I Broke the Cardinal Rule of Decluttering

I broke the cardinal rule of decluttering, and the truth is I’m not sad about it!

Normally I’m a rule follower, but the truth is that every now and again there are rules worth breaking. I think it’s especially important to take a hard look at self imposed rules and to make sure we remember why we created any given rule in the first place. Click below to watch the video where I confess what rule I broke: 

You’ve probably heard it said that you should not keep duplicate items if you want to live a decluttered life. And I certainly like to keep clutter to a minimum! But the purpose behind the rule of keeping only one of each item is to create less stress and more peace, and I found that trying to keep that rule was actually creating MORE stress and LESS peace. 

Now, anyone who stops to think about it will realize that nobody truly keeps only one of every item. How many soap dispensers do you have in your house? It would definitely be more stressful to only have ONE soap dispenser in the entire house that you have to carry around from sink to sink. And I think we all understand that. 

However, I break this rule in many more ways than just soap dispensers! Here are a few things I have found incredibly helpful to keep duplicates of. 

Toiletries – I have duplicates of almost all of my toiletries for the purpose of traveling. Two hairbrushes, two tubes of toothpaste, two toothbrushes, two of each makeup item. That way I can just keep an always-packed toiletries bag that’s ready to go. You know how it’s always a hassle hurrying to brush your teeth and then pack up your toothbrush the morning that you leave on a trip? By simply having two of each item, I’ve eliminated that particular stressor. 

I also have two of a lot of my kids toiletries, but for a different reason. Our last house was a two story house with the bedrooms on the top floor and the kitchen and living area on the bottom floor. My kids would get up, get dressed, and come downstairs for breakfast. But before they rushed out the doors for school, they’d still need to brush their teeth and hair. I know it sounds like a small thing, but by simply getting another toothbrush and hairbrush for each of them and keeping those items in the downstairs bathroom, it truly made the mornings run more smoothly!

Nail clippers – I get a ton of hangnails, and they drive me crazy! So instead of having just one set of nail clippers tucked away in my bathroom, I keep a pair in my purse, in my car, at my desk, by my bed – anywhere I am frequently so I can always access nail clippers if I need them.

Phone & iPad Chargers – If my phone gets down to 30% battery, I’m starting to get antsy, so to prevent my battery from running low I simply keep a phone charger in multiple rooms of the house. At my desk? Yep! In the kitchen? Yep! By my bedside? Yep! By having multiple phone chargers I can always easily plug in my phone to give it some extra juice. 

Recently, I also purchased a second iPad charger. I use my iPad a lot between my digital planner and Apple Fitness, and it has always irked me how much Apple Fitness drains my battery. But a few weeks ago my husband suggested I simply get an iPad charger to keep with the Spinbike so I can plug in my iPad while I spinning – problem solved! 

Water Bottles – I know this isn’t very minimalist of me, but I have more than one water bottle for my kids. I tried to go the route of having one for each kid, and let me tell you, it was stressing me out! They’d get lost, they’d fall behind the bed, and I could never find them when we were hurrying to get out the door. So now I have three for each kid, and it’s way easier to find one when I need it!

So yes, I’ve broken the cardinal rule of decluttering, and I have no plans of turning back! That said, I am all in favor of clearing that clutter that is only adding stress. Not sure where to start? Click here to check out my Reverse Decluttering Method.

Organization that actually sticks for busy, happy lives.