Have You Gone Clutter Blind? Pro Organizers Share How You Can Tell

I was organizing my bedroom the other day when I noticed something lurking in the background — a suitcase sitting between my two dressers. Somehow, without me noticing, it had made itself at home in that crevice, contributing to clutter I didn’t even know I had.

That’s when I realized it: I had gone clutter blind. While my apartment is pretty organized and I declutter regularly, I had let that suitcase from my last vacation (weeks ago, may I add) claim its “spot” on the floor due to my own laziness to unpack. I spend hours in my bedroom every day, and not once did I think to put it away in my closet with the rest of my travel gear. It had simply become a part of the space, as natural as my nightstand or desk.

Clutter blindness can be as minor as becoming accustomed to that one out-of-place suitcase on the floor or as major as not realizing every surface in your home is full of stuff. Regardless of the severity of the case, it can be hard to come to terms with.

“Clutter blindness is when you become so used to the clutter in your home that you stop noticing it’s there. Your brain adapts to the environment, and the clutter blends into the background instead of standing out as something that needs attention,” says Victoria Tran of Sorted.

Cheryl Russo of Organizing by Cheryl says to think about a fridge full of magnets or a junk drawer — when you look at the space, you don’t really process what’s there, which makes it easy to forget about what you have.

Going clutter blind means you can’t really see your own mess. While that definitely poses a challenge, don’t worry. There are a still a few expert-approved ways to get a fresh perspective on your space to tell if you’ve gone clutter blind.

• Take a photo: “Take a photo of the space and look at it as if you were seeing it for the first time,” says Holly Blakey of Breathing Room. Looking at your home through a different lens often offers a fresh perspective. You might notice a few items that are out of place that you don’t typically see when you’re actually sitting in the room.”
• Invite a friend over: “A great way to check yourself is to ask a family member, friend or someone who doesn’t visit often to give you their honest first impression of a space. Fresh eyes can spot things you’ve stopped seeing long ago,” says Tran.
• Evaluate your emotions at home: Does grabbing the keys before heading out feel more exhausting than it should? Do you feel a sense of overwhelm in your home without being able to pinpoint the exact reason? Invisible clutter might be behind why you feel unsettled.

The hardest part about going clutter blind is realizing it. Once you’ve accomplished that, there are plenty of ways to combat your disorganization at home and form new habits.

✔️ Schedule in decluttering sessions: “We recommend making sure you are scheduling time monthly to edit down your belongings weekly to do organizing refreshes in your main rooms and daily 10-minute quick cleans to keep everything tidy from day to day,” says Christie Childers of Imagine It Done.

✔️ Start small: “Even small resets make a big difference — dedicating a little time each week to resetting high-traffic areas like kitchen counters or entryways helps you stay ahead of the clutter before it becomes overwhelming again,” says Tran.

✔️ Give yourself grace: “You can create small, gentle rhythms: setting a timer for 10 minutes to reset one surface or choosing one ‘home base’ (like the entry table or kitchen counter) to keep clear. Little by little, awareness returns, not through judgment, but through loving attention. When we see our spaces with fresh eyes, we start to feel more at calm in them,” says Blakey.

Source: Home Ideas - goodhousekeeping.com