The Clutter Fairy Weekly

Some spaces and categories of stuff in our homes are relatively easy to declutter and organize, but some are constant sources of struggle. What lessons can our “sweet spots” teach us for managing our trouble areas? In episode #209 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, explores household problem areas and clear zones an...

Negative emotions complicate and compound the difficulty of managing our clutter. Guilt, shame, fear, grief, anger, and other painful feelings reduce our ability to focus and make decisions, and cluttered spaces and piles of stuff can aggravate our emotional distress. In episode #208 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texa...

An audience member asked, “How much should you keep for your ‘little birdies’ while they’re testing their wings?” There are difficult decisions and challenges to face as you transition from a full house to an empty nest. In episode #207 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses not-quite-empty nests, Earth Day or...

An audience member asked, “What should we do if we notice ourselves becoming more disorganized than usual?” The good news is that you can learn to recognize the warning signs that clutter is creeping back into your previously organized life. In episode #206 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, explores the tendency to...

Do you sweat the small stuff? Little things can cause some of our biggest organizing headaches: spice jars, tiny bottles and tubes of notions and potions, jewelry, accessories, sticky notes and scraps of paper, the contents of purses, and all the various bits and bobs that collect in our lives and our homes. In episode #205 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and ow...

Paper is a plentiful source of clutter—and frustration—for many people. Even though our digital lives offer us more options than ever for “going paperless,” paper clutter still seems to keep stacking up. In episode #204 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, examines habits, behaviors, and attitudes that lead us to keep...

Join us for another “Ask Us Anything” episode. We’ll answer viewer and listener questions and discuss short topics suggested by our audience in our surveys and through our other channels. In episode #203 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses striving for balance between convenience and clarity, how to avoid f...

This month presents a rare treat—an extra day on the calendar! How about using some of that bonus time to get a jump on your spring cleaning by drafting a project plan? In episode #202 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, peeks into often-neglected corners of our lives and shares a list of simple cleaning chores where...

We love the people in our lives—and we also love our stuff. But sometimes our feelings about and behavior with regard to our clutter can create distance, conflict, or tension with people we care about. In episode #201 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, examines the ways in which our attachment to stuff complicates o...

Why do we procrastinate? We’re probably not lazy or lacking in self-control. We know what needs to be done and why it’s important to us. So why do we go out of our way to avoid the inevitable? In episode #200 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, explores procrastination and avoidance behavior and suggests tips and tec...

Well-chosen decor can express your personality and make your home feel warm, cozy, and inviting. But a lot can go wrong as you select objects, colors, textures, and materials to decorate your space. In episode #199 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, examines ways that decor can lead to clutter and suggests strategie...

How do we evaluate the stuff in our lives? What questions should we be asking about ourselves and our belongings as we decide what to keep and what to let go? In episode #198 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, explores the power of questions to unpack clutter issues and suggests queries that can get to the heart of...

Gamification is the practice of incorporating traditional elements of games—scorekeeping, rewards, social components, etc., to non-game contexts, such as decluttering and organizing. In episode #197 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, explores the pros and cons of gamifying your organizing process and suggests ways t...

Wherever you find yourself in your organizing journey as 2023 draws to a close, we plan to be here to encourage and support you this week, next week, and throughout the year. In episode #196 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly, Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, pledges to help and cheer on our community in making 2024 your best decluttering and organiz...

Happy holidays from The Clutter Fairy family to you and yours! In episode #195 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, thanks our clients, patrons, friends, family, viewers, and listeners for your generous support this year and wishes you a joyous and peaceful holiday season filled with all that your heart desires! The t...

Should your home be optimized to function smoothly, to look beautiful, or some combination of the two? Where are you willing to compromise, and what’s non-negotiable? In episode #194 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses the priorities that inform our decluttering and organizing choices and suggests strategie...

Last week’s dip into our mailbag was so much fun that we’re going to do some more! We’ll discuss “decluttering clutter,” how to start clearing a jam-packed space, organizing plants and pets, and more. In episode #193 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, is back to answer more viewer and listener questions and discuss...

It’s been a while since we focused a complete episode on answering the questions you share with us in our surveys, live chat, email, social media, and web site. We’re always ready to listen, and we’re eager to tackle the tough questions and issues that are giving you fits. In episode #192 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston,...

The new year is a great time to “hit reset”: to refresh your priorities, revisit your goals, and reconsider your habits and behaviors. The more thought you put into your reset process, the more success you’re likely to achieve. In episode #191 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses how to hit reset on organizi...

Our recent surveys included a question inviting our audience to offer your favorite “Clutter Fairy-ism,” decluttering and organizing aphorism, or helpful mnemonic device. We collected a lot of great answers, and next week we’re going to share your favorites. In episode #190 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, present...

People stash excess stuff in storage units, parents’ homes, second houses, backyard sheds, garages—anywhere that’s easy to ignore. But hideaways aren’t a practical solution to clutter issue because it wastes time, money, and effort to warehouse your deferred decisions. In episode #189 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Tex...

We’re kicking off the season of fun, food, shopping, celebration, and chaos that runs from Halloween into the new year. This year, why not make the holiday season exactly what you want it to be? In episode #188 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, offers ideas to streamline the season for yourself and your loved ones...

In response to a recent survey, an audience member asked, “How do you get your motor running? Is it okay to put the car in Park for a while? Are detours good or bad?” This prompt got us thinking about how much our decluttering process can be like a road trip. In episode #187 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, talks...

It’s October, so the season of giving—and of giving stuff away—is right around the corner. How do we decide to donate or gift something? And what does it mean when we choose to hold on to stuff instead? In episode #186 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses ownership, gifting, donation, and how our judgments o...

There are many circumstances and relationships in which the responsibility for stuff becomes blurred—between parents and children, among roommates or housemates, between spouses or partners, in the handling of estates, and so on. In episode #185 of The Clutter Fairy Weekly , Gayle Goddard, professional organizer and owner of The Clutter Fairy in Houston, Texas, discusses how to manage and share re...