Organize Your Life & Home: The Simple System That Gives You More Time, Energy, & Control

Mel Robbins (00:22:46):

Can we talk about this?

 

Clea Shearer (00:22:48):

All we need is a simple bathroom. Tray.ou need a

 

Mel Robbins (00:22:50):

Tray.

 

Clea Shearer (00:22:51):

A tray, a

 

Mel Robbins (00:22:51):

Basket.

 

Clea Shearer (00:22:52):

That's

 

Mel Robbins (00:22:52):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:23:00):

Flat surfaces. 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. Like

 

Clea Shearer (00:23:10):

Open flat spaces.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:23:11):

Yes, just asking. A flat

 

Clea Shearer (00:23:12):

Space is fine, but just an open, empty spot is asking for clutter.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:23:16):

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. What do we

 

Mel Robbins (00:23:27):

Do about the kitchen island? Because what drives me crazy, and 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...see

 

Clea Shearer (00:23:49):

Their

 

Mel Robbins (00:23:49):

Pockets.

 

Clea Shearer (00:23:50):

It's the second Grand Central. It is. The kitchen

 

Mel Robbins (00:23:52):

Island is? Yes, it is.

 

Clea Shearer (00:23:53):

The kitchen in general. That's exactly right. So am I supposed to embrace that it is? So the same overply

 

Joanna Teplin (00:23:57):

Here.That's the good thing is the rules are the same. Okay. So now we're going to see what doesn't belong here. Keys don't belong on the kitchen island. They sure do not. But

 

Clea Shearer (00:24:03):

They could belong in a tray or something.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:24:04):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:24:07):

Basically, here's one rule that we just really embrace. We do not like a free floating item. It should have a home. If this pen is just right there, well - It's on my kitchen island right now. It doesn't belong there. It doesn't belong there. Have a pen cup. Yeah.

 

Mel Robbins (00:24:26):

Have

 

Clea Shearer (00:24:26):

A drawer. Have a drawer.

 

Mel Robbins (00:24:28):

You know what I just realized? Is I just realized that I have an opinion about where my husband's reading glasses belong. Okay, great. You just said it doesn't have a home. Yeah. And

 

Clea Shearer (00:24:40):

I'm

 

Mel Robbins (00:24:40):

Like, "Well, it's because I think the home is on his face. 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. You can't fight

 

Joanna Teplin (00:24:58):

The tide. You're fighting the tide. So this is the tide. This is exactly what we're talking about. We're not going to fight it because that's just going to make everybody - It's going

 

Mel Robbins (00:25:05):

To make you crazy. It will.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:25:06):

It

 

Mel Robbins (00:25:06):

Has made me

 

Joanna Teplin (00:25:08):

Tell you that crazy. 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. We are married

 

Clea Shearer (00:25:24):

To other people with children.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:25:25):

Yes. 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. For

 

Clea Shearer (00:25:44):

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. That's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:25:55):

Right.

 

Clea Shearer (00:25:55):

It's a them problem if the shoes are on the floor, not in the bin. That's right. 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 they leave the keys or the glasses not in the home that you helped create -

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:13):

Yes.That's

 

Clea Shearer (00:26:14):

A them verbal. That's a them problem.

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:16):

And

 

Joanna Teplin (00:26:16):

That's

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:16):

Something that needs to be

 

Joanna Teplin (00:26:17):

Worked on.

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:17):

So I don't have a home for those things, which is why they keep ending. And that's a me problem, so I got to create a home. Then you

 

Joanna Teplin (00:26:23):

Create the home and then it's a them problem if they don't follow it. Oh

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:25):

My God, I love this. Yeah.

 

Clea Shearer (00:26:27):

It's a me and a them problem. Got

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:28):

It. Yeah. This is actually kind of simple. It is. It

 

Joanna Teplin (00:26:31):

Is.

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:32):

Organizing is simple.

Clea Shearer (00:26:57):

It will.

 

Mel Robbins (00:26:57):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:27:04):

So the rules for editing, an item has to fall into one of these buckets in order to keep it. All right. You either need it, a toilet punger. You use it, a toaster, spatula, whatever it is, you use it, and you love it. You actually just, you're attached to it. You just love it. It

 

Joanna Teplin (00:27:26):

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 know you love it. It makes you happy.

 

Clea Shearer (00:27:36):

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 a special item that you just feel - You can't get rid

 

Joanna Teplin (00:27:52):

Of. Like you

 

Clea Shearer (00:27:52):

Can't get rid of. Now, there are two rules within sentimental. 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 going to put this in a keepsake box at the top of the closet, or I'm going to have it framed." You have to honor whatever it is. 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 display it or honor it and store it. Now

 

Joanna Teplin (00:28:37):

There's a rule with the storing it because some people, everything could fall into sentimental. Of course. 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, it 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. Think about how much you pay in a mortgage or how much you pay in a rent.

 

(00:29:17):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:29:33):

I go through this edit list, need, I need it, I use it, I love it. That's right. And then we've got this little subcategory with a giant red flag called sentimental. That's right. Because this is where we fall into starting to hoard and keep things right? That's right. It's a slippery slope. Because you can justify, well,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:29:48):

Absolutely.

 

Mel Robbins (00:29:49):

And so we can correct ourselves by going, "Okay, well, am I actually honoring it? Or is it on display? Because if

 

Clea Shearer (00:29:56):

Not -

 

Mel Robbins (00:29:56):

Is it just shoved in

 

Clea Shearer (00:29:57):

The back corner? It doesn't seem

 

Mel Robbins (00:29:58):

Special to me.

 

Clea Shearer (00:29:59):

That's

 

Mel Robbins (00:29:59):

Really not That's sentimental, but here's what I didn't hear. Should.

 

Clea Shearer (00:30:04):

Right.

 

Mel Robbins (00:30:05):

I should hold onto it.

 

Clea Shearer (00:30:07):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:30:25):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:30:35):

Would always question, well, why? Tell me why you should. Is it because you think that someone's really going to come over and look for that tea towel? Because they're not. No one is.

 

Mel Robbins (00:30:46):

I can't believe you just said tea towel. No. I just was sitting here thinking, because you can't help but listen to you two and start to mentally go through your thing. Sure, of course. And so as I'm going to edit, I'm like, okay, I need use. And I was standing in my kitchen and I thought sentimental. And I have my grandmother's china.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:31:08):

Great.

 

Clea Shearer (00:31:08):

Absolutely.

 

Mel Robbins (00:31:09):

Beautiful harvest pattern and it's on display. Great. And grab it. I never use it, but I love seeing it.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:31:16):

That's

 

Mel Robbins (00:31:16):

Perfect.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:31:17):

That's exactly right. Do

 

Mel Robbins (00:31:18):

You know how many doilies and broken pieces of costume jewelry I have jammed into a door in my closet? A drawer in my closet because I should hold onto it. And then I'm like a bad granddaughter. No, let's talk about that. I don't want this stuff. I didn't even know my great-grandmother. The plates mean a lot

 

Clea Shearer (00:31:35):

To me. Yes, that's right. And that's the difference. And that's the difference. When we question, we have to push back on people, right?

 

Mel Robbins (00:31:41):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:31:47):

Not. Absolutely not. And we always push back when someone says it's special and I want to know why. And I want to know if, again, you're china on displays.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:31:57):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:31:59):

Displays. I have some vases there that are incredible.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:32:03):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:32:05):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:32:07):

Yes. And let's talk about this too. It doesn't mean anything. This is another way to know what means something and what doesn't mean something. Okay. So 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 onto - She

 

Clea Shearer (00:32:41):

Wouldn't want you to have a bunch of broken costume jewelry.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:32:44):

Junk in a drawer. Look how much you are honoring her and this makes you so happy and this brings you down. And what are we doing here? I know she's dead anyway. Exactly.

 

Clea Shearer (00:32:54):

And she wouldn't want this. I know. I

 

Joanna Teplin (00:32:55):

Know her.

 

Clea Shearer (00:32:56):

Well, she might. I know her.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:32:58):

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 anything, you have 40 pens. Do we need all 40? Can you have 10? Let's see the totality of something to really make those decisions easier.

 

Mel Robbins (00:33:15):

Now let's talk about the crap that does not fall into that category. And I have wrestled myself to the ground and I've got some things. Let's use the example of pens. I've got 20 extra pens that I do not need. I have clothes that don't fit. I have other things over here. Now I've created piles.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:33:38):

Yes.

 

Mel Robbins (00:33:39):

And I have piles that are like, okay, get rid of this, donate this. Am I reselling that? But now I'm

 

Joanna Teplin (00:33:45):

Super complicated. Talk

 

Mel Robbins (00:33:46):

About this as you

 

Joanna Teplin (00:33:47):

Can imagine. So start, if the piles are categorized and they're all jeans, you're starting the organizational process. Right.

 

Clea Shearer (00:33:52):

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. 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. That's right. 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.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:34:32):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:34:34):

Well, I can't open the drawer because the sissors are jammed in there because there's too many pens and then keep back off. That right. It's always

 

Joanna Teplin (00:34:39):

Scissors and the rolling pens. It's always those two things.

 

Clea Shearer (00:34:42):

And the potato masher. Potato masher always gets in the way. But it's about, you have to think about containment. 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 this is where pens go. I can only fit X amount, which means I have to actually get rid of some. And it's the 80 / 20 rule.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:35:03):

And the containment goes back to the categorization because if you can see that you have 20 pens, 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.

 

Mel Robbins (00:35:13):

So true. And then I have 40 pens, not 20 pens.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:35:16):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:35:23):

All right. Well, we'll come into the details of the organization and containment in a little bit.

Joanna Teplin (00:35:49):

Well, someone brought us your drawer, Mel.

 

Mel Robbins (00:35:51):

Yep.

 

Clea Shearer (00:35:51):

Actually, I'm so sorry to tell you.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:35:53):

Yeah, at this late stage. Chris,

 

Clea Shearer (00:35:56):

I am so sorry to put you on blast like

 

Joanna Teplin (00:35:58):

This. We have your junk drawer.

 

Clea Shearer (00:35:59):

I know this is your show and this - Oh my gosh. This is your junk drawer.

 

Mel Robbins (00:36:04):

It

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:04):

Is. Okay. Show it to the audience so everyone see. No, they

 

Clea Shearer (00:36:06):

Don't need to see it. Oh my God.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:08):

So this is perfect because we can go through all the steps right now with you. This is going to be the edit.

 

Clea Shearer (00:36:14):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:17):

And there's no way around it.

 

Clea Shearer (00:36:19):

Let me explain why.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:20):

And I'm going to start just going.

 

Clea Shearer (00:36:22):

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.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:35):

It's active versus passage.

 

Mel Robbins (00:36:36):

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 I have rubber bands everywhere. That's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:45):

Right.

 

Mel Robbins (00:36:46):

You do. I will arrange one little bit of it.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:36:51):

Yes.

 

Mel Robbins (00:36:51):

Like one little side tray thing of it, and I might pick out the fuzz or somehow the dog hair or the old bandaid is in there. Yes. And then I'm like, okay, God, okay, just shut this thing.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:37:01):

Right, because you have to do the unit.

 

Mel Robbins (00:37:02):

And look at how much stuff is in there. If you're listening - It's always

 

Clea Shearer (00:37:06):

Amazing how much comes out.

 

Mel Robbins (00:37:07):

I know. Oh my gosh. Duct tape, glue stick. Oh my God, the card that was missing from the cribbage game last night. There you go. The joker.

 

Clea Shearer (00:37:15):

Why is this in here? I don't know. You know what

 

Joanna Teplin (00:37:17):

I mean? One card is not going

 

Mel Robbins (00:37:18):

To be. Oh, I know because we didn't need it for the game. Okay. So somebody put it on the fricking kitchen island and then I got frustrated when I was cleaning. So I then put the card in the junk drawer because I didn't want to see it. Oh my God, look at the receipts in there. Oh my God. All those cords and the floors. There are a few things that

 

Clea Shearer (00:37:36):

We can

 

Mel Robbins (00:37:37):

Just like

 

Clea Shearer (00:37:37):

This.

 

Mel Robbins (00:37:37):

What is that? I don't even know. I don't even know what it is. It's like a part to something that I don't know, but we're holding onto it in case I need to find the other part. I don't know. And

 

Clea Shearer (00:37:46):

This coffee cup lid, this doesn't belong in here. No. No.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:37:50):

Oh my God, the bracelets.

 

Clea Shearer (00:37:51):

I don't even know who those are.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:37:52):

Okay. So 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

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:01):

Erasers.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:01):

These are your highlighters.

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:03):

I hate half of those style of pens. I would not use that pen. I've got one chopstick.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:09):

Okay. Yeah,

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:09):

One

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:09):

Chopstick. One

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:10):

Chopstick.

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:10):

All

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:11):

Right, we've got some sunscreen. Okay. So there's some office supplies in here.

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:15):

Yep.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:15):

Here's

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:16):

A little office supply section

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:17):

That I'm

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:17):

Putting together.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:17):

All right. And then we've got some laundry. Okay. I would make a case for this. A tie

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:23):

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,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:30):

Okay - Bracelets don't belong here.

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:32):

Nail polish does not need to be in a junkdrawer. Teabags

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:36):

Do

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:36):

Not need to be

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:37):

In a junk drawer. But I feel so conflicted because I'm like, where else am I going to put it?

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:41):

No, but that's where - Wait,

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:42):

Hold

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:42):

On. Let's actually ask a question. Do you paint your nails in a place that's next to this junk drawer?

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:49):

No.

 

Clea Shearer (00:38:49):

No. Okay. Where would you paint your nails?

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:52):

My bathroom. Okay. Then it belongs in your bathroom. On the floor of my bathroom.That's where goes. This goes in the

 

Joanna Teplin (00:38:57):

Bathroom.

 

Mel Robbins (00:38:57):

I can only do a good job on my toenails if I'm sitting. That's where it goes. There you go.That's where it goes

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:00):

In the bathroom. On

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:01):

The floor. But here's the truth.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:03):

Okay.

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:04):

I.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:07):

Say it. Say it. Say it. Say

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:09):

It. I don't even know why I have nail polish because I'm - You don't get your

 

Clea Shearer (00:39:15):

Nails. I

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:16):

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. I bet I have eight bottles of nail polish flying around in different drawers.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:27):

Would you want to have nail polish in your house or would you never

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:31):

Choose?

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:31):

No. Okay. We don't even need

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:32):

This. I need nail polish remover. Okay,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:34):

Great. Perfect.

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:35):

Great.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:35):

So never buy nail polish

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:36):

Again. So what do I do? Cause those are full.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:38):

Then you can donate it to someone?

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:39):

Yeah. Okay. A

 

Joanna Teplin (00:39:40):

Daughter or

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:41):

Anybody? We're going to talk about how we do that because I have a hard time moving from the pile. We'll talk about that. Put a pin in that. But

 

Clea Shearer (00:39:47):

Okay, for instance, this was a list at some point that has been spilled on and you can't even read it because

 

Mel Robbins (00:39:54):

The water stains. It was probably 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.

 

Clea Shearer (00:40:01):

Yeah. I'm guessing you either did throw it out or you didn't do it. No, that's dated in February. All right. Okay. So we're going to take that out. Teabags can move to the kitchen. I

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:09):

Don't even like Irish breakfast.

 

Clea Shearer (00:40:10):

I do. I'll take them.

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:12):

Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:13):

See,

 

Clea Shearer (00:40:13):

You're

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:13):

Donating.

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:14):

Duct tape belongs in the garage.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:16):

Okay. So this is a key, but it doesn't belong in the junk drawer. Yes.

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:20):

And look how

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:20):

Much space this takes

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:21):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:23):

Let's ask you. Okay. So is this drawer from your office or is this from the kitchen?

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:27):

This one is for the kitchen.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:28):

Okay. So in a kitchen, let's talk about the things that you would need. You don't need this in the kitchen? Okay. If you spill, would you use a tide pen in the kitchen?

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:37):

Probably not. I'd probably run upstairs.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:39):

Okay. So this

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:40):

Is not live here. Or I take a little bit of the dawn dish over.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:43):

Totally.

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:44):

That in the laundy room.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:44):

This is trash.

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:45):

Yeah, that's trash. I have a trash

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:47):

Pile over here. Does a key chain belong in the kitchen?

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:50):

It doesn't even have keys in it. I don't

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:51):

Know where the

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:51):

Hell that

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:52):

Came from. Does this matter to you at all?

 

Mel Robbins (00:40:53):

No. No,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:40:54):

It goes. I don't know what

 

Clea Shearer (00:40:54):

That is. No, it goes. It goes in a donate pile. Now, twine could belong in a kitchen, but do you use it as such?

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:00):

No, because I have a drawer that has twine wrapping paper and my scissors for cutting flowers that are separate and it's beautifully organized, which I love.

 

Clea Shearer (00:41:10):

This goes into that bin. What about these headphones?

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:13):

Yeah, they're broken.

 

Clea Shearer (00:41:14):

Okay. There

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:15):

They go. They blame Oakley.

 

Clea Shearer (00:41:16):

This goes with those things. We don't have to donate everything. If it's broken, it's trash.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:19):

Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:20):

Now bracelets and hair ties.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:22):

Hair ties, I would need in a junctrawer.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:24):

Okay,

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:24):

Great. Perfect. And the

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:25):

Bracelets.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:26):

I don't know who those belong to.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:27):

They can go.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:28):

They can go.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:29):

All right. Now, what is this? I

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:31):

Don't know what that is. White out? Okay. I'm not looking for that in the junctdraw.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:33):

This is

 

Clea Shearer (00:41:34):

Cuticle

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:34):

Cream.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:35):

No, I do not need cuticle cream. Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:38):

Do you sharpen pencils?

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:40):

Not in the kitchen.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:40):

Okay. So it can go in somewhere else.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:43):

Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:43):

All right.

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:43):

Yes.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:44):

I agree. I need a tape measure in the kitchen. And that

 

Clea Shearer (00:41:46):

Is an appropriate thing. A pair of scissors you

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:48):

Need in the kitchen. Do you sunscreen in the kitchen?

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:51):

No.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:41:51):

Sometimes. Okay. No. So this can go somewhere else? The nail polish is -

 

Mel Robbins (00:41:55):

If I weren't donating the nail polish, I would go put it with the sunscreen because it would probably go in my bathroom. Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:00):

Let's put that this is donate, but she'll keep the sunscreen.

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:02):

Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:02):

Okay.

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:03):

And now we have

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:04):

Four

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:05):

Birthday candles.

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:06):

Oh God. Birthday candles are tough because you kind of feel like you might need them at some point. Okay. Do

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:12):

You have an entertaining area?

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:13):

A who? An entertaining

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:14):

Little

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:15):

Door? I'm going to take

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:15):

That as a no. But you know what you do have right here is an empty box.

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:19):

Yes.

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:19):

So let's at least put so that they're not free floating. Candles are kind of something that I feel like would just be rolling around your drawer. So let's actually use the

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:27):

Lid. But does she want them in the kitchen? I guess so. Okay, fine.That

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:31):

Makes sense.

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:31):

Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:31):

All right. All right. Okay.

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:33):

I would put the matches, matches on the tail, put the matches in with the box of them. Great. There we go.

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:36):

See, now you have a little birthday celebration bin. You have some erasers. You have another thing of matchsticks. Let's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:43):

Put

 

Clea Shearer (00:42:43):

All the matchsticks

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:44):

Together. A random spoon. Does this belong to anything?

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:47):

No. I mean, it'd be cute in a sugar bowl.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:48):

Would you use it?

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:49):

I don't know.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:50):

Would you be happy to see this? You can move it to where your

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:54):

Utensils are. I feel like I should keep it.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:42:57):

Okay, fine.

 

Mel Robbins (00:42:57):

But I didn't do the edit. I don't do it. I haven't used it. I don't love it.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:03):

Okay. Then you can go.

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:04):

Donate. See how perfect? Take the word should out of your vocabulary.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:09):

Okay. This charger, we don't know.

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:11):

That one I could use because it's a C.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:13):

Okay. Okay, great. Rubber bands you

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:15):

Use? Yeah, we can go into done. I don't know the last time I looked for a rubber band, honestly. I don't

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:20):

Know. You took the time to make a ball out of it. No, that's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:22):

How they come. Oh, that's

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:23):

How they come. Clearly I don't use rubber bands. Okay, so we'll take that away. That can go

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:27):

In the garage with the duct

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:28):

Tape. That's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:29):

Fair.

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:30):

It's like a useful item again. Yeah,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:31):

But none of us use it. There's three of us sitting here that

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:34):

None of us

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:34):

Use the rubber bands.

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:35):

Okay. So you seem to be a list maker, so let's keep

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:38):

A pad. Oh God, just rip the thing off the top. I don't even know where the last - Let's start over

 

Clea Shearer (00:43:42):

With the list.

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:42):

Now with all your flowers stuff - Can I just say something about that list right there? Yeah. That pad is too small. I don't like that pad. You don't like that? Let's get rid of that pad. I' starting to feel freed up. You see?

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:51):

Isn't

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:51):

This addicting?

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:52):

Okay. This sounds like it goes with your flowers and the stuff

 

Mel Robbins (00:43:55):

That makes you happy. Oh, I actually, yes. I need a place for thank you cards.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:43:58):

Now, do you want that in your desk drawer or your kitchen drawer, or do you want it with your flower and

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:02):

Wine

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:02):

And all that stuff?

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:03):

I don't think I have room there because I got to contain it.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:06):

Okay. But where would you go to look for it in your head? If you had the room, where would it make more

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:11):

Sense? I'd probably put it in the junk drawer because I've got pens in there. Great. Okay. That's fine. And

 

Clea Shearer (00:44:15):

You know what? That's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:16):

Fair.

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:16):

If it makes sense to you, it's okay.That's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:18):

Right. Absolutely. And it doesn't have to make sense to us. It has to make sense to you. You live there.

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:22):

Yes. The

 

Clea Shearer (00:44:22):

Smartest system, bar none, is what works for you. Period, the end. Not what works for us, what works for you. And this one chopstick I'm going to put on the chopping

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:31):

Block by the row. You know what the most valuable thing of this whole thing is that you actually pulled everything out.

 

Clea Shearer (00:44:35):

Yes. You have to. Because otherwise it's too passive. It's so easy to be like,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:40):

I use all

 

Clea Shearer (00:44:40):

That.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:40):

Especially with clothes too. Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I'll wear that. No, no, no, no. It all has to come out. And that's why we don't do it with - We're going

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:46):

To do that as a separate

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:47):

Conversation. That's a separate

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:47):

Conversation.That's already overwhelming.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:49):

Will you put this back? Do you know which card? Deck of cards? Yes, that it goes to? No.

 

Mel Robbins (00:44:55):

I feel like I should put that back.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:44:58):

Okay. Will you? Or is it going to be should? It's going to

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:00):

Be a chore.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:01):

And if the barrier to entry is too high, sitting in here and

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:04):

Taking it - I don't play a single card game that requires a joke. Then

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:09):

We

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:09):

Do not

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:09):

Need it.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:10):

Okay, great.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:10):

If you took the card out and there's not a single game that requires it, let's lose it.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:14):

Okay, great.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:15):

Okay, you have a couple coupons.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:17):

I don't even know what they're for. Cat food. Cat food, he doesn't eat it, so throw it out. Noodle needs it. No, can we

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:23):

Just celebrate what you've already done in five minutes? Look

 

Clea Shearer (00:45:25):

At what you're down to.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:26):

You're down to things that actually just work

 

Clea Shearer (00:45:29):

In this drawer.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:30):

Need user love.

 

Clea Shearer (00:45:31):

That's it. It's so simple.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:33):

Wow.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:33):

And now watch. We're not going to spend any money.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:35):

Okay. And you know what? I could do more.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:37):

Okay.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:37):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:41):

Pen. Okay,

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:41):

Here we

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:41):

Go. They go to a teacher. Geez,

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:43):

That was a little

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:43):

Aggressive. Okay.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:44):

Yeah.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:45):

All right. And do you use these? The little post-it tabs. Oh yeah. She doesn't use those.

 

Clea Shearer (00:45:50):

Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:50):

All

 

Clea Shearer (00:45:51):

Right. And do you use little panda erasers? Are these

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:54):

Just envelope?

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:55):

I do not use erasers.

 

Clea Shearer (00:45:57):

You do not use

 

Joanna Teplin (00:45:58):

Erasers.

 

Mel Robbins (00:45:59):

I don't need an eraser. Okay. Somebody else put

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:01):

Them. This is

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:01):

Empty. Oh my God. Okay.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:02):

And where does the mail typically go?

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:07):

It typically ends up on the kitchen island and then I passive-aggressively drop it on Chris's dress.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:11):

Okay, that's fine. So it goes there, passive aggressively or not, doesn't matter. We'll

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:14):

Find you a new

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:15):

Trend. We don't have judgment about passive-aggressive behavior. Th's not our

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:18):

Segment. Yeah, that's not our brand. Mail belongs on Chris's desk because he sits at it five days a week. There you go, Chris. And then it'll actually get opened and the bills will get paid.

 

Clea Shearer (00:46:28):

Amazing. Fantastic. And

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:29):

You have a

 

Clea Shearer (00:46:30):

Pack of batteries that are contained, and I'm sure you need

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:33):

Batteries. I have a different drawer that has batteries on it. There you go. So it does not - 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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:42):

Mismatched. That's where the crawling and categorizing comes into play. But

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:46):

You know what? I don't need you to spend a whole weekend doing this. I could just do one drawer at a time.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:50):

One day at a

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:50):

Time. And that's why

 

Joanna Teplin (00:46:51):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:46:57):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:47:04):

You can. You just did.

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:06):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:47:12):

Absolutely can.

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:12):

Now you have extra - That's genius. You

 

Joanna Teplin (00:47:13):

Have extra envelopes. Are you ever -

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:15):

Not get rid of the envelope.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:47:15):

Okay. We just need one.

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:17):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:47:19):

That's the

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:19):

Endorphins

 

Joanna Teplin (00:47:20):

Kicking in. It's so freeing. It's like shopping, but the opposite. It's so exhilarating.

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:25):

Shopping, but the. You know what we're shopping for? Space.

 

Clea Shearer (00:47:29):

Space. Space. You're shopping for space. I

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:31):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:47:36):

And another thing that I just recommend, this is what I would do, especially if 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.

 

Mel Robbins (00:47:50):

I literally want to run out of here and be like, throw away that mug. Get rid of this. It's powerful. Put this where it needs to be.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:47:56):

This so manageable. And this is why we always say start with a drawer because see how excited you are.

 

Mel Robbins (00:48:02):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:48:15):

No.

 

Mel Robbins (00:48:16):

I got to take the whole weekend.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:48:17):

No.

 

Mel Robbins (00:48:18):

I'm going to tear apart the kitchen. I'm going to redo all that stuff. 30 minutes.

 

Clea Shearer (00:48:22):

Take 30 minutes.

 

Mel Robbins (00:48:23):

Holy cow. Yeah.

 

Clea Shearer (00:48:24):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:48:30):

Yes.

 

Clea Shearer (00:48:31):

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. And then what? The reason why we also love a drawer, you can go from A to Z within 30 minutes. And the great thing is going from A to Z in a small space is the same thing as going to A to Z in a big space. The rules are the same. That's right. It just takes more time.

 

Mel Robbins (00:48:56):

That was so helpful. And the edit's easy. Do I use it? Do I need it? Do I love it? Awesome. All right, I have more questions. I'm going to take the raw away. All right. Let all this stuff

 

Joanna Teplin (00:49:06):

Away. I'm going to take draw

 

Mel Robbins (00:49:07):

Away. Because I want to go from drawers to other parts of the house. Okay, let's do

 

Joanna Teplin (00:49:10):

That.

Joanna Teplin (00:49:13):

Okay.

 

Mel Robbins (00:49:14):

It's a Saturday morning. Yes. Kids are out, partner's gone. Okay. Sounds amazing. I got a burst of motivation and now I decide I'm going to declutter and organize and edit. So what's the big mistakes that I'm about to make?

 

Joanna Teplin (00:49:30):

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 going to take apart the entire kitchen all in one Saturday morning when you think you have a burst of energy that's going to last all day. It won't. We'll just 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 because it's too overwhelming.

 

(00:50:09):

It's

 

Clea Shearer (00:50:09):

Too overwhelming. Again, this whole experience should make you feel good, not bad. You should not have any shame. You should not have any guilt.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:50:18):

No.

 

Clea Shearer (00:50:19):

You should not be

 

Joanna Teplin (00:50:21):

Overwhelmed and exhausted. It's so easy and just get excited about this because it's an opportunity. It's not a chore.

 

Clea Shearer (00:50:26):

Bathroom drawer is also a

 

Joanna Teplin (00:50:27):

Great

 

Clea Shearer (00:50:27):

Place to

 

Joanna Teplin (00:50:27):

Start. Love a bathroom drawer.

 

Clea Shearer (00:50:29):

Great place

 

Joanna Teplin (00:50:29):

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.

 

Clea Shearer (00:50:38):

I am guilty of holding on to makeup products or samples. It's still like, well, what if I run out? Or I might want that color. Maybe I'll learn how to use eyeshadow oneday. I don't know. You won't. I won't. I think that ship has sailed. But makeup products, they're just so small that you're like, "Well, I can fit it." Doesn't mean that you should fit it.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:51:00):

How much more would you rather have the clear space than a peptide lotion you don't know how to use? It's

 

Mel Robbins (00:51:04):

Just true. It is true.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:51:06):

And that's the thing to think about. Do I want the item or do I want the space? That's both. And 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?

 

Mel Robbins (00:51:22):

Oh, I am going to be repeating that as my mantra for the rest of my life.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:51:29):

It really

 

Clea Shearer (00:51:29):

Stirs you. Because

 

Mel Robbins (00:51:30):

It's

 

Joanna Teplin (00:51:30):

Binary and there's no gray area.

 

Clea Shearer (00:51:32):

Right. It's just you have to follow those rules. You only have so much space.

 

Mel Robbins (00:51:38):

That's

 

Clea Shearer (00:51:38):

Right. And I myself, again, I am ruthless with everything in my house. But I love to shop. I just do. I love shoes. I love handbags. I love clothes. Technology. But I will get rid of other items. She is

 

Mel Robbins (00:51:53):

Ruthless. So do you have a one in, one out rule?

 

Clea Shearer (00:51:55):

I kind of do.

 

Mel Robbins (00:51:57):

She kind of doesn't. I can tell.

 

Clea Shearer (00:51:58):

No, no, no, no.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:52:00):

She

 

Clea Shearer (00:52:00):

Has to

 

Joanna Teplin (00:52:00):

Get rid of. It's usually three in, three out. It comes in -

 

Clea Shearer (00:52:04):

Right. I'm not going to 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.

 

Mel Robbins (00:52:14):

Ooh.

 

Clea Shearer (00:52:14):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:52:22):

Oh.

 

Clea Shearer (00:52:23):

So if I get into a one in one out, that means I'm not adding a hanger to accommodate my new clothes. I will purge.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:52:30):

And she's an excellent. She is ruthless.

 

Clea Shearer (00:52:32):

I'm hardcore.

 

Mel Robbins (00:52:33):

Yeah. Wow.

Clea Shearer (00:52:37):

It really comes down to putting systems in 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? I don't even care if it's a kid's playroom. You just put big floor bins for blocks

 

Joanna Teplin (00:53:28):

For

 

Clea Shearer (00:53:28):

Dolls.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:53:28):

Don't have Disney doll air princess dolls here. Oh my God. I get that. But people do go down the path because it's easy to do because you do it one day and you get excited. And they get excited. And then the thing is it's too hard to maintain and then all the wheels fall off the bus.

 

Clea Shearer (00:53:41):

Okay. For instance, for a pantry, we love pantries.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:53:44):

We

 

Clea Shearer (00:53:44):

Could do a whole episode on

 

Joanna Teplin (00:53:45):

Pantry. Oh my God. Nothing's more fun.

 

Clea Shearer (00:53:47):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:53:57):

What are the six categories?

 

Clea Shearer (00:53:58):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:54:03):

That's it. Thank you.

 

Clea Shearer (00:54:05):

That's it. And

 

Joanna Teplin (00:54:06):

Again, if you have the space and this is fun for you to have micro categories, have at it. 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 racing organization. Just

 

Clea Shearer (00:54:20):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:54:25):

Yes.

 

Clea Shearer (00:54:25):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:54:34):

I love this. Oh my gosh. I am going to have so much fun this weekend.

Clea Shearer (00:54:45):

Denim.

 

Mel Robbins (00:54:45):

Denim?

 

Clea Shearer (00:54:46):

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 into their old jeans.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:54:55):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:54:58):

Clothes are really hard.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:54:59):

Because it's the emotional piece that goes with clothes. There's so many triggers in a closet that it's so hard. So 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.

 

Mel Robbins (00:55:16):

Okay. You were masterful in walking us through the drawer. If somebody starts with the drawers.

 

Clea Shearer (00:55:25):

Okay.

 

Mel Robbins (00:55:25):

Okay. We're doing one drawer at a time. We're getting good. We got the pens. Yep. We are really starting to feel motivated. We got the six different items in the pantry. You got it. We have handled Grand Central. Yes, you're working through

 

Joanna Teplin (00:55:40):

The

 

Mel Robbins (00:55:41):

House. Yes, I'm working through the house. 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. Yes. Now I'm ready for the closet. Okay.

Clea Shearer (00:55:59):

You still need to start super small. Do I have to empty the whole thing out? Not at once. Do not

 

Mel Robbins (00:56:04):

At once.

 

Clea Shearer (00:56:04):

So do

 

Mel Robbins (00:56:04):

One drawer?

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:05):

Or one category.

 

Clea Shearer (00:56:06):

Or one bank of clothes or whatever.

 

Mel Robbins (00:56:09):

And are there categories? I know it's a weird question. In the pantry, is there - Pajamas,

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:14):

Workout.

 

Mel Robbins (00:56:15):

Okay. Give me the categories in the closet. Generally

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:18):

Speaking. The categories

 

Mel Robbins (00:56:19):

Represent themselves.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:20):

Yeah. So it's like pajamas, exercise, work, leisure, all of those swim, whatever those are. Summer, winter, we have seasonal categories.

 

Clea Shearer (00:56:30):

But you don't need to get so granular

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:32):

With the categories. If it was me, I would just take all pajamas and throw them on the bed and start matching them and seeing what I like and what I don't like anymore.

 

Clea Shearer (00:56:39):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:46):

Just

 

Clea Shearer (00:56:46):

Do little small bits.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:48):

Do not do the whole thing at once. And

 

Clea Shearer (00:56:49):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:56:55):

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

 

Mel Robbins (00:57:03):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (00:57:05):

Great. Hanging shirts, its own category. That's great. Hanging

 

Mel Robbins (00:57:08):

Shirts.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:57:08):

Great.

 

Mel Robbins (00:57:09):

I pull them all out

 

Joanna Teplin (00:57:10):

Of the closet. All of them.

 

Clea Shearer (00:57:11):

Throw them all on the bed.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:57:12):

That's right.

 

Clea Shearer (00:57:13):

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? Do I actually love this? Or am I never going to wear this kind of tank top ever again?

 

Joanna Teplin (00:57:27):

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

Joanna Teplin (00:57:38):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:57:43):

There are a few things that if you want to sell your items that you spent money on, that you feel like I spent some money on this, there are resellers that do the work for you. There are people who do the posh marks that do the real reel. Really? Oh yeah. Yeah. There are people who do these things. It's their job. And they just

 

Mel Robbins (00:58:03):

Take a commission and they market it and you drop their stuff up with

 

Clea Shearer (00:58:07):

Them? Yes. They do. They pick it up. They do the whole thing. And I would guarantee there's always an exception to a 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.

 

Mel Robbins (00:58:29):

You also have these rules in here in your - Oh, we

 

Joanna Teplin (00:58:31):

Have lot of rules.

 

Mel Robbins (00:58:32):

Lateral. No, but I love these rules because they never though about it. You say invest in matching hangers.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:58:37):

Yes.

 

Mel Robbins (00:58:37):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:58:49):

No, you can't find it. And sometimes if I do a real big, like a major purge 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. So that way it doesn't take up so much space on one rod.

 

Mel Robbins (00:59:07):

So what if you live in a really small place? Okay. Okay.

Clea Shearer (00:59:21):

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. It's amazing. What do you mean by a three-tier cart? 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. And it is simple. Like a three-tier

 

Mel Robbins (00:59:43):

Cart on wheels. A three-tier cart on wheels. Oh my gosh, I bought one of those for my son's dorm room.

 

Clea Shearer (00:59:47):

Three-tier cart on

 

Mel Robbins (00:59:47):

Wheels.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:59:47):

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

 

Clea Shearer (00:59:52):

Have bath supplies. You can get the wooden lid that goes on top for your laptop.

 

Joanna Teplin (00:59:59):

They are a They're your best friend.

 

Clea Shearer (01:00:01):

Best friend.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:00:01):

And

 

Clea Shearer (01:00:02):

You can put clean clothes in them while you're waiting and you can literally push the cart from

 

Joanna Teplin (01:00:06):

The

 

Clea Shearer (01:00:06):

Laundry

 

Joanna Teplin (01:00:06):

Room to your closet. And then the back of the doors, there are some amazing, there's alpha 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 -

 

Mel Robbins (01:00:16):

Oh, that's true. This is your lookup thing. So use the vertical surfaces. Always looking for vertical space.

 

Clea Shearer (01:00:20):

Vertical space and external storage. A cart is -

 

Mel Robbins (01:00:24):

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

 

Clea Shearer (01:00:28):

Sorry, sorry. Additional storage that doesn't exist already in pre-built. It's not built into the house.

 

Mel Robbins (01:00:33):

Got it. Okay. That makes sense. Yeah.

Clea Shearer (01:00:41):

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.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:00:50):

And let me say this though, it's not just falling apart. There is a level of maintenance that's required. Yes. Organizing is not a one and done. It's akin to exercise. You can't go to the gym one time.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.

 

Clea Shearer (01:01:09):

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. It is a living space. 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 what is the easy solution? What is the system that's simple to maintain? Because that's when things go off the rails. If you put in a system that's kind of too complicated, it's not going to work.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:01:41):

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

Joanna Teplin (01:02:03):

Whole life

 

Clea Shearer (01:02:04):

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

 

Mel Robbins (01:02:15):

For nothing's supposed to be on the floor.

 

Clea Shearer (01:02:18):

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. The low bar lifestyle is about giving yourself a gold star for literally. We always say, if all you do in the day is make your bed, you've achieved

 

Joanna Teplin (01:02:48):

Something. Yeah. You started off and you did something today.

 

Clea Shearer (01:02:51):

You did something.

 

Mel Robbins (01:02:52):

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 do a little flyby 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. What do you want them to remember most?

 

Clea Shearer (01:03:20):

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 had the same feeling that they're having right now that you though, "Oh my gosh, this drawer looks awful. I can't believe the way it looks. It's a horrible. I can't do this." You did it, not us. We just talked you through it and they can do it too. And this is not meant to be overwhelming. It is meant to be freeing. It is meant to relieve yourself of the mental clutter as much as - It's not

 

Joanna Teplin (01:03:57):

One more thing to do. It's the way to save yourself and to give yourself what you deserve, and it's self-care.

 

Clea Shearer (01:04:05):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (01:04:07):

It is. And physical wellness. It's so valuable. And there's the payback, the payoff is so much greater than the energy that's required to do it. And don't tie being disorganized with your self-worth. Don't do that. You are busy. There are so many competing things for your time, energy. And your attention. And this is only an opportunity to help yourself. That's it. It's not another chore. It's truly an opportunity.

 

Clea Shearer (01:04:35):

Yeah, that's absolutely.

 

Mel Robbins (01:04:38):

Joanna and Cleo, what are your parting words?

 

Clea Shearer (01:04:40):

My parting words would be to just start. 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 won't get that feeling if you don't start at all. So just start.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:05:02):

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 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.

 

(01:05:42):

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.

 

Mel Robbins (01:05:48):

Well, I haven't even started and I already feel better. You did. I agree. And I cannot thank you enough.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:05:55):

Thank

 

Clea Shearer (01:05:56):

You.

 

Mel Robbins (01:05:56):

Oh gosh, thank you. I mean, 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.

 

Clea Shearer (01:06:32):

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

 

Mel Robbins (01:06:35):

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

 

Joanna Teplin (01:06:38):

Well, thank you.

 

Mel Robbins (01:06:39):

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. Yeah. 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. This is your way to get time back and 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.

 

Clea Shearer (01:07:23):

Well, we are so honored, so happy to

 

Joanna Teplin (01:07:26):

Be here. Really? What an honor. And we are

 

Clea Shearer (01:07:27):

Coming to Vermont.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:07:28):

Yeah, we sure are. We sure already are not. Here we come. I'm going

 

Mel Robbins (01:07:33):

To go declutter now thinking about that. No, seriously. Thank you. Thank

 

Joanna Teplin (01:07:37):

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

 

Mel Robbins (01:07:40):

I learned so much and I'm so excited to go home and edit. That's what I'm going to do. I'm so excited for your daily drawer.

 

Joanna Teplin (01:07:45):

I know. Please

 

Mel Robbins (01:07:45):

Send a photo. I'm going to take 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 and

 

Joanna Teplin (01:07:53):

That's podcast. We get so much satisfaction about seeing other people's work and seeing what

 

Mel Robbins (01:07:58):

They want. Let us celebrate you. Yes. Yes. I love that. So thank you.

 

Clea Shearer (01:08:02):

Thank you.

 

Mel Robbins (01:08:02):

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 going to 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 I love you and I believe in you, and I believe in your ability to create a better life.

 

(01:08:50):

And holy cow, 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. And thank you for watching all the way to the end on YouTube. Didn't you freaking love this? Thank you also for being generous and sharing the gift of these two with people in your life. Heck, if you can't get the people that you're living with to help out, send them this episode and let Clea and Joanna motivate them. Okay, I know you want to watch another episode. This is the episode you're going to love, and I will welcome you in the moment you hit play.