I honestly thought a few people would respond and hopefully share some ideas for what they would be interested in listening to.  I figured I would make a note of suggestions and then maybe start the podcast in the new year.  

I did NOT expect the reaction I got.  

So many of you reached out wanting a different kind of conversation about clutter…one that was supportive, shame-free, and actually talked about what’s going on behind the stuff.   

Reading your emails inspired me. I cancelled everything on my schedule for the following week and dove in. (If you know me, you know this is very on brand for me. 😂) 

Five courageous people signed up to do an organizing session with me for the podcast.  

Together, we worked on their actual clutter and started untangling whatever was keeping them stuck. 

And what came out of those sessions was really special.  

It’s less of an “organizing podcast” and more like a series of mini documentaries about what happens when we start going through our stuff and discover what’s really going on behind it. 

We start with offices, garages, paper, dishes, shoes…and somehow end up talking about grief, identity, perfectionism, relationships, life transitions, and who we’re becoming.  

I’m so excited to share that the What Are You Making Space For? podcast is officially live!!! 🎙️ 

Each episode, someone invites me into the room they’ve been avoiding most. Together we sort through the clutter. We make big decisions. We fill donation bags… 

But what we’re really uncovering is the story behind the stuff. Because clutter is almost never just clutter.  

Our stuff is tangled up with who we’ve been, what we’ve been through, what matters to us, and where we’re going. 

Today, the show is launching with three full episodes, because I know some of you are going to want to binge. 😊 

You’ll meet: 

🗒️ Erin, who is ready for her office to catch up with the life she’s living now. 

🎨 Susan, who is digging herself out of generations of family clutter. 

🚘 Anya, whose garage raises a bigger question: How much space am I allowed to take up?  

These three people trusted me with their homes and their stories, and I hope you’ll love them as much as I do.

This podcast has been one of the most creatively fulfilling things I’ve ever made. It’s also one of the most vulnerable. 

Thanks for being here, for encouraging me all these years, and for reminding me that this was something worth creating. 

The post A Different Kind of Podcast About Clutter appeared first on Star Hansen.

Last week, I asked you a question…

What percentage of your stuff would you have to let go of before you would feel good in your space? 

A lot of you answered…thank you so much for taking the time to reach out and share.   

Some of you named percentages, some of you wrote me paragraphs…and a few of you even told me you haven’t been able to sleep in your own bed in years.  

The percentages were all over the place. From 0% all the way up to 98%. But the most common answer, by far, was 

50%

The post What % Would You Have To Let Go Of Before You Would Feel Good In Your Space? appeared first on Star Hansen.

I love receiving handwritten notes in the mail. It makes me so happy! 

But not all mail feels so exciting. Many times, mail can feel stressful, overwhelming, and irritating.  

Medical bills, reminders, charity requests, credit card offers, things we “should’ be handling… it can feel like a lot. 

In fact, mail is one of the main sources of paper clutter. 

I’ve worked with many clients who feel a wave of dread just looking at a pile of mail.

If this is an area where you struggle too, please know you’re not alone.

We don’t need to invent a way to eliminate all mail from the face of the Earth. Instead, what we need is to create a mail system that actually supports you. s

Step 1: Create a Place for Mail to Land

Most people don’t have a true “mail home,” so it ends up everywhere.  The counter, the chair, the floor, your bag…a random pile that seems to move around your house.

Instead, we want to create a very intentional landing spot. Think of this less like a “mail pile” and more like a landing zone.  A place where your mail can land without needing immediate action. 

Because the truth is, you’re not always going to have the energy to go through it the second you walk in the door. And that’s okay. 

Your system needs to support you on your hardest days, not just your best ones. 

So, give yourself a container that can hold at least a week’s worth of mail (larger if you need it).

If you have the energy to go through your mail as you bring it in, great! If you don’t, it has a place to go. 

Step 2: Make it Easy to Let Things Go 

You need a way to get things out as easily as they come in.

That means having a trash, recycling, or shred option right there at your mail station. 

Because if it’s not easy to throw something away, you won’t.

You’ll set it down and tell yourself that you’ll look at it again later. But then move it from one pile to another. 

We don’t want that. We want one-touch decisions whenever possible.

Get rid of anything you don’t need. 

It’s just as easy to put it in the recycling bin as it is to put it in your mail inbox. 

Step 3: Decide When You’ll Deal with It 

Mail doesn’t magically handle itself (Shocker, I know).

And it’s never going to feel “good” to sit down and go through it.

So, instead of waiting for the perfect moment, choose a rhythm.

Once a week is a great place to start. 

If this is something you tend to avoid, don’t rely on scheduling or willpower. Instead, pair it with something you already do: 

• Laundry day 

• Trash day 

• Sunday afternoon reset 

And if you need a little bit of extra support, try body doubling. Call a friend and go through your mail together. You don’t even have to talk about it…sometimes, just not being alone with a hard task can make a huge difference.

This is about more than just mail. It’s about creating a system that supports your life.  

A system that works when you’re tired. When you’re busy. When you don’t feel like being your most “on top of it” self.  

Because that’s when you actually need it.  

If your mail has been piling up or stressing you out, don’t try to overhaul everything at once. Start with three simple things: 

• Give your mail a place to land 

• Make it easy to let go of things you don’t need 

• Choose when you’ll deal with it 

That’s it. Three small steps will help you stop your paper clutter at the source. 

The post 3 Simple Steps to Create a Mail System That Actually Works appeared first on Star Hansen.

What’s one thing I can do differently next year to make tax season easier?

The post One Tiny Thing to Make Next Tax Season Easier appeared first on Star Hansen.

It’s natural to want to “do more” when we feel stressed, anxious, or overwhelmed. But often, that doesn’t help us be more productive. In fact, sometimes it makes things worse.

You don’t need to do more. You need to do less…on purpose.

There’s a simple concept that drives my day-to-day task list. It’s called Pareto’s principle. It says that:

20% of your efforts yields 80% of your results.

What that means is that only a small portion of what’s on your task list will actually help you achieve your goals.

The rest is often busywork, obligations we’ve inherited, and low-level tasks that feel urgent but don’t really move the needle.

When we try to “get it all done,” our focus gets fractured, our energy thins out, and our minds get noisy. That’s when everything starts to feel harder than it needs to be.

So today, I want you to take a quick break and ask yourself two questions:

• What are 1-3 essential tasks that deserve my attention today?
• What are 3-5 things I can remove from my plate today?

You don’t need to tackle everything on your plate or put out every fire. Instead, focus on the handful of things that actually matter.

Your job today isn’t to do everything on your list. It’s to mind your mind and give your focus to what truly counts.

That’s how you make the most progress and set yourself free.

The post Mind Your Mind: Get More Done By Doing Less appeared first on Star Hansen.

As we walked into the room, they felt overwhelmed almost immediately. There was a lot to do, the energy felt heavy, and about 20 minutes in they said: 

“Maybe this is too much. Maybe we should switch to an easier project.”

They were feeling overwhelmed and getting ready to abandon the bedroom project altogether.

So, I asked them to pause.

Not because they needed to push harder or do more. But because the bedroom is one of the most important spaces in the house to approach gently.

The bedroom is where we sleep. Where we let our guard down. Where our nervous system is supposed to feel safe enough to rest.  

And because of that, it can be a surprisingly charged space… 

There can be relationship energy activated here. Or body image issues connected to our clothing may arise. We can experience sleep struggles.  

And often, we’re reading, scrolling, unwinding, or overstimulating ourselves without realizing it.  

So, when people tell me they want to “organize their bedroom,” I often slow them down. 

Because sometimes the goal of organizing isn’t to do a full, deep, color-coded overhaul.  Sometimes the goal is much simpler. 

Sometimes the goal is to protect your peace.

Right now, the world is loud. It’s heavy, fast, and overwhelming.  Many people are carrying way more than they realize, and it shows up most clearly at night.

If your bedroom doesn’t feel peaceful, you don’t need to “Marie Kondo” the entire space.

You just might need to remove one thing. 

Something that doesn’t feel right. One thing that disturbs your sleep. Or something that pulls your focus in a direction you don’t want it to go. 

That could look like: 

• Removing a book you’re not reading from your nightstand 

• Clearing the top of your dresser so your eyes can rest 

• Moving your charging cord to the bathroom so you aren’t tempted to scroll at night 

• Unfollowing someone online who activates comparison or stress in you 

• Unsubscribing from an email that hijacks your nervous system 

• Letting go of something, physical or digital, that no longer belongs in this season of your life 

This counts as organizing. 

This counts as self-care.

Protecting your peace isn’t indulgent. It’s essential.

It’s self-regulation.  Its boundaries. And it’s choosing what (and who) gets access to you.

So today, take one small step.

Ask yourself: 

What’s one thing I can remove to protect my peace?  

That’s it. That’s the work.

The post Protecting Your Peace In The Bedroom appeared first on Star Hansen.

• Getting rid of stuff
• Buying containers
• Making systems

And, yes, those things matter. But if that’s all you’re doing, it’s no wonder it feels like you’re stuck on an organizing hamster wheel.

Because organizing isn’t just a task. It’s a life skill.

And that skill goes way beyond clever organizing hacks and folding techniques.

The best organizing results come from cross-training.

Think about athletes… NFL players have been known to train in ballet to improve balance and coordination. Weightlifters do yoga to protect their joints and stay mobile.

They’re not doing it because it’s trendy. They’re doing it because training only one way creates an imbalance.

Organizing is the same.

If the only muscle you’re building is “hands-on decluttering,” you’re skipping the inner skills that make organizing sustainable. You need more than that.

You also need nervous system regulation, decision-making support, patience, creativity, and support.

That’s where cross-training comes in.

Here are a few simple ways to cross-train your organizing projects:

MEDITATE

Organizing requires presence.

Taking a few quiet minutes each day to breathe, be still, and step away from screens will help build your ability to respond instead of react. That pause is what helps you make better decisions when you’re standing in front of a pile wondering what to do.

As Einstein said, “We can’t solve a problem from the energy that caused it.” Stillness is one of the best starting places for facing the chaos in our lives.

RESEARCH

Sometimes organizing stalls because of unanswered questions.

Where do dead batteries go? What about paint? Electronics? Medications?

Taking time outside of hands-on organizing sessions to figure these things out removes friction later. When you already know where things go, actions feel lighter, and momentum builds.

Less friction = more follow-through

BUILD

Support matters.

If something physically blocks you, organizing will stall every time. Heavy furniture, high shelves, limited energy… All of these things have an impact on our organizing progress.

Finding someone to help you move things, having a step stool where you need it, or asking for support isn’t a weakness, it’s smart self-care.

Organizing works best when your environment supports you.

PLAY

Joy isn’t a reward for finishing.

When our homes feel chaotic, many people delay having fun until everything is “handled.” It’s common to feel like we have to earn our rest. But joy is actually fuel. When your system feels nourished, organizing stops feeling like punishment.

Take a walk. Listen to music. Laugh with a friend. Grab an ice cream. Dance in your living room with your dog.

These moments build capacity, and capacity makes change possible.

CREATE

Organizing isn’t just logical, it’s creative.

Movement, art, music, or even doodling activates the part of your brain that imagines new possibilities and helps you invent systems that actually work for you.

Some of the best organizing systems don’t come from books. They come from your own lived experience. You just need to make a little space to express your creativity each day.

Organizing doesn’t only happen in your closet or at the Container Store.

It happens when you pause. When you ask for help. When you make room for joy. And when you trust your instincts.

That’s cross-training. And it’s what makes organizing stick. 

Comment below and tell me one way you can start your organizing cross-training journey this week. 

Cheering you on as you train your way to a clutter-free finish line. 🎉 

The post Cross-Training: The Missing Link to Getting Organized appeared first on Star Hansen.

The impossible, maddening belief that you’re somehow supposed to “get it all done.”

I can’t tell you how many people come to me panicked, overwhelmed, or convinced that something is fundamentally wrong with them because they can’t keep up with their overflowing to-do list.

They want the “secret system” or the magic trick that finally makes everything manageable.

And I hate being the bearer of this truth (but it’s exactly this truth that sets people free).

You’re always going to have more to do than time to do it.

Not because you’re behind. Or because you’re disorganized. And not because you’re doing anything wrong.

But because this is modern life. The world is overflowing with inputs, demands, inboxes, notifications, expectations, and “urgent” everything. No one is keeping up. Seriously, no one.

A hundred years ago? Sure…maybe you finished your list. But today? The finish line doesn’t exist.

And the problem isn’t actually productivity. It’s anxiety.

It’s the anxious feeling of:

What if I forget to do something important?
What if I drop the ball at work?
What does it mean about me if I’m behind?
Why can’t I keep up like everyone else seems to?

Here’s the most loving truth I can offer you about your overflowing inbox and suffocating task lists…

There’s nothing wrong with you. Nothing. Zero. Not. One. Thing.

You’re not supposed to keep up with an unreasonable volume of tasks.
You’re not supposed to fight every fire.
You’re not supposed to run your body into the ground trying to be superhuman.

So instead of trying to “do it all,” here’s what I want you to try:

1-Choose your top 1-5 things you want to get done each day.
Not 25. Not your entire inbox. Just the five things that actually matter. That’s what most of us can realistically give our full energy to.

2-Let the rest go to the “Universal Task List.”
Seriously. Hand anything that doesn’t make your top 5 over to the Universe (Creator, divine timing, your future self…whatever language feels good to you) to handle for you. It’s not all yours to carry.

3-Tend to your Nervous System instead of pushing yourself harder.
Because your body is doing the work. When your anxiety is screaming, productivity crashes. But when your nervous system feels supported, everything changes.

Take a walk in nature. Do some deep breathing. Eat a snack. Watch a funny video. Sing a song you love. It doesn’t have to be complicated; it just has to bring you home to yourself.

4-Let yourself be human.
You don’t owe the world constant output. You don’t have to keep up with an impossible pace. You can choose intention over urgency. And when you do, you become far more effective and far more at peace.

Want more peaceful productivity tools? Watch this short video to learn how to feel calmer, clearer, and productive in your life:

You deserve ease. You deserve calm. You deserve a life that truly supports you.

The post What Actually Makes You More Productive (Even If You Never “Get It All Done”) appeared first on Star Hansen.

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But before you click add to cart, I want to offer another voice. A quieter one.

Since 2020, I’ve moved seven times. Seven. 

And every single time, I’ve had to touch, pack, and carry every item I own.

And let me tell you…it’s humbling.

I’ve seen just how many things I bought with good intentions that I barely used, didn’t love, or never even opened.

Each move was a reminder that most of what we buy doesn’t end up changing our lives. It just fills our closets, our shelves, and our mental space.

So, this week, while the world is shouting “More! More! More!” I want to whisper something different:

🖤 You don’t have to buy a thing.

🖤 You don’t have to chase every deal.

🖤 You don’t have to prove your love or success through stuff.

There will always be another sale. But your peace of mind (and your space) is worth far more than anything in a shopping cart.

So if you need permission to sit this one out, here it is.

The post You Don’t Have to Buy a Thing: A Black Friday Reminder appeared first on Star Hansen.