And that's overwhelming.

• 14:52Mel Robbins?

  Like, just trying to contain it all and, like, make it go away.

• 14:56Speaker 02

  And what's more overwhelming than opening a cabinet and having things tumble on you? That, I mean, what a way to start your morning. It's terrible.

• 15:01Mel Robbins?

  Yes. But I have this question, because I wonder, you know, there are so many of us that feel like if we were just smarter or more disciplined, somehow our house would be more organized. Why do you think we tie clutter to our self-worth?

• 15:19Speaker 01

  Well, first of all, we need to, let's break that apart completely, okay? Clutter is not a character flaw, okay? It is not.

• 15:28Mel Robbins?

  Why does it feel like one?

• 15:29Speaker 01

  Because I think we shame ourselves.

• 15:31Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:31Speaker 01

  And we are here to literally remove the shame from everyone's mind and body. This is not something we have to hold on to. All it takes is a little bit of time and effort at the beginning for the longest reward.

• 15:45Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 15:45Speaker 01

  We are not the clutter that we see, right? We can fix that. We can do something about that. And again, all it is is an edit. We don't even need to get into the tenets of organizing. Clutter is a very solvable problem, which is so, like, exhilarating, like, how, what an amazing thing. It's like, we struggle through so many things in life, clutter just doesn't have to be one of them. Clutter's just, that's easy, you know? Let's just remove it.

• 16:10Mel Robbins?

  And we can solve it with the edit that you're about to do.

• 16:12Speaker 01

  And we can.

• 16:12Speaker 02

  You can solve it with the edit. No, I will add one thing, too. I think the spaces that you decide to start first, we want to start with the simplest, least, what we call like a landmine space.

• 16:22Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 16:22Speaker 02

  Because what happens, a closet is a perfect landmine space. And one of the reasons that people, I think, don't even realize that they resist organizing is because they are afraid of what they might find in their brain of landmine issues. Let me give you some examples of what those landmine issues could be. Will these jeans ever fit again? I don't know. I wish I could lose more weight. I always thought I would be a different size. I always thought I would go back to this old size. Oh, my God, I just, I don't know if I should keep these jeans. Am I gonna ever? Now I feel bad about myself. Okay, am I gonna have another baby? Well, if I have another baby, I spent so much money on these maternity clothes, and I only wore them once. I would, it would be a shame to have to have another baby, and now I have to buy the maternity clothes. God, do you think I should talk to my husband? Are we gonna have another child?

• 17:07Speaker 01

  Or, or just even the, the thought of, you know what? I spent money on that.

• 17:11Speaker 02

  I spent money on that, and I never wore it. Or my grandmother gave it to me, and I never liked it. So there's guilt associated with all these decisions, too. And so that, I think, comes into play a lot of times with people having this, like, aversion to organizing, because they're afraid to confront these bigger existential issues going on in their minds.

• 17:28Speaker 01

  And I think that that, Joanna is exactly right. I think that it, those are the real issues why people resist it, but they use the fact that they don't have time. And I think that we all have a little bit of time. You spend a lot more time looking for things. You could spend very little time just being like, I actually don't like that.

• 17:44Speaker 02

  Yeah, I don't like that mug. It has a chip, and I'm never gonna get it fixed.

• 17:47Speaker 01

  It doesn't match the others, whatever it is. It's so much easier, actually, to just make decisions about things. We, we have to go through life making good decisions all day, every day. So why not let this be one of them? And again, start extremely small. Start in a space, like Joanna said, without landmines.

• 18:04Speaker 02

  Yes, no landmines. A junk drawer has very few.

• 18:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 18:07Speaker 02

  That's why we love a junk drawer. You're not that attached to a paperclip. Like, let's be honest. And if it's bent out of shape and it's not gonna work, it can go. Like, so we want to start with a small wins, and then you kind of get your muscle memory, and you kind of build your confidence, and then you're like, oh, wait, you know what? I can actually do a cabinet, too. Because maybe that mug is sentimental from college, or maybe it's not. But you start getting the muscle, and you're like, you feel the reward, and the endorphins start kicking in, and you're like, I can actually do this.

• 18:30Speaker 01

  And then you're off to the races.

• 18:31Speaker 02

  Boom.

• 18:32Mel Robbins?

  I love this, and it feels so doable. I really believe you, and I believe that I can do what you're telling me to do. I gotta take a quick pause, so we can hear a word from our incredible sponsors. But don't you dare go anywhere, because after the break, we are diving deep into the simple process of editing, so stay with me. You want to know something I've really struggled with? Getting enough protein. My doctor recommends I get at least 100 grams. Do you know how much protein that is? I mean, there's only so many chicken breasts and eggs that a woman can eat, for crying out loud. So when I discovered this tiny little protein shot that had 23 grams of protein, I thought

• 19:16Mel Robbins?

  this is the best protein I've ever had. And that's exactly why I joined the company and became a co-founder. Pure Genius Protein has no artificial sweeteners or flavors. It's gluten-free, sugar-free, and fat-free. It is only 100 calories, 23 grams of delicious protein. I drink one every single morning. Use code MEL10 at puregeniusprotein.com for 10% off your first order, 23 grams of protein in three seconds for under $3 a shot.

• 19:47Mel Robbins?

  Welcome back. It's your friend Mel Robbins. And today, you and I are here with Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, the powerhouse duo behind The Home Edit. And they're teaching us their shockingly simple and fun way to edit, organize, and declutter your life. So Clea and Joanna, here's my next question. So let's say I look around at my house, from the garage, to the, if you're lucky enough to have an entry or a mudroom, to the kitchen, and all you see is like, oh, my God, what's the first step?

• 20:18Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 20:18Speaker 01

  Okay, the very first step, let's just talk about a mudroom. Right? Let's just say.

• 20:22Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 20:23Speaker 01

  A mudroom or an entry, whatever you have, especially if you have kids, it is what one of the places that we call Grand Central. It is where everyone comes in and out of. And it's where things get dropped and things get left. And it's like, well, this is my project pile. And this is where the kids' backpacks are. So the first thing you need to do is assess, does everything belong here?

• 20:44Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 20:45Speaker 01

  You know, like, are there things here, like?

• 20:47Speaker 02

  Dirty socks? No, why are those there?

• 20:49Mel Robbins?

  It's because I have a 21-year-old son who like walks in the door and drops them on the floor.

• 20:54Speaker 02

  And we'll get into what to do with family members, too.

• 20:56Mel Robbins?

  We'll put it in this, and we're gonna come back. We're gonna stay on task.

• 20:58Speaker 01

  Yes, we're gonna stay on task. The very first thing you do is say, does all this belong in this space? And many, many times, they don't. Things go, they should be in the garage. They should be up in someone's bedroom. They should, you know, if there's a project pile, let's make a spot for that. So first, just assess, quite simply, what belongs here, what doesn't? That would be considered the edit.

• 21:21Mel Robbins?

  I'm already picturing it. I bet as you're listening, you're doing the same thing. I'm in my Grand Central at my house. And I am mentally inside my grandmother's cabinet that sits next to the door. And I am mentally inside there going, why do we have the dog food in a glue cooler? Why is there a like, kind of vice thing that belongs in the garage? Like, you are literally walking me mentally through the fact that half the stuff in that entry

• 21:49Speaker 01

  Just doesn't belong.

• 21:50Mel Robbins?

  Doesn't belong there.

• 21:50Speaker 02

  It doesn't belong. And you know what? And a lot of times, people don't do the organizing is because there's too many steps to put something away. And that's something we get into later, too, which is like removing the barriers to entry and having simple systems so that things make sense.

• 22:02Speaker 01

  That is also, that is exactly what I was gonna touch on next.

• 22:05Mel Robbins?

  So as we're in, though, your version of Grand Central, whether you have a studio apartment or you have a big mansion.

• 22:11Speaker 02

  Exactly, right.

• 22:11Mel Robbins?

  And you're visualizing this, you're asking, does all of this belong in this space?

• 22:15Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 22:16Mel Robbins?

  What am I doing with it?

• 22:17Speaker 01

  So, okay, so let's say now we're removing the things that don't belong. But there are still plenty of things that do belong. And why are they all on the floor? Okay, now, we believe, very simply, just you can't fight the tide, right? If people come in through this door, people, if your kids come through this space, they are going to put their shoes here. Their backpack is going to go here. You're never gonna get them to carry it to their room, right? We know that. So don't fight the tide. Create a home where it's going to end up. For instance, if shoes are gonna come off, all you need to do, put a shoe bin there. At least it's contained. It's not all over the floor to trip all over.

• 22:56Speaker 02

  If jackets need to stay there, then put hooks on the walls. Let's work vertical. Let's use the storage space vertically, especially in a small space. We are always hunting for spaces. And looking up is usually one of the best spaces.

• 23:06Speaker 01

  Exactly. Always look up. Add hooks. Add a floating shelf. There are external.

• 23:12Speaker 02

  External storage opportunities. Carts and credenzas and all kinds of things that you can bring in that add storage opportunities.

• 23:18Speaker 01

  And very simply, again, very inexpensively, adding hooks and a bin for shoes can be such a solve for an entry, for a mudroom, for anything like that. The goal, I don't ever wanna see things just laying on the ground.

• 23:30Speaker 02

  No, nothing goes on the ground, in fact. Unless it's a rug, it should not be on the ground.

• 23:33Speaker 01

  Right. Or a shoe bin, you know, a basket. But again, the shoes are in the basket.

• 23:39Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 23:39Speaker 01

  It can be a very, very inexpensive thing. I don't care if you live in a studio apartment. In fact, if you do.

• 23:45Mel Robbins?

  You can probably find something for free on Facebook Marketplace, right?

• 23:48Speaker 02

  There's tons of options there. And I'll back up one second. If you're walking in and there's 12 backpacks and you have two children, let's talk about that. Why do we need 12 backpacks here? Have we just been keeping them as the child getting a new backpack every single year? Okay, that's fine. Again, we're not gonna focus on you bought, now don't get into your head with the landmine. Why did I buy a backpack every single year when they could have been, let's not go there.

• 24:08Mel Robbins?

  Because they pressured me and everybody else got one. And then they're like crying in Staples.

• 24:12Speaker 02

  You know what? And you did your best. You did your absolute best at the time. But why are we doubling down now on them having two backpacks or 12 backpacks? Okay, let's remove that. Let's decide which backpacks do they actually use? Is there ones with holes? Let's get rid of those. Is there ones to donate? Let's have a donation.

• 24:26Speaker 01

  Donation is a huge part of taking away the guilt. Taking away the guilt in what you bought your kids and what you bought yourself. I mean, even in a junk drawer, if you're like, oh, God, but like, all these markers, I don't know, you know what? You know who could use them?

• 24:39Speaker 02

  Schools would love them. Teachers would love them.

• 24:40Speaker 01

  Schools, schools. Kids need back, it is one of the essentials that they need to be able to go to school. There are so many things we can do with the items that we feel guilty about, quote, getting rid of.

• 24:52Speaker 02

  Let's not have the guilt on top of everything else.

• 24:54Speaker 01

  You don't need to do it.

• 24:55Speaker 02

  We all have too much guilt.

• 24:57Mel Robbins?

  I wanna make sure I'm tracking. Because where we're starting is you pick a place that's not a mental landmine.

• 25:03Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 25:04Mel Robbins?

  Which really narrows the focus for me in my house. Because I think there's a lot of mental landmines. But I love that we're just gonna start with Grand Central.

• 25:12Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 25:12Mel Robbins?

  Okay, we're just gonna start there.

• 25:14Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 25:14Mel Robbins?

  And I love that you're basically saying, a couple of rules I wanna make sure I'm following. Does all this belong here? And if it doesn't, then remove it or donate it. You also said, nothing belongs on the floor except for the rug or your dog. And so if you're looking for places, bins where it goes, look up. Vertical storage is always an option.

• 25:37Speaker 02

  Behind a door, over a door.

• 25:38Mel Robbins?

  Behind a door, over a door. Hooks are super cheap.

• 25:40Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 25:41Mel Robbins?

  And, uh, don't fight the tide.

• 25:44Speaker 02

  That's right. You got it, Mel.

• 25:46Mel Robbins?

  Stop turning Grand Central into an Architectural Digest photo shoot.

• 25:51Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 25:52Mel Robbins?

  And just embrace Grand Central. Embrace it. Got it.

• 25:56Speaker 01

  If you know that every day, whether it's you or a partner, whatever, everyone gets the mail and the mail always goes right down on the counter.

• 26:04Mel Robbins?

  Can we talk about this?

• 26:04Speaker 01

  All we need is a simple basket.

• 26:07Speaker 02

  Tray. You need a tray.

• 26:07Speaker 01

  That's it. A tray, a basket. That's it.

• 26:09Mel Robbins?

  Let's talk about paper clutter. Why do the entryways, the kitchen? Like, why do the counters?

• 26:17Speaker 02

  Because it's just asking. You're just like, oh, this is a space I can put things on top of. So we also try, when it's possible, to not have additional flat spaces for things to get cluttered.

• 26:26Speaker 01

  Like open flat spaces. Just a flat space is fine. But just an open, empty spot is asking for clutter.

• 26:33Speaker 02

  No, that's where you put a tray. And you have the tray designated for mail, for keys, for wallets, whatever it's for. It's a home for something. It's not just an open, endless sea of whatever wants to go there.

• 26:44Mel Robbins?

  What do we do about the kitchen island? Because what drives me crazy, maybe it drives you crazy as you're listening, is, okay, we've gone through Grand Central. You enter into the kitchen. And I swear to God, I spend an hour every day picking up my husband's glasses, my son's keys, the mail that somebody just put there. The other, like, they've emptied their pockets.

• 27:06Speaker 01

  It's the second Grand Central.

• 27:08Mel Robbins?

  The kitchen island is?

• 27:09Speaker 02

  Yes, it is.

• 27:10Speaker 01

  The kitchen in general.

• 27:10Speaker 02

  That's exactly right.

• 27:11Mel Robbins?

  So am I supposed to embrace that it is?

• 27:13Speaker 02

  So the same rules apply here. That's the good thing, is the rules are the same. Okay, so now we're gonna see, what doesn't belong here? Keys don't belong on the kitchen island. They sure do not.

• 27:20Speaker 01

  But they could belong in a tray.

• 27:21Speaker 02

  That's exactly right. They don't just belong on the kitchen island.

• 27:24Speaker 01

  Basically, here's one rule that we just really embrace. We do not like a free-floating item. It should have a home. If you, if this pen is just like right there, well.

• 27:37Mel Robbins?

  It's on my kitchen island right now, I guarantee you.

• 27:40Speaker 01

  It doesn't belong there. Have a pen cup.

• 27:42Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 27:43Speaker 01

  Have a drawer.

• 27:44Mel Robbins?

  You know what I just realized? Is I just realized that I have an opinion about where my husband's reading glasses belong.

• 27:54Speaker 02

  Okay, great.

• 27:55Mel Robbins?

  Like, you just said it doesn't have a home.

• 27:57Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 27:57Mel Robbins?

  And I'm like, well, it's because I think the home is on his face.

• 28:03Mel Robbins?

  They do not belong at home on the kitchen counter. Same with Oakley's keys. I think they belong in his car or up in his room. But they end up on the kitchen counter. And now I'm, okay.

• 28:14Speaker 01

  You can't fight the tide. You're fighting the tide.

• 28:16Speaker 02

  So they, this is the tide. This is exactly what we're talking about. We're not gonna fight it. Because that's just gonna make everybody.

• 28:21Speaker 01

  It's gonna make you crazy.

• 28:23Speaker 02

  It will.

• 28:23Mel Robbins?

  It has made me crazy. I am crazy.

• 28:26Speaker 02

  Well, this is what we also talk about, a me problem and a them problem. So this is something we really talk about. And it's easy in, we'll give the example of both of our children's bedrooms. Okay, we ask our children separately. We don't live together. We are married with kids.

• 28:40Speaker 01

  We aren't married to other people with children, yes.

• 28:42Speaker 02

  But separately, we both ask that our children make their beds. Well, okay, they, most of the time do. It turns out, both of us hate the way our kids make the beds. So now, I go back and remake the bed the way that I want it. That's a me problem. They did their best. They made the bed. But I don't like how they made the bed because it's not up to my standard. That's a me problem.

• 29:00Speaker 01

  For instance, you put a basket down for shoes in the mudroom or entryway. Well, they might just toss them in and it looks a mess and whatever. I want them lined up nicely. That's a me problem.

• 29:11Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 29:12Speaker 01

  It's a them problem if the shoes are on the floor, not in the bin. So you have to set up systems that your family, your household, whoever you live with, that it's really simple and that everyone can follow and understand. Because if it's, if they leave the keys or the glasses not in the home that you helped create.

• 29:30Mel Robbins?

  Yes.

• 29:31Speaker 02

  That's a them problem.

• 29:32Speaker 01

  That's a them problem.

• 29:32Speaker 02

  And that's something that needs to be worked on.

• 29:34Mel Robbins?

  So I don't have a home for those things, which is why they keep ending up. And that's a me problem. So I gotta create a home.

• 29:39Speaker 02

  Then you create the home, and then it's a them problem if they don't follow it.

• 29:42Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my God, I love this.

• 29:43Speaker 01

  Yeah, it's a me and a them problem.

• 29:45Mel Robbins?

  Got it.

• 29:46Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 29:46Mel Robbins?

  This is actually kinda simple.

• 29:48Speaker 01

  It is.

• 29:48Speaker 02

  It is.

• 29:49Speaker 01

  Organizing is simple.

• 29:50Mel Robbins?

  Okay, let's talk about editing.

• 29:51Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 29:52Mel Robbins?

  Because when you said, okay, we're not even gonna talk about organizing, let's just talk about first this editing. Because editing will free you.

• 29:59Speaker 02

  It's magic.

• 30:00Mel Robbins?

  And I also assume editing is how I implement the 80/20 rule.

• 30:05Speaker 02

  Yes, absolutely.

• 30:06Mel Robbins?

  The any space only 80% full, that the 20% allows me to breathe, and editing is the thing that will set me free.

• 30:13Speaker 02

  You're right.

• 30:13Speaker 01

  It will.

• 30:14Mel Robbins?

  So I'm assuming editing means, decide what to keep and decide what to trash. So how do you edit?

• 30:20Speaker 01

  So the rules for editing.

• 30:22Mel Robbins?

  Okay.

• 30:22Speaker 01

  Okay, an item has to fall into one of these buckets in order to keep it, all right? You either need it, a toilet pungent. You use it. You know, a toaster, spatula, you know,

• 30:35Speaker 02

  Right.

• 30:35Speaker 01

  Whatever it is, you use it, you know? And you love it. You actually just, like, you're attached to it. You just love it.

• 30:43Speaker 02

  It brings you joy for whatever reason that that might be. If somebody gave it to you that you love, it represents something to you that you love. Whatever reason, you don't have to justify it. You just, you just know you love it. It makes you happy.

• 30:53Speaker 01

  You need it, you use it, or you love it. Aside from need, use, and love, there's one other bucket, and that is sentimental. And sentimental, you might say, well, I love the things that are sentimental. But that's not always true. Sometimes it's just, it's a special item that you just feel

• 31:08Speaker 02

  You can't get rid of.

• 31:08Speaker 01

  Like, you can't get rid of. Now, there are two rules within sentimental.

• 31:12Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 31:12Speaker 01

  Okay? You either need to use it or store it appropriately. When people tell us that this whatever sweater from their grandma is really important, or whatever it is, that it's sentimental, and it's just shoved on a back shelf, I question how special it actually is to them. Because you are not honoring the item. If it actually is special and sentimental, you need to either be like, I'm gonna put this in a keepsake box at the top of the closet, or I'm gonna have it framed. You have to honor whatever it is.

• 31:44Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 31:45Speaker 01

  But if it's something that you're like, I just can't get rid of it. It's like, then you need to honor it and, like, display it, or honor it and store it.

• 31:53Speaker 02

  Now, there's a rule with the storing it. Because some people, everything can fall into sentimental.

• 31:59Speaker 01

  Of course.

• 31:59Speaker 02

  It can become a very slippery slope. So what you have to do is put up a little bit of a guardrail and decide, I, in my house, my studio apartment, or my huge house, doesn't matter, this is how much space I want to allot to my sentimental value of stuff. So whether it's the size, maybe you have six bins, and they're the size of this table. Maybe it's a whole garage full. But you have to assign a value of how much all this stuff means to you, and then decide what's worth keeping, and going through that stuff and making sure that it really has value to you. Because there's also a dollar amount tied to the sentimentality. People, think about how much you pay in a mortgage, or how much you pay in a rent. How much stuff are you just holding on for the sake of holding on that's taking up so much valuable real estate in your house that you could be, otherwise, have other things or just breathing free air there?

• 32:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 32:43Speaker 02

  So these are all, like, decisions to kind of think through in other ways to make the value seem more rational.

• 32:48Mel Robbins?

  So when I go through this edit list, need, I need it.

• 32:52Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 32:52Mel Robbins?

  I use it, I love it.

• 32:53Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 32:53Mel Robbins?

  And then we've got this little subcategory with a giant red flag called sentimental.

• 32:57Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 32:58Mel Robbins?

  Because this is where we fall into starting to hoard and keep things.

• 33:01Speaker 02

  That's right. It's a slippery slope.

• 33:03Mel Robbins?

  Because you can justify, well, blah, blah, blah, blah.

• 33:04Speaker 02

  Absolutely.

• 33:05Mel Robbins?

  And so we can correct ourselves by going, okay, well, am I actually honoring it?

• 33:09Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 33:10Mel Robbins?

  Or is it on display?

• 33:12Speaker 01

  Yeah. Because if not- Is it just shoved in the back corner? Doesn't seem special to me.

• 33:15Mel Robbins?

  Then it's really not that sentimental.

• 33:16Speaker 01

  Right.

• 33:16Mel Robbins?

  But here's what I didn't hear.

• 33:19Mel Robbins?

  Should.

• 33:20Speaker 01

  Right.

• 33:21Mel Robbins?

  I should hold on to it.

• 33:23Speaker 01

  Well, the thing is, we don't believe in that. We, we, we just don't. If it should, that to me does not equal a desire, a want, a need. It's, it's like putting this, like, imaginary, well, I should. Shoulds are not powerful.

• 33:41Speaker 02

  And they feel powerful, that's the thing. They feel so powerful, but they're, what are they? It's not that you want to or that you need to. It's just that you should.

• 33:50Speaker 01

  I, I would always question, well, why? Tell me why you should. Is it because you think that someone's really gonna come over and look for that tea towel? Because they're not. Like, no one is.

• 34:01Mel Robbins?

  I can't believe you just said tea towel.

• 34:02Speaker 01

  Because I really know.

• 34:04Mel Robbins?

  Just was sitting here thinking, because you can't help but listen to you two and start to mentally go through your thing. And so as I'm going to edit, I'm like, okay, need, use. And I was standing in my kitchen, and I thought sentimental. And I have my grandmother's china.

• 34:23Speaker 02

  Great.

• 34:24Speaker 01

  Absolutely.

• 34:24Mel Robbins?

  Beautiful harvest pattern.

• 34:26Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 34:27Mel Robbins?

  And it's on display.

• 34:28Speaker 02

  Great.

• 34:28Mel Robbins?

  In a cabinet.

• 34:29Speaker 01

  That's perfect.

• 34:29Mel Robbins?

  I never use it, but I love seeing it.

• 34:31Speaker 02

  That's perfect. That's exactly right.

• 34:33Mel Robbins?

  Do you know how many doilies and broken pieces of costume jewelry I have jammed into a door in my closet? Because, a door in my closet, because I, I should hold on to it.

• 34:42Speaker 02

  No, but let's talk about-

• 34:42Mel Robbins?

  And then I'm like a bad granddaughter.

• 34:43Speaker 02

  No, let's talk about that.

• 34:44Mel Robbins?

  I don't want this stuff.

• 34:45Speaker 01

  No.

• 34:45Mel Robbins?

  Even, like, I didn't even know my great-grandmother. Like, I, the, the, the, the plates mean a lot.

• 34:51Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 34:52Speaker 01

  And that's the difference.

• 34:53Speaker 02

  And that's the difference.

• 34:54Speaker 01

  When we question, we have to push back on people, right?

• 34:57Mel Robbins?

  Well, I feel like a bad person if I'm ditching broken costume jewelry from the 1920s.

• 35:02Speaker 01

  Absolutely not. Absolutely not. And we always push back when someone says it's special. I want to know why. And I want to know if, again, your china on display is-

• 35:13Speaker 02

  Look how you lit up when you were talking about the china on display.

• 35:15Mel Robbins?

  And I have some vases from her that are cut glass.

• 35:17Speaker 01

  It's incredible.

• 35:18Speaker 02

  Look, look how you lit up. And now this doily brings you down.

• 35:21Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my God, there's a doily next to the broken jewelry.

• 35:23Speaker 02

  Yes. And let's talk about this too, because this is-

• 35:25Mel Robbins?

  It doesn't mean anything.

• 35:26Speaker 02

  This is another way to know what means something and what doesn't mean something. Okay, so what, in part of our process, we like to categorize things. So what this does is allow you to see the totality of a category. So say it's all your great-grandmother's or your grandmother's stuff. What if you brought all of the things that your great-grandmother has ever given to you and put it all in one space? And you're able to see, okay, all of that stuff takes up this table. Well, actually, I love these dishes, and the rest of it means nothing to me. Well, you're representing your great-grandmother through the stuff that you love. Why are we holding on to it?

• 35:56Speaker 01

  She wouldn't want you to have a bunch of broken costume jewelry in a drawer.

• 36:00Speaker 02

  Look how much you are honoring her, and you, this makes you so happy, and this brings you down. And what, what are we doing here?

• 36:05Speaker 01

  I know, she's dead anyway, so what is she- Exactly.

• 36:07Speaker 02

  There you go.

• 36:08Speaker 01

  She's, and she wouldn't want this. I know, I know her.

• 36:11Mel Robbins?

  Well, she might.

• 36:11Speaker 01

  I know her.

• 36:12Speaker 02

  Maybe somebody else wants it, then you donate it. Okay, that gets into another conversation. But I mean, thinking about it, seeing it all together, which is part of our process, even with not just sentimental stuff, but like, anything, you have 40 pens. What, do we need all 40? Can you have 10?

• 36:26Speaker 01

  Right.

• 36:26Speaker 02

  You know, like, let's see the totality of something to really make those decisions easier.

• 36:30Mel Robbins?

  You know, one of the things that I love most about the two of you and how you approach this is, it's fun. It's fun to listen to you. Like, I feel so heavy when I think about organizing and clutter, and I do make myself wrong. And so having you be fun, and it's practical, I'm excited about it. And I bet, as you're listening, you're excited too. And if you've been thinking about somebody who's overwhelmed, or embarrassed, or frustrated, or stuck when it comes to clutter, their home, getting organized, share this episode with them. It's such a gift. There's nothing they need to do. They can laugh, they can learn and feel empowered. Because everything that you and I are learning is making your life easier. All right, don't go anywhere.

• 37:16Mel Robbins?

  Coming up, they're gonna teach us the organizing mistakes everyone makes, especially when you go to tackle that landmine called your closet. Stay with me, we'll be right back.

• 37:38Mel Robbins?

  Welcome back, it's your friend Mel Robbins. Today, you and I are here with the extraordinary women behind the mega brand, The Home Edit. Since you've been listening, you now know why they are such a force for positive change. They're making everything easier, and I've just been enjoying this so much. So let's just jump right back in. Now, let's talk about the crap that does not fall into that category. And I have wrestled myself to the ground.

• 38:07Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 38:07Mel Robbins?

  And I've got some things.

• 38:09Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 38:10Mel Robbins?

  I've got, let's use the example of pens. I've got 20 extra pens

• 38:14Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 38:15Mel Robbins?

  that I do not need.

• 38:16Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 38:16Mel Robbins?

  I have clothes that don't fit. I have other things over here. Now I've created piles.

• 38:21Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 38:21Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 38:22Mel Robbins?

  And I have piles that are like, okay, get rid of this, donate this.

• 38:25Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 38:26Mel Robbins?

  Am I reselling that?

• 38:27Speaker 02

  We have a lot of thoughts about this, as you can imagine. To start, if the piles are categorized, and they're all jeans, you're starting the organizational process.

• 38:34Speaker 01

  Right, you're really two-thirds of the way through. Then we talk about containment. And containment doesn't have to be a bin. It doesn't have to be drawer inserts. I mean, obviously, we like to operate that way. But again, you can do this for free without.

• 38:48Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 38:48Speaker 01

  You need to have guardrails for any item that you're keeping, any. So if it's denim, whether you hang it, or fold it, or whatever it is, you only have X amount of space. I don't care if you live in a humongous mansion or a studio apartment, you only have X amount of space. So your items that you keep cannot exceed your space. It's the 80/20 rule. So if you have 20 pens, 20 extra pens in your drawer, you're taking up now too much space.

• 39:13Speaker 02

  And now you can't fit a pair of scissors, because you have too many pens.

• 39:15Mel Robbins?

  Well, I can't open the drawer because the scissors are jammed in there.

• 39:18Speaker 02

  Exactly.

• 39:18Mel Robbins?

  Because there's too many pens.

• 39:19Speaker 02

  That's right. It's always the scissors and the rolling pens. It's always those two things.

• 39:22Speaker 01

  Right. And the potato masher.

• 39:24Speaker 02

  Always.

• 39:25Speaker 01

  Potato masher always gets in the way.

• 39:26Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 39:27Speaker 01

  But it's, it's about, you have to think about containment. And if you're not using drawer inserts or things like that, then you have to just assign a containment, kind of in your brain, for like, this is where pens go. I can only fit X amount, which means I have to actually get rid of some.

• 39:42Speaker 02

  Right.

• 39:43Speaker 01

  And it's the 80/20 rule.

• 39:44Speaker 02

  And that, and the containment goes back to the categorization. Because if you can see that you have 20 pens, when they're all, when things are all scattered all over, you have no idea what you even own. And then you end up wasting money because you're buying it over and over again.

• 39:53Mel Robbins?

  It's so true. And then I have 40 pens, not 20 pens.

• 39:57Speaker 02

  But if you see them all together, again, this comes back to, you don't have time to not be organized. Like, once you're organized, you save so much time and so much money.

• 40:04Speaker 01

  Right.

• 40:04Mel Robbins?

  All right, well, we'll come into the details of the organization and containment in a little bit. First, I want to make sure we understand editing.

• 40:12Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 40:12Mel Robbins?

  And we talked a little bit about pens and scissors. Let's talk about the junk drawer that we all have that gets out of control. And I would love for you to walk us through a zero-cost way to take the disaster in a drawer and edit and organize.

• 40:28Speaker 02

  Well, someone brought us your drawer, Mel.

• 40:30Speaker 01

  Yep. We actually, I'm so sorry to tell you-

• 40:33Speaker 02

  Yeah, at this late stage.

• 40:34Speaker 01

  Did you call Chris? I am so sorry to put you on blast like this.

• 40:38Speaker 02

  We have your junk drawer.

• 40:39Speaker 01

  I know this is your show, and this-

• 40:41Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my gosh.

• 40:42Speaker 01

  This is your, this is your junk drawer.

• 40:44Mel Robbins?

  It is.

• 40:44Speaker 02

  Okay, show it to the audience, so everyone can see.

• 40:46Speaker 01

  No, they don't need to see.

• 40:47Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my God.

• 40:48Speaker 02

  So let's, let's, this is perfect, because we can go through all the steps right now with you. We're gonna, this is gonna be the edit.

• 40:53Speaker 01

  The first step with an edit is you have to take it all out.

• 40:56Speaker 02

  And there's no way around it.

• 40:57Speaker 01

  There's no way around it.

• 40:58Speaker 02

  There's no pretty way.

• 40:59Speaker 01

  Let me explain why, okay?

• 41:00Speaker 02

  And I'm gonna start just going.

• 41:01Speaker 01

  There's no way around it, because if you just looked in here, whether it's a closet, a drawer, whatever, it's very easy to say, this all belongs. This all stays. But when you pull it out, you actually have to make a conscious decision about putting it back.

• 41:15Speaker 02

  It's active versus passive.

• 41:16Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my gosh, you know what I've done with our junk drawer? I'm glad you're doing this, so now I don't have to do it. But what I love, at least I have a rubber band ball, and now rubber bands everywhere.

• 41:25Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 41:25Mel Robbins?

  I, I will arrange one little bit of it.

• 41:30Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 41:31Mel Robbins?

  Like, one little side tray thing of it, and I might pick out the fuzz, or somehow the dog hair or the old Band-Aid is in there.

• 41:37Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 41:38Mel Robbins?

  And then I'm like, okay, uh, God, okay, just shut this thing.

• 41:41Speaker 02

  Right, because you have to do the edit.

• 41:42Mel Robbins?

  Look at how much stuff is in there.

• 41:45Speaker 01

  It's always amazing how much comes out.

• 41:47Mel Robbins?

  Oh, my gosh, duct tape, glue stick, an air- Oh, my God, the card that was missing from the cribbage game last night.

• 41:54Speaker 01

  There you go. Look, why is this in here? You know what I mean?

• 41:56Speaker 02

  One card is not-

• 41:57Mel Robbins?

  Oh, I know, because we didn't need it. For the game.

• 42:00Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 42:01Mel Robbins?

  So somebody put it on the freaking kitchen island.

• 42:03Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 42:04Mel Robbins?

  And then I got frustrated when I was cleaning.

• 42:06Speaker 01

  Right.

• 42:06Mel Robbins?

  So I then put the card in the junk drawer because I didn't want to see it. Oh my, look at the receipts in there.

• 42:12Speaker 01

  Yeah, so let's.

• 42:13Mel Robbins?

  Oh my god, all those cords and the broken.

• 42:16Speaker 01

  That we can just like this.

• 42:17Mel Robbins?

  What is that? I don't even know.

• 42:19Speaker 01

  I don't even know what it is.

• 42:20Mel Robbins?

  It's like a part to something that I don't know, but we're holding on to it.

• 42:22Speaker 01

  We don't even know.

• 42:23Mel Robbins?

  In case I need to find the other part.

• 42:24Speaker 01

  One spoon.

• 42:25Mel Robbins?

  I don't know.

• 42:25Speaker 01

  Nail polish. And this, this coffee cup lid.

• 42:27Mel Robbins?

  Oh.

• 42:28Speaker 01

  This doesn't belong in here. No.

• 42:29Mel Robbins?

  So, oh my god, the bracelets, I don't even know who those are.

• 42:32Speaker 01

  Okay. So like already you're seeing, but see what we're doing right now is we're categorizing this stuff. So you can see even in the little drawer, the totality of each thing. These are like your little erasers.

• 42:41Mel Robbins?

  These are your little. I hate half of those Stila pens.

• 42:44Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 42:44Mel Robbins?

  I would not use that pen.

• 42:46Speaker 01

  Let's.

• 42:47Mel Robbins?

  Well, I've got one chopstick.

• 42:48Speaker 01

  Okay. Yeah, one chopstick.

• 42:49Mel Robbins?

  One chopstick.

• 42:50Speaker 01

  All right, we've got some sunscreen. Okay. So there's some office supplies in here. Yep, here, here's a little office supply section that I'm putting together. All right, and then we've got some laundry, like, okay, that could, I can make a case for this. Yeah, so even before. A tie pen. Even before we get into like, do you want these pens or this pen? I think it's just a very even cursory look at being like, okay. Bracelets don't belong here. Nail polish does not need to be in a junk drawer. Teabags do not need to be in a junk drawer.

• 43:17Mel Robbins?

  You're right, but I feel so conflicted because I'm like, where else am I gonna put it?

• 43:20Speaker 01

  No, that's, but that's where. Wait, hold on, let's actually ask a question. Do you paint your nails in a place that's next to this junk drawer?

• 43:29Mel Robbins?

  No.

• 43:29Speaker 01

  No. Okay, where would you paint your nails?

• 43:31Mel Robbins?

  My bathroom.

• 43:32Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 43:32Mel Robbins?

  After a kick of bath, I would sit on the floor of my bathroom.

• 43:35Speaker 01

  That's where it goes. That's where it goes. This goes in the bathroom.

• 43:37Mel Robbins?

  I can only do a good job on my toenails if I'm sitting.

• 43:39Speaker 01

  That's where it goes. There you go, that's where it goes.

• 43:41Mel Robbins?

  On the floor. But here's the truth.

• 43:43Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 43:44Mel Robbins?

  I.

• 43:46Speaker 01

  Say it.

• 43:47Mel Robbins?

  Say it.

• 43:47Speaker 01

  Say it.

• 43:48Mel Robbins?

  Say it. I don't even know why I have nail polish.

• 43:54Speaker 01

  Do you go get your nails?

• 43:55Mel Robbins?

  I don't often get a manicure. I only get a manicure or pedicure when we're taping episodes in Boston. Otherwise, I live in Vermont. Like, I don't know why, I bet I have eight bottles of nail polish lying around in different drawers.

• 44:07Speaker 01

  Would you want to have nail polish in your house? Or do you, would you never choose? Okay, we don't even need this.

• 44:11Mel Robbins?

  I wear the same, I need nail polish remover.

• 44:13Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 44:14Mel Robbins?

  Great.

• 44:14Speaker 01

  Great, so never buy nail polish again.

• 44:16Mel Robbins?

  So what do I do? Cause those are full.

• 44:17Speaker 01

  Then you can donate it to someone?

• 44:19Mel Robbins?

  Yeah.

• 44:19Speaker 01

  Okay. Or like to daughter or anybody.

• 44:21Mel Robbins?

  We're gonna talk about how we do that, cause I have a hard time moving from the pile of donate.

• 44:25Speaker 01

  Okay, we'll talk about that.

• 44:26Mel Robbins?

  Put a pen in that.

• 44:27Speaker 01

  But okay, like for instance, this is, was a list at some point that has been spilled on and you can't even read it because of the water stains.

• 44:34Mel Robbins?

  Something that Chris asked me to do and then I spilled on it and I put it then in the drawer because I would come back to it later.

• 44:41Speaker 01

  Yeah, I'm, I'm guessing you either did it or you didn't do it.

• 44:44Mel Robbins?

  No, that's dated February.

• 44:45Speaker 01

  All right, okay, so we're gonna take that out. Teabags can move to the kitchen.

• 44:48Mel Robbins?

  I don't even like Irish breakfast tape.

• 44:50Speaker 01

  Amazing, I do, I'll take them.

• 44:51Mel Robbins?

  Okay.

• 44:52Speaker 01

  You know, see, you're donating.

• 44:54Mel Robbins?

  Duct tape belongs in the garage.

• 44:56Speaker 01

  Okay, so this is, so this is a keep, but it doesn't belong in the junk drawer. And look how much space this takes up.

• 45:00Mel Robbins?

  But what belongs in a junk drawer? I'll tell you.

• 45:03Speaker 01

  Well, let's ask you. Okay, so is this drawer from your office or is this from the kitchen?

• 45:07Mel Robbins?

  This one is for the kitchen.

• 45:08Speaker 01

  Okay, so in a kitchen, let's talk about the things that you would need. You don't need this in the kitchen?

• 45:12Mel Robbins?

  No.

• 45:13Speaker 01

  No, okay. You, would you use, if you spill, would you use a tie pen in the kitchen?

• 45:17Mel Robbins?

  No, I would not. I'd probably run upstairs.

• 45:19Speaker 01

  Okay, so this does not live here.

• 45:20Mel Robbins?

  Or I'd take a little bit of the, the Dawn, like dish soap.

• 45:22Speaker 01

  Totally. So that goes in the laundry room. This is trash.

• 45:24Mel Robbins?

  Yeah, that's trash.

• 45:25Speaker 01

  Here, I have a trash pile over here. Does a keychain belong in the kitchen?

• 45:29Mel Robbins?

  It doesn't even have keys in it.

• 45:30Speaker 01

  No.

• 45:30Mel Robbins?

  I don't even know where the hell that came from.

• 45:31Speaker 01

  Does this matter to you at all?

• 45:32Mel Robbins?

  No.

• 45:32Speaker 01

  No, it goes.

• 45:33Mel Robbins?

  I don't even know what that is.

• 45:34Speaker 01

  No, it goes. It goes in the donate pile. Um, now twine could belong in a kitchen, but do you use it as such?

• 45:39Mel Robbins?

  No, because I have a drawer that has, uh, twine, wrapping paper and my scissors for cutting flowers.

• 45:47Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 45:47Mel Robbins?

  That's separate and it's beautifully organized, which I love.

• 45:49Speaker 01

  This goes into that bin. What about these headphones?

• 45:52Mel Robbins?

  Yeah, they're broken.

• 45:53Speaker 01

  Okay, they go.

• 45:54Mel Robbins?

  They must, I blame Oakley.

• 45:55Speaker 01

  This goes, we don't have to donate everything. If it's broken, it's trash.

• 45:59Mel Robbins?

  Okay.

• 45:59Speaker 01

  Now bracelets and hair ties.

• 46:01Mel Robbins?

  Hair ties I would need in a junk drawer.

• 46:03Speaker 01

  Okay, great. Perfect. And the bracelets?

• 46:05Mel Robbins?

  I don't know who those belong to.

• 46:06Speaker 01

  They can go. They can go. All right. Okay, um, okay, you have a couple coupons.

• 46:11Mel Robbins?

  I don't even know what they're for.

• 46:12Speaker 01

  Uh, cat food.

• 46:13Mel Robbins?

  Cat food, he doesn't eat it, so throw it out. Like noodle makes it.

• 46:16Speaker 01

  Mel, can we just celebrate like what you've already done in five minutes? Look at what you're down to. You're down to things that actually just live in this drawer. Need, use or love. That's it, it's so simple. And now, now watch, we're not gonna spend any money.

• 46:29Mel Robbins?

  Okay, and you know what, I can do more.

• 46:30Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 46:31Mel Robbins?

  I only like the black pen, the blue pen and the green pen. Get rid of the rest of that.

• 46:34Speaker 01

  Okay, here we go. They go to a teacher.

• 46:36Mel Robbins?

  That was a little aggressive.

• 46:38Speaker 01

  But okay, yeah. All right, and do you use these? What are they? The little Post-it tabs? They're kind of.

• 46:42Mel Robbins?

  Yeah, I use those.

• 46:44Speaker 01

  Okay. All right, so, and you, do you use little panda erasers? Are these just envelopes?

• 46:49Mel Robbins?

  I do not use erasers.

• 46:51Speaker 01

  Okay. You do not use erasers?

• 46:52Mel Robbins?

  No, I don't need an eraser.

• 46:53Speaker 01

  Okay, this is empty.

• 46:55Mel Robbins?

  Oh my god, so.

• 46:56Speaker 01

  And where does the mail typically go?

• 46:59Mel Robbins?

  Um, I typically, it typically ends up on the kitchen island and then I passive aggressively drop it on Chris's desk.

• 47:05Speaker 01

  Okay, that's fine, so it goes there, passive aggressively or not, doesn't matter. We'll find you a new tray. We don't have judgment about passive aggressive behavior. That's not our, that's not our segment.

• 47:12Mel Robbins?

  Yeah, that's not our brand. The mail belongs on Chris's desk because he sits at it five days a week.

• 47:18Speaker 01

  There you go, Chris.

• 47:19Mel Robbins?

  And then it'll actually get opened and the bills will get paid and.

• 47:21Speaker 01

  Amazing. Fantastic. And you have a pack of batteries that are contained, so, and I'm sure you need batteries.

• 47:27Mel Robbins?

  I have a different drawer that has batteries in it.

• 47:29Speaker 01

  There you go, so it does not.

• 47:30Mel Robbins?

  But I don't know, now that I'm realizing this, I need to do this with every drawer in my kitchen because I've got a bunch of drawers where there's stuff that's mismatched.

• 47:37Speaker 01

  That's where, that's where the corralling and categorizing comes into play.

• 47:40Mel Robbins?

  And I don't need to spend a whole weekend doing this, I could just do one drawer at a time.

• 47:44Speaker 01

  Right, and that's why the barrier to entry is so low and that's why it's so frig. How free do you feel now? Look, wait until we just put this all back.

• 47:50Mel Robbins?

  I feel even better knowing you did it. Like I, no, I, I, I, I know I can do this.

• 47:58Speaker 01

  You can. You just did.

• 47:59Mel Robbins?

  Okay, and then you've got these old box lids that you're using and that way you don't have to buy drawer dividers. You just use box lids.

• 48:05Speaker 01

  You absolutely can, now you have extra, you have extra envelopes. Would you, are you ever?

• 48:09Mel Robbins?

  Get rid of the envelopes.

• 48:09Speaker 01

  Okay, we just need one.

• 48:10Mel Robbins?

  I'm starting to feel like you kind of get on a roll here.

• 48:13Speaker 01

  That's the endorphins kicking in. It's so frig, it's like shopping but the opposite. It's so, it's so exhilarating.

• 48:19Mel Robbins?

  Shopping but the, you know what we're shopping for?

• 48:22Speaker 01

  Space. Space. You're shopping for space.

• 48:24Mel Robbins?

  I can see what you mean now about you can't afford not to do this.

• 48:29Speaker 01

  Yes, and another thing that I just recommend, this is what I would do if I, especially if like things need to now move to other places. Just have a little basket with you so that all of these things just go in the basket. And then you just walk around your house, you put it in the garage, you put it in your bathroom.

• 48:43Mel Robbins?

  I literally want to run out of here and be like, throw away that mug, get rid of this.

• 48:48Speaker 01

  It's powerful.

• 48:49Mel Robbins?

  Put this where it is to be.

• 48:50Speaker 01

  This is so manageable and this is why we always say start with a drawer. Because see, see how excited you are?

• 48:55Mel Robbins?

  I, I really do feel excited. And I, I, what I also like about this is I've always made the mistake of thinking that, okay, I gotta, I gotta take the whole weekend.

• 49:09Speaker 01

  No.

• 49:09Mel Robbins?

  I gotta take the whole weekend.

• 49:11Speaker 01

  No.

• 49:11Mel Robbins?

  And the whole, I'm gonna tear apart the kitchen, I'm gonna redo all that stuff.

• 49:15Speaker 01

  30 minutes, take 30 minutes.

• 49:16Mel Robbins?

  Holy cow.

• 49:17Speaker 01

  Yeah, and it's, it's as simple as that. One other important rule for someone wanting to start this process.

• 49:24Mel Robbins?

  Yes.

• 49:24Speaker 01

  Just like we did here, do not start and edit, do not take out more than you can put away in the same day. Meaning, don't just take everything out of your closet.

• 49:33Mel Robbins?

  Yeah.

• 49:34Speaker 01

  And then what? The reason why we also love a drawer, you can go from A to Z with a very, you know, in, within 30 minutes. And the great thing is going from A to Z in a small space is the same thing as going A to Z in a big space. The rules are the same.

• 49:47Mel Robbins?

  That's right.

• 49:48Speaker 01

  It just takes more time.

• 49:49Mel Robbins?

  That was so helpful and the edits, easy. Do I use it, do I need it, do I love it?

• 49:54Speaker 01

  That's right.

• 49:55Mel Robbins?

  Awesome, all right, I have more questions.

• 49:56Speaker 01

  Okay, I'm gonna take the drawer away. All right, let's take all the stuff away. All right, I'm gonna take the drawer.

• 50:00Mel Robbins?

  Cause I wanna go from drawers to other parts of the house.

• 50:02Speaker 01

  Okay, let's do that.

• 50:04Mel Robbins?

  So let's talk about the big mistakes and traps.

• 50:06Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 50:07Mel Robbins?

  It's a Saturday morning.

• 50:09Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 50:10Mel Robbins?

  Kids are out, partner's gone.

• 50:13Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 50:13Mel Robbins?

  I got a burst of motivation and now I decide I'm gonna declutter and organize and edit. So what's the big mistakes that I'm about to make?

• 50:24Speaker 01

  Well, you started saying them all together. Organize, declutter and edit all at the same time. Let's just start with an edit. Let's start there and let's pick a reasonable space to start with, which are the drawers. So they could be bathroom drawers, they could be kitchen drawers. Let's start with drawers. If this is your first big go at it, let's get you really comfortable and feeling good about yourself. And once you finish that drawer doing the edit, go to the next one if you still have energy. But one by one, we're not gonna take apart the entire kitchen all in one Saturday morning when you think you have a burst of energy that's gonna last all day. It won't. We'll just spare you the, spare you the good news, it will not last all day. It will last an hour until you're in the fetal position in the corner, cause it's too overwhelming. It's too overwhelming. Again, this whole experience should make you feel good.

• 51:06Mel Robbins?

  Yeah.

• 51:06Speaker 01

  Not bad. You don't want, you should not have any shame, you should not have any guilt.

• 51:11Mel Robbins?

  No.

• 51:11Speaker 01

  You should not be overwhelmed and exhausted. And just get excited about this, because it's an opportunity, it's not a chore. Bathroom drawer is also a great place to start.

• 51:20Mel Robbins?

  Love a bathroom drawer.

• 51:21Speaker 01

  Great place to start. So satisfying. Also, it's like the last thing you see and the first thing you see in the morning and the last thing before bed. And so to start your day and end your day that way feels so satisfying. I am guilty of holding on to like makeup products or samples. It's still like, whoa, like what if I run out? Or I might want that color or, you know, like maybe I'll learn how to use eyeshadow one day. I don't know.

• 51:43Mel Robbins?

  You won't.

• 51:44Speaker 01

  I won't, I think that ship has sailed. But makeup products are just so small that you're like, well, I can fit it.

• 51:50Mel Robbins?

  Yeah.

• 51:50Speaker 01

  Doesn't mean that you should fit it. How much more would you rather have the clear space than a peptide lotion you don't know how to use? It's just.

• 51:58Mel Robbins?

  It's true.

• 51:58Speaker 01

  That's, and that's the thing to think about. Do I want the item or do I want the space? And if you get stuck, that binary decision is the best way to get out of being stuck, especially in a closet. Like, oh, I can't decide, well, do you want the space? Do you want the breathing space? Do you want the extra hanger? Or do you want that pair of jeans?

• 52:14Mel Robbins?

  Oh, I am going to be repeating that as my mantra.

• 52:18Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 52:18Mel Robbins?

  For the rest of my life.

• 52:20Speaker 01

  It's, it really. Because it's binary and there's no gray area. Right. It's just, you have to follow those rules. You only have so much space.

• 52:29Mel Robbins?

  That's right.

• 52:30Speaker 01

  And I myself, again, I am ruthless with everything in my house, but I love to shop. I just do. I love, I love shoes, I love handbags, but I will get rid of.

• 52:43Mel Robbins?

  She will.

• 52:43Speaker 01

  Other items.

• 52:44Mel Robbins?

  Oh, so do you have like a one in, one out rule?

• 52:46Speaker 01

  I kind of do.

• 52:48Mel Robbins?

  She kind of doesn't, I can tell.

• 52:49Speaker 01

  No, no, no, no. She has to get rid of, it's usually three, three in, three out. It's like, it comes in. Right, I'm not, she's why I add a one in, one out, because I do believe in having space in the closet. Here's a rule I have for myself. I will not buy new hangers. I don't need anymore.

• 53:04Mel Robbins?

  Ooh.

• 53:05Speaker 01

  The hangers are, they completely match the space I have. If I need to add hangers, then I'm shoving things into my closet.

• 53:13Mel Robbins?

  Oh.

• 53:14Speaker 01

  So if I'm, if I get into a one in, one out, that means like I'm not adding a hanger to accommodate my new clothes. I will purge. She, and she is an excellent, she is ruthless. I'm hardcore.

• 53:24Mel Robbins?

  Yeah. Wow. Why does mess always come back?

• 53:27Speaker 01

  It really comes down to putting systems in, in like a situation that is so sustainable and easy and simple. So when a mess comes back, I generally think it's like, okay, Joanne and I, obviously organize, we spend the time organizing our homes. If we create a system that's too complicated, or don't put in a system at all, the mess will come back. If you're only tidying up a space and not truly organizing it, the mess comes back. All organizing is, if you really want to keep it as organized as the day you did it, you just have to create simple, realistic systems and set realistic expectations. A lot of it comes down to a me versus them. Is it a me problem or a them problem?

• 54:10Speaker 01

  I don't even care if it's a kid's playroom. You just put big floor bins for like blocks.

• 54:17Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 54:17Speaker 01

  For dolls. If you don't have Disney doll, princess dolls here, but people, but people do go down the path because it's easy to do and because you do it one day and you get excited.

• 54:26Speaker 02

  And they get excited.

• 54:27Speaker 01

  And then the thing is it's too hard to maintain and then all the wheels fall off the bus. Like, okay, for instance, for a pantry, we love pantries. We could do a whole episode on pantries.

• 54:35Speaker 02

  Oh, my God. Nothing's more fun.

• 54:36Speaker 01

  Every pantry could be organized and look great by just having six categories, just bins, a simple bin.

• 54:46Mel Robbins?

  What are the six categories?

• 54:47Speaker 01

  It's breakfast, dinner, snacks, baking, cooking, dessert.

• 54:53Speaker 02

  That's it.

• 54:54Speaker 01

  That's it.

• 54:55Speaker 02

  And again, if you have the space and this is fun for you to have microcategories, have at it. It looks, it can look beautiful. It's so fun. But if you are a busy professional or a busy person, just in general, just the six categories and you are off to the races with organization.

• 55:10Speaker 01

  Simple systems. And one of the keys to maintenance is a label.

• 55:14Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 55:15Speaker 01

  And again, that feels like it's just an aesthetic situation and it is not. Labels are a set of instructions for the household.

• 55:23Mel Robbins?

  I love this. Oh, my gosh. I am going to have so much fun this weekend. What is the hardest thing that people seem to have trouble getting rid of?

• 55:34Speaker 01

  Denim.

• 55:35Mel Robbins?

  Denim?

• 55:36Speaker 01

  We have had to make many, many aspirational denim categories in a closet because people feel like they're always going to be able to fit in to their old jeans.

• 55:45Speaker 02

  And I would say just generally clothes. Clothes are so.

• 55:48Speaker 01

  Clothes are really hard.

• 55:49Speaker 02

  Because it's the emotional piece that goes with clothes. There's so many triggers in a closet that it's so hard. So going, once you are ready for the closet, just give yourself grace and know that you may come across things that are hard for you to face and be patient with yourself because it is hard.

• 56:06Mel Robbins?

  Okay, you were masterful in walking us through the drawer. If somebody.

• 56:13Speaker 02

  Yeah, yes.

• 56:13Mel Robbins?

  Starts with the drawers.

• 56:14Speaker 02

  Okay, okay.

• 56:15Mel Robbins?

  We're doing one drawer at a time. We're getting good pens.

• 56:19Speaker 02

  Yep.

• 56:20Mel Robbins?

  We are really starting to feel motivated. We got the six different items in the pantry.

• 56:26Speaker 02

  You got it.

• 56:26Mel Robbins?

  We have handled Grand Central.

• 56:29Speaker 02

  Yes, we're working through the house.

• 56:30Mel Robbins?

  Yes, we're working through the house. I'm, I'm realizing my systems are simple. I'm able to get things where they're supposed to be. I'm not buying more stuff. I'm starting to feel like, oh, my God, I've got more space. I'm feeling good about this. Now I'm ready for the closet.

• 56:45Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 56:46Mel Robbins?

  How do you want us to think?

• 56:48Speaker 01

  You still need to start super small.

• 56:50Mel Robbins?

  Do I have to empty the whole thing out?

• 56:52Speaker 01

  Not at once. Do not.

• 56:53Mel Robbins?

  So do one drawer?

• 56:54Speaker 02

  Or one category.

• 56:55Speaker 01

  Or like one, you know, bank of clothes or whatever.

• 56:58Mel Robbins?

  And are there categories, I know it's a weird question, like in the pantry, is there?

• 57:03Speaker 02

  Pajamas, workout.

• 57:05Mel Robbins?

  Okay, give me the categories in a closet.

• 57:07Speaker 01

  Generally speaking. The categories like represent themselves.

• 57:09Speaker 02

  Yeah, so it's like pajamas, exercise, work, leisure, swim, whatever those are, summer, winter, we have seasonal categories.

• 57:17Speaker 01

  But, but you don't need to get so granular.

• 57:20Speaker 02

  No, I would just, if it was me, I would just take all pajamas and throw them on the bed and start matching them and seeing what, what I like and what I don't like anymore.

• 57:27Speaker 01

  Right. Just start with really small, simple steps. A closet, take one day a week and, and just do little, small bits.

• 57:36Speaker 02

  Do not do the whole thing at once.

• 57:37Speaker 01

  And it, it adds up to really, I mean, editing out your closet, I think is actually the most freeing thing imaginable.

• 57:44Speaker 02

  Because that's the hardest one. And once you do that, again, it's, it's, but acknowledging on the front end, this may be challenging because I'm going to confront certain emotions.

• 57:51Mel Robbins?

  Let's just say I'm going to tackle shirts that are hanging.

• 57:53Speaker 01

  Great. Hanging shirts. It's own category.

• 57:55Speaker 02

  That's great.

• 57:55Mel Robbins?

  Hanging shirts.

• 57:56Speaker 02

  Great.

• 57:56Mel Robbins?

  I pull them all out of the closet.

• 57:58Speaker 02

  All of them.

• 57:59Mel Robbins?

  Throw them all on the bed.

• 58:00Speaker 02

  That's right.

• 58:00Mel Robbins?

  Pull it out. Just look at it. Do I want to take the 0.5 seconds it's going to take to actually put this back on the rod? Like, do I actually love this? Or do I, am I never going to wear this kind of tank top ever again? You know?

• 58:14Speaker 02

  And if something creeps up, oh, gosh, I've, it costs so much and I've never worn it and now.

• 58:20Speaker 01

  Sell it, donate.

• 58:21Mel Robbins?

  Okay, let's talk about the selling donate. Selling is a whole other thing.

• 58:25Speaker 02

  And that's a barrier to entry. And so we don't want you to get stuck with the selling.

• 58:29Speaker 01

  There are a few things that if you want to sell your items that are, you know, that you spent money on, that you feel like, you know, I spent, I spent some money on this. There are resellers that do the work for you. You know, there are people who do the Poshmarks, that do the RealReal, that do.

• 58:46Speaker 02

  Oh, yeah.

• 58:47Speaker 01

  Yeah. All, there are people who do these things. It's their job.

• 58:50Mel Robbins?

  And they just take a commission?

• 58:50Speaker 01

  Uh huh.

• 58:51Mel Robbins?

  And they market it and you drop their stuff off with them?

• 58:53Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 58:54Speaker 02

  They pick it up.

• 58:54Speaker 01

  They do the whole thing. And I would guarantee there's always an exception to rule here, but I can't think of anyone we've worked with, a single client, that has missed what they have purged from their closet. They make the decision and once it's gone, it's gone.

• 59:15Mel Robbins?

  You also have these rules in here in.

• 59:18Speaker 02

  We have lot of rules.

• 59:18Mel Robbins?

  Lot of rules. No, but I love these rules because they never thought about it. You say invest in matching hangers.

• 59:23Speaker 02

  Yes.

• 59:24Mel Robbins?

  And you also say, when you remove an article of clothing from a hanging rod, put the empty hanger back at the end of the rod.

• 59:33Speaker 01

  Yes.

• 59:34Mel Robbins?

  I never do that. I stick it in the middle.

• 59:36Speaker 01

  No, you can't find it. And sometimes, like, if I do a real big, like a major purge, like from all the different sections, I won't take all of the hangers and put them on one rod at the end. I'd put it in their section.

• 59:48Mel Robbins?

  Yeah.

• 59:49Speaker 01

  So that way it's not, doesn't take up so much space on, on one rod.

• 59:53Mel Robbins?

  So what if you live a really small place?

• 59:55Speaker 02

  Okay.

• 59:55Mel Robbins?

  Okay. And do you have suggestions for, like, where do you put things like clean laundry before it's folded? Where do you put your work laptop when it's the weekend?

• 1:00:08Speaker 01

  So this goes back to external storage, like we talked about with hooks, over the wall unit, things like that. A cart is a miracle.

• 1:00:17Speaker 02

  What do you mean by a cart?

• 1:00:18Speaker 01

  A three-tier cart. They sell them at the, they sell them all over the place. We made one at one point at the Container Store. The Container Store has tons, Target has tons.

• 1:00:27Mel Robbins?

  Yep.

• 1:00:27Speaker 01

  And it is simple.

• 1:00:28Mel Robbins?

  Like a three-tier cart on wheels.

• 1:00:30Speaker 01

  A three-tier cart on wheels.

• 1:00:31Mel Robbins?

  I bought one of those for my son's dorm room.

• 1:00:32Speaker 01

  It's three-tier cart on wheels.

• 1:00:33Speaker 02

  They are the best investment. They can go anywhere. Sometimes they can go to bathroom, they can go in a kitchen.

• 1:00:37Speaker 01

  Towels, they can have bath supplies, they can have, you can get the, the wooden lid that goes on top for your laptop.

• 1:00:44Speaker 02

  It's, they are, they're your best friend.

• 1:00:47Speaker 01

  Best friend. And you can, you can put clean clothes in them while you're waiting and you can literally push the cart from the, from the laundry room to your closet.

• 1:00:53Speaker 02

  And then the back of the doors, there are some amazing, there's Elfo at the Container Store, which goes over the back of the door. It's clean looking. You can put shoes on the back. You can put.

• 1:01:02Mel Robbins?

  Well, that's true. This is your look up thing. So use the vertical surfaces.

• 1:01:05Speaker 02

  Always looking for vertical space.

• 1:01:06Speaker 01

  Vertical space and, and external storage. A cart is.

• 1:01:09Mel Robbins?

  Oh, see, when you said external storage, I thought you meant outside.

• 1:01:12Speaker 01

  Oh, no, sorry, sorry, sorry. Additional storage that, that doesn't exist already.

• 1:01:17Speaker 02

  It's not like built into the house.

• 1:01:19Mel Robbins?

  Got it. Okay, that makes sense.

• 1:01:21Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:01:21Mel Robbins?

  So how do you know when you've edited and organized and contained enough?

• 1:01:27Speaker 01

  Okay, whenever it works. That's how you know. If it works, you've done it. If it's falling apart, you need to rethink your system.

• 1:01:36Speaker 02

  And let me say this, though. It's not just falling apart. There is a level of maintenance that's required. Organizing is not a one and done. It's akin to exercise. You can't go to the gym one time. Like, that is not how it works. You don't do anything one time. You invest in your relationships. You have to constantly maintain things that matter to you and organizing is unfortunately no different.

• 1:01:55Speaker 01

  The thing I think people make, I mean, people make mistakes in a lot of different ways, but I think that one thing that is a mistake is thinking about your organizing as a snapshot in time.

• 1:02:04Mel Robbins?

  Hmm.

• 1:02:05Speaker 01

  It is a living space, right? You, it lives and breathes in your home. You add to it. If you organize your pantry, that's why we think we always want to think about, like, what is the easy solution? What is a system that's simple to maintain? Because it, that's when things go off the rails. If it's, if you put in a system that's like kind of too complicated, it's not going to work.

• 1:02:27Speaker 02

  It's like exercise. If you, something falls off, somebody puts in the steak knives into the junk drawer in your, in your kitchen, it's not like, oh, my God, it's over. No, no, no, it's exercise. Like you, okay, so you, you've missed two days of working out, just get right back up there and do it again.

• 1:02:41Mel Robbins?

  We talked a little bit about the low bar method for closet, but is there any other examples of low bar editing?

• 1:02:49Speaker 02

  Our whole life is low bar.

• 1:02:50Speaker 01

  So, yeah, we, we have something called a low bar lifestyle, which means if you set the bar low enough, you'll be able to get over it.

• 1:02:57Speaker 02

  Yeah.

• 1:02:57Speaker 01

  So if, if the bar's on the floor, you're going to be able to walk over it.

• 1:03:01Speaker 02

  Except for nothing's supposed to be on the floor.

• 1:03:02Speaker 01

  Well, that's right. Except for the rug in the bar, the rug in the bar. But if you set the bar low enough, basically what we just want people to understand is that any amount of effort that they put in is enough. Any amount of energy, of effort, of financing, of whatever, is enough. And you don't need to beat yourself up. Like, the low bar lifestyle is about giving yourself a gold star for literally, like, we always say, if all you do in the day is make your bed, you've, you've achieved something.

• 1:03:32Speaker 02

  Yeah, you, you started off and you did something today.

• 1:03:35Speaker 01

  You did something.

• 1:03:36Mel Robbins?

  So for the person who's listening. Who is sitting here just thinking about the state of their home? Because as you talk, you can't help but like do a little flyby.

• 1:03:46Speaker 01

  Yeah, sure.

• 1:03:47Mel Robbins?

  And imagine drawers and particular places that you want to start. But you still feel a little ashamed and overwhelmed? And maybe you're judging yourself a bit?

• 1:04:01Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:04:02Mel Robbins?

  What do you want them to remember most?

• 1:04:05Speaker 01

  I want them to remember that we three sat here and went through one drawer within 10 minutes. And we didn't do the work, you did. And you probably have the same feeling that they're having right now, that you thought, oh, my gosh, this drawer, it looks awful. I can't believe the way it looks. It's so horrible. I can't do this. You did it, not us. We just talked you through it.

• 1:04:28Mel Robbins?

  Yeah.

• 1:04:28Speaker 01

  And they can do it, too. And it is not, this is not meant to be overwhelming. It is meant to be freeing. It is meant to relieve yourself of the, the mental clutter.

• 1:04:41Speaker 02

  It's not one more thing to do. It's, it's the way to save yourself and to give yourself what you deserve. And it's self-care.

• 1:04:49Speaker 01

  It is self-care. It is wellness. It's mental wellness.

• 1:04:52Speaker 02

  It is, and physical wellness. It's all, it's so valuable. And there's the payback, the payoff is so much greater than the, than the energy that's required to do it.

• 1:05:01Speaker 01

  Yep.

• 1:05:01Speaker 02

  And don't tie being disorganized with your self-worth. Like, don't do that.

• 1:05:06Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:05:06Speaker 02

  You are busy. There are so many competing things for your time, energy.

• 1:05:11Speaker 01

  And your attention.

• 1:05:12Speaker 02

  And this is only an opportunity to help yourself. That's it. It's not another chore. It's truly an opportunity.

• 1:05:19Speaker 01

  Yeah, that's absolutely.

• 1:05:22Mel Robbins?

  Joanna and Clea, what are your parting words?

• 1:05:25Speaker 01

  My parting words would be to just start. You know, you, you can't, you can't finish anything if you don't start it. And even if you start super small, I think that it's just doing something and all of a sudden, you're like, oh, my God, I feel like I can tackle this. I can do it. But you, you won't get that feeling if you don't start at all. So just start.

• 1:05:47Speaker 02

  I would just say the edit is free and you get out whatever you put in. And so if you have five minutes, you will edit for five minutes. And if you have an hour, edit for an hour. But that is so powerful and it gives you such a lift and it will carry you through all the other parts of your house. If you can start with something that's for you, that way you can see how you maintain it yourself. I sometimes think that gives you more confidence to go for the next thing. Whereas if you do it in a big space, that's a very shared space, it can be very frustrating when people aren't following your systems right away. So if you did your, your own bathroom drawer first. That is really powerful because you're like, this is mine and I'm taking care of it myself. And you have the ownership over it. And so you can see it through and you can see the maintenance through and then start implementing it through other drawers where it's shared spaces.

• 1:06:32Mel Robbins?

  Well, I haven't even started and I already feel better.

• 1:06:34Speaker 01

  You did.

• 1:06:35Mel Robbins?

  I, I agree. And I, I cannot thank you enough.

• 1:06:39Speaker 02

  Thank you.

• 1:06:40Speaker 01

  Oh, gosh.

• 1:06:40Mel Robbins?

  I mean it. I cannot thank you enough. I love that 99.9% of everything that you said, I can do. It's not going to take a lot of time. In fact, it's going to take less time, the amount of time that I am wasting and the person who's listening is wasting, racing around, feeling overwhelmed and trying to find the things you can't find and wasting money. And you did something really important. You not only gave us the simple steps, but you infused it with such belief and enthusiasm that I know that this will work if I actually do it.

• 1:07:16Speaker 01

  It will. That's why you just have to start.

• 1:07:18Mel Robbins?

  Well, here's what I want to tell you. You're fantastic.

• 1:07:21Speaker 02

  Well, thank you.

• 1:07:23Mel Robbins?

  And what I appreciate most about this conversation is it wasn't about editing or organizing or decluttering at all. You gave us a roadmap to have the single most powerful resources that we have in our life, which is energy and time, back.

• 1:07:42Speaker 01

  Yeah.

• 1:07:43Mel Robbins?

  And I really understand what you mean now that we've had this conversation, that this is not one more thing that you need to add to your to-do list.

• 1:07:52Speaker 01

  Right.

• 1:07:53Mel Robbins?

  This is your way to get time back, to get peace back. And I cannot thank you enough for hopping on a plane and for being here and for doing this work and teaching us how to do this for free.

• 1:08:06Speaker 01

  Well, we are so honored and so happy to be here.

• 1:08:10Speaker 02

  Truly. What an honor.

• 1:08:10Speaker 01

  And we're coming to Vermont.

• 1:08:12Speaker 02

  Yeah, we sure are. We sure are, ready or not. Here we come.

• 1:08:16Mel Robbins?

  I'm gonna be, I'm gonna go declutter now, thinking about that. No, seriously, thank you.

• 1:08:20Speaker 02

  Thank you so much. This was such a pleasure and such an honor.

• 1:08:23Mel Robbins?

  I learned so much and I'm so excited to go home and edit. That's what I'm gonna do.

• 1:08:27Speaker 01

  I'm so excited for your daily drawer.

• 1:08:28Speaker 02

  I know. Please send us a photo.

• 1:08:30Mel Robbins?

  I'm gonna take you a photo of it. In fact, when you do a daily drawer, I want you to post a photo of it and tag the home edit.

• 1:08:36Speaker 02

  Please tag the home edit. We get so much satisfaction about seeing other people's work.

• 1:08:41Mel Robbins?

  Let us celebrate you. Yes, yes, I love that. So thank you.

• 1:08:46Speaker 01

  Thank you.

• 1:08:46Mel Robbins?

  And I also want to thank you. Thank you for taking the time to listen to this episode. And I think you probably started it thinking you were gonna get one thing. And now that the conversation's over, I know that you got what I got, which is this deep sense of confidence that yes, you can do this. And I also feel the lift of pressure and shame that I've been putting on myself, like something's wrong with me. This isn't one more thing that you have to do. It's one thing that you get to do and that you can do to get back what you really deserve, which is time and space and to feel good about yourself. So I can't wait to see your photos. And in case no one else tells you, I wanted to be sure to tell you as your friend, that

• 1:09:30Mel Robbins?

  I love you and I believe in you and I believe in your ability to create a better life. And holy cow, when we edit, when we edit, we will create a better life and we'll feel better in that life, too. All right, I'll see you in the next episode. I'll welcome you in the moment you hit play.

• 1:09:49Mel Robbins?

  Okay, great. Okay. Hey, it's your friend, hey, it's your friend Mel Robbins and welcome. Hold on. Gotcha, gotcha. Okay.

• 1:10:00Mel Robbins?

  One rule you really follow or is that the, how would you, how would you recommend? Who should do the listen back while you're doing the edit?

• 1:10:08Speaker 03

  I'm listening to my baby Amy the whole time and my car is so filled with, with stuff to donate. I cannot wait to double it.

• 1:10:13Speaker 02

  Just double it and get it out.

• 1:10:14Speaker 03

  Get it out. I mean, I was saying, I have a bag that I've been bringing between.

• 1:10:18Mel Robbins?

  Why do, why are there? Hold on a second. Is that it?

• 1:10:22Speaker 03

  Yeah, that's it.

• 1:10:23Mel Robbins?

  Okay.

• 1:10:24Speaker 01

  Okay.

• 1:10:24Mel Robbins?

  Great.

• 1:10:25Speaker 01

  Wow.

• 1:10:26Mel Robbins?

  Look at, look at us. You two are dynamite.

• 1:10:28Speaker 03

  Thank you so much.

• 1:10:30Mel Robbins?

  No wonder you are so successful.

• 1:10:32Speaker 01

  Do it. Do you want us to literally help throw all this out?

• 1:10:37Mel Robbins?

  Let me just do that YouTube bow. Okay.

• 1:10:41Mel Robbins?

  What do I say?

• 1:10:43Mel Robbins?

  All righty.

• 1:10:47Mel Robbins?

  Oh, and one more thing. And no, this is not a blooper. This is the legal language. You know what the lawyers write and what I need to read to you. This podcast is presented solely for educational and entertainment purposes. I'm just your friend. I am not a licensed therapist and this podcast is not intended as a substitute for the advice of a physician, professional coach, psychotherapist, or other qualified professional. Got it? Good. I'll see you in the next episode.