Tackling the Room of Doom: 4 Simple Solutions for Clutter-Free Shove Space
Imagine this…you’re in your kitchen, finally taking a moment to make yourself a cup of tea, when suddenly there’s a knock at the door. You freeze.
The kitchen counter is covered with stuff—where did it all come from?
In a panic, you shove everything into a bag, hide it in the hall closet, and rush to the door with a smile, trying to act as though everything is perfectly under control.
Does this sound familiar? We’ve all been there!
Yes, in an ideal world, you would never need a “shove space” because everything would be neatly put away and gorgeous. But we live in the real world, where chaos shows up where life is happening. So, the chance of needing a quick cleanup from time to time is perfectly natural.
This month in the Chaos to Calm Community, we’re talking about the “Room of Doom”—that infamous space where we shove everything we don’t know where to put, especially during those last-minute cleanups.
But here’s the thing—your shove space doesn’t have to be a source of stress. In fact, it can even become a functional, organized shove space that’s a source of support rather than stress.
Here are a few tricks for turning down the stress in your Room of Doom shove space:
1. Reset After the Rush: Instead of leaving everything hidden away after your visitors leave, take the time to pull everything back out again. We tell ourselves that we can’t take it out until we organize the rest of the room. But that’s too big a task and will end up with the room overflowing. Just take out what you put in, and put it back where it was. It’s ok to be a work in progress.
2. Label and Separate: Keep a few empty bins or boxes handy, and when you need to clear space quickly, use them to gather items. Be sure to label the bin with the room name and date, so if you need to find something later, you’ll know exactly where to look.
3. Create Shove Spaces in Each Room: Instead of having one big Room of Doom, consider creating small, hidden shove spaces in each room. For example, an ottoman that doubles as storage or an empty drawer in your kitchen can make it easier to clear surfaces without creating a mountain of clutter elsewhere.
4. Embrace the Mess: What if you didn’t shove things away at all? What if, instead of shoving things out of sight, you simply left them where they were? It’s okay to let your home be imperfect when someone pops by. Surround yourself with people who love you as you are—clutter and all.
I hope these tips help you to get a handle on prepping your house for any unexpected visitors. Maybe they’ll even help you to avoid the “shove and hide” routine altogether.
I’d love to hear your best practices—where’s your Room of Doom, and how do you handle those last-minute cleanups?
You’re gorgeous…clutter and all!
