Eileen Roth Of Everything in its Place On How Simplifying & Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier
An Interview With Drew Gerber
A picture keeps the memory alive while not keeping the physical item. Ask yourself if a picture will still make you happy without the physical item, especially if you need the space.
We live in a time of great excess. We have access to fast fashion, fast food, and fast everything. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. How can we simplify and focus on what’s important? How can we let go of all the clutter and excess and find true happiness? In this interview series, we are talking to coaches, mental health experts, and authors who share insights, stories, and personal anecdotes about “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make Us Happier.” As a part of this series, I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing Eileen Roth.
Eileen Roth is an organizing expert at Everything in its Place® and the author Organizing For Dummies®. She has appeared on the Today Show and Oprah as well as Self, Real Simple, Woman’s Day, Fast Company and even twice in Men’s Health (for time management.) She helps people get organized in their home or office to save time and money and have more time to enjoy their life. https://everythinginitsplace.net
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dive in, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you share your “backstory” with us? What was it that led you to your eventual career choice?
I was an Administrative Assistant and Office Manager after I graduated college. I was laid off from two different association management firms 8 months apart; both companies closed. After the second layoff I wanted to do something different. I made my first mind map about my favorite jobs and wanting to still work 9–3 pm while my kids were in school. The mind map showed I liked “working with people” and I liked “detail”. Being an organizer was a fairly new profession and I decided to try it out — even though my father told me that I knew nothing about running a business. Two years later when I was on the Today Show he ran out to buy equipment to videotape me.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career?
I came home one day and my husband said I had a call from the Today Show. I was living in Chicago and had sent out some press releases for National Clean Off Your Desk Day to local Chicago offices and one said the Chicago office of the Today Show.
I returned the call and answered questions as if I was talking to a local newspaper reporter. At the end of the call the gentleman told me he just wanted to see if I had a good personality to be on national TV, and they would fly me to New York to be on the Today Show.
I kept repeating my brand new six principles to organize your desk before going on air. I was so nervous I barely saw the video they did of various Today Show hosts and their messy offices before we started the interview. I ended up doing great for my first time on national TV. Six months later Oprah’s office called from the same press release to ask me to be on the show and declutter someone in their audience who was a packrat.
Are you working on any exciting new projects now? How do you think that will help people?
I’m moving my business to be more digital and online. I’ve just updated my home organizing course and will be updating both my office and time management courses. I have also started creating some digital planners.
I’ve been complimented many times from doctors and hospital personnel for the health summaries of my husband’s numerous health issues and med list. (He has 18 doctors and 14 meds). I even beat an ambulance to a hospital 30 minutes across town when my husband collapsed on the job. I gave them his key medical information along with a picture of his 5 heart bypasses before the ambulance arrived. He got 5 stents that day. I know there are many other people who need this, and it would help doctors to have a quick medical history, especially in emergency situations.
Can you share with our readers a bit about why you are an authority on the topic of “How Simplifying and Decluttering Your Life Can Make You Happier”?
I’ve worked with both home clients and office clients (from self-employed to corporations to associations) to simplify, declutter and organize their environment from things to file systems. I love setting up systems. I’m also the author of Organizing For Dummies®.
I have spoken at conferences and been featured on the Today Show, Oprah, Self, Real Simple, Woman’s Day, Men’s Health, Fast Company, Chicago Tribune, LA Times, Washington Post, US News and World Report plus other print and online publications.
Ok, thank you for that. Let’s now jump to the main focus of our interview. We live in a time of excess. We have access to so much. But studies show that all of our “stuff” is not making us any happier. Can you articulate for our readers a few reasons why all of our possessions are not giving us happiness?
If you adhere to the popularity of Marie Kondo’s “keep it if it sparks joy,” then you are keeping too much. In fact, that’s exactly what a hoarder does — keeps everything because it gives them joy. When you keep everything, you have too much and you end up with clutter because there is no space. Then the house is overfilled with “things” and you have more to clean and maintain. It also takes you more time. When you set limits and have just enough and not too much, then it’s easier and faster to maintain your home and your office.
When there’s no clutter, there’s nothing to clean up, less to dust/polish and less to “take care of”. The simpler your life, the less there is to maintain and then you have more time to enjoy your life and your family.
On a broader societal level, how do you think this excessiveness may be harming our communities and society?
Society is harmed because having more “things” means having more “things” that are eventually thrown away. We’ve become a throw-away society and one day there won’t be anywhere left to throw it. And throwing plastics, batteries or electronics in the garbage hurts the land itself to grow crops. That affects our food and our illnesses. That’s why recycling helps.
Because something new is out doesn’t mean you have to have the latest and greatest whether it’s electronics, appliances or a new car. If it works and isn’t so out-of-date that you can’t do something, you don’t need the newest version. You probably have a coffee maker. I’ll bet there’s a new one out, but you don’t need to buy it if yours works fine.
The irony of struggling with happiness in modern times is glaring. In many places in the world today, we have more than ever before in history. Yet despite this, so many people are unhappy. Why is simplifying a solution? How would simplifying help people to access happiness?
When you simplify, you have more time to enjoy yourself and your family. You aren’t tied to cleaning or putting away extra items in the house. The more you have, the more work you must do to keep it organized, to clean it, to maintain it, etc. Having less work means more time for you to read, play an instrument, listen to music or be with family or friends. It means saving time so you have more time to enjoy your life.
Can you share some insights from your own experience? Where in your life have you transformed yourself from not having enough to finally experiencing enough? For example, many people feel they don’t have enough money. Yet, people define abundance differently, and often, those with the least money can feel the most abundant. Where in your health, wealth, or relationships have you transformed your life?
I grew up in a very organized household and our family was very involved with neighbors. We went to beaches and amusement parks with them. It seemed like everyone on the block had someone my age or my brother’s or sister’s. Life was simple. We went out to play hide and seek, basketball, or went ice skating at the local school baseball field, etc. With one friend we even wrote stories. (She later became a journalist.) We didn’t need video games to keep us busy and social. Nor did we need parent supervision. I miss all of that.
When my grandsons were young, we sat on the floor and played Legos or trains with them. We made up stories or games. Today they want to play video games all the time, so we take them places from museums to the local parks so they are spending time with us and doing something instead of video games.
I also started birthday celebrations with our close group of friends. We all go out together for each person’s birthday during the year even though we might see some of them at other times. We also travel to see family, even though we talk on the phone often. My brother and sister and I started weekly zoom calls because we’re in 3 different states and we’re getting older and see less of each other.
We also realized we don’t really need two cars with my home office and virtual meetings. One car is enough for whenever one of us needs it.
People, places, and things shape our lives. For example, your friends generate conversations that influence you. Where you live impacts what you eat and how you spend your time. The “things” in your life, like phones, technology, or books impact your recreation. Can you tell us a little about how people, places, and things in your own life impact your experience of “experiencing enough?”
I have a LeMax® ceramic village hobby with trains running through the four towns, carnival and zoo. I also have two smaller displays, one in my office that is more 50’s and one in the family room. I never had a hobby until my husband showed me his trains. I got so involved helping him make plaster mountains that I decided to have my own trains setup. However, I wanted ceramic buildings instead of plastic ones that had more color and bigger people. So now it’s a double decker layout.
There are new LeMax ceramic buildings every year, but I am out of space in the 3 places I chose. I could easily make shelves on walls and have more displays around the house, but I am content with what I have, and only buy people where they are needed. There have been new carnival pieces, but I have no room for them. On the other hand, I have too few people in the zoo and carnival area and a few spaces in some of the towns. So I only look for people to fill the spots I need. In the beginning, I bought a lot. Last year is the first year I didn’t buy even one person.
I went to a number of book sales at the libraries for about 4 years as I still like to hold a book than read online. I bought enough romance novels at 10 cents each to last quite a while. If I am missing some from a series I can get them through the library or online. These are great when I have waiting time because either my husband is shopping at a hardware store or I am waiting at a doctor’s office.
What advice would you give to younger people about “experiencing enough?”
You don’t always have to have the newest trends. Trends come and go. Ask yourself if you have enough now. If you do need something, don’t go overboard. You don’t need matching shoes and purses every season. You don’t need the most expensive items either. Most average and above items are good enough and save you money.
You are missing out on life and everyday experiences when you don’t experience friends and relationships. Living on the phone and texting is not ‘living’. Spending all day on social media is not the same as being present with people that are around you. Set a time limit for social media and spend more time with your family and friends. You will learn more talking with people about their life and experiences, and you will be happier doing things with other people than living on the phone. You might even find out about a job that you would rather be doing than the one you are in or make a contact that helps you in your professional or personal life.
This is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and research, can you share your “five ways we can simplify and declutter our lives to make us happier?”
https://youtu.be/RkmUgzJj06Y
- Use it or Lose it.
When is the last time you opened a cabinet or closet and asked yourself if you still use everything? Are you still wearing each piece of clothing or using all of your purses, shoes, belts or ties? Do they still fit or have you changed sizes? Are they torn or worn out? Do you still like the clothes or have you worn them so much that you are tired of them?
Are there appliances you are no longer using? Maybe you no longer iron clothes since many clothes are wrinkle free.
Do you have any broken items?
When I was on Oprah, the lady I was helping declutter had a working vacuum cleaner but was still holding onto 3 broken ones. Since one was working, we got rid of the 3 broken ones.
2. In the New and Out with the Old.
If you bring something new into the house, can you let something else go? If it’s a new sweater, can you let go of an old one?
If it ‘s a new appliance, does it replace other appliances? Do you have an appliance like a Kitchen Aid Mix Master® with attachments that does several things like slicing, juicing and grinding meat? Can it replace a hand mixer, chopper, slicer, and meat grinder?
3. Is the sentiment worth it?
A picture keeps the memory alive while not keeping the physical item. Ask yourself if a picture will still make you happy without the physical item, especially if you need the space.
Think of being on a vacation. You can’t take the vacation or the friends to your home. You can look at the pictures and relive the happy times you had together. You don’t need anything physical to enjoy the memories. And digital photos make it so much easier to take more photos and relive the memories. Plus, they take up much less space than physical items.
4. Does it frustrate you to clean or maintain it?
I have a silver platter from my mother and silver candlesticks from my grandfather. They need to be polished when they tarnish. My daughters already told me they don’t want anything that takes extra work. Do you have items that frustrate you to clean or maintain them? Does that stop you from using them because of the extra work? If so, let them go.
5. Put Everything in its Place.
Do you know the phrase, a place for everything and everything in its place? It’s the easiest step of the 5 ways to declutter.
When you bring home groceries, you make sure everything gets into the refrigerator or freezer first. Then you put other items away like canned goods, condiments, bread, snacks, etc. If you leave anything out, you have clutter. So finish putting all groceries away at the same time.
When you bring other items home from shopping, do the same thing. Put it where it belongs. If it is clothing, put it in the bedroom. If an item belongs in the bathroom, put it there. Don’t just put things down where they don’t belong. If you do, that creates piles which become clutter. Stop the piles and you remove clutter forever. Take an item out, put it back. And teach your family the same rule: Everything in its place.
You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
I could have a national declutter challenge so that people would get rid of their clutter.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can read my blog at: https://everythinginitsplace.net
Follow me on LinkedIn, Twitter and Youtube @ eileenroth
Facebook, Pinterest and Instagram @ eileenrothorganizer
Thank you so much for these insights. This was so inspiring, and so important!
About The Interviewer: For 30 years, Drew Gerber has been inspiring those who want to change the world. Drew is the CEO of Wasabi Publicity, Inc., a full-service PR agency lauded by PR Week and Good Morning America. Wasabi Publicity, Inc. is a global marketing company that supports industry leaders, change agents, unconventional thinkers, companies and organizations that strive to make a difference. Whether it’s branding, traditional PR or social media marketing, every campaign is instilled with passion, creativity and brilliance to powerfully tell their clients’ story and amplify their intentions in the world. Schedule a free consultation at WasabiPublicity.com/Choosing-Publicity.
Eileen Roth Of Everything in its Place On How Simplifying & Decluttering Your Life Can Make You… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.