That “clutter feeling” in your workspace is quietly draining your focus, creativity, and energy. Here is the gentle, doable way to clear it, one drawer, one cabinet, one closet at a time.
Helping women entrepreneurs create healthier, more beautiful homes and workspaces through eco-conscious design, intentional living, and My Five Pillars™ for Healthy Luxury Living.
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— Charisse Marei
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You know the one.
The closet door you close a little more quickly than the others. The drawer that opens only when it must. The shelf where the piles have lived so long they’ve become part of the room.
You work beside it every day. You’ve built a business beside it. And ever so often, usually right when your concentration drifts, your eyes find it. Just for a moment. Then you look away and return to your work.
But here’s what I want you to know, and I say it with all the warmth in my heart: your mind never looked away.
Last month, we explored why your home office is never really about the office; it’s about supporting the woman behind the business, and why every true transformation begins not with decorating, but with clearing the clutter. (If you missed it, you can begin there: More Than a Home Office: Supporting the Woman Behind the Business.) This month, we take that first step together, right at the door you’ve been closing.
The Clutter Feeling
Over the years, I’ve come to view clutter in two forms: physical (what we see) and internal (what we think, feel, and believe), and I’ve coined a phrase for what happens when the two meet: a clutter feeling.
A clutter feeling is a state of dis-ease. On the outside, it shows up as untidiness in the space. On the inside, it shows up as a lack of ease. And when one clutter situation, or a cluster of them, is on the rise, a mood shift takes place. Annoyance. Anxiousness. Distractibility. Forgetfulness.
None of these emotions reflects a healthy lifestyle. And none of them reflect a healthy workday, either.
Here’s the part that surprises most women: clutter doesn’t always look like chaos. More often than not, it’s an organized mess, too. Too much of a good thing, unfinished projects, pile buildup, one item in the wrong place that quietly converts into too much stuff. Even behind a closed closet door, your mind knows it’s there. That is the clutter feeling at work, a subtle, steady drain on your focus, your creative flow, your confidence, your energy.
The good news? You have control over both environments — the physical and the internal. Know your triggers. As you become aware of situations that bring on a cluttered feeling, you take control before the clutter takes control of you.
Why Your Workspace Matters More Than Ever
Begin with Your Goal, Not Your Trash Bag
Before you touch a single item, identify your goal by knowing your intention.
Walk to your office. Look around. What do you see? What’s popping that’s causing a cluttered feeling? Now close your eyes. Visualize the room without the negative pops. Is your energy shifting?
Open those gorgeous eyes.
That vision, a designated place for everything, only office items in the office, more space within the space, the joy of a new day without first drudging through disorganized stuff, that is your goal. Write it down. Take a moment to breathe.
Not too long.
We have work to do.
Be Prepared: You Will Create a Big Mess!
I mean it. A big, beautiful, organized mess. And a mess is fine; it will not last.
Do not concern yourself with organization at this stage. The focus for now is simply to de-clutter: to remove all the “stuff” that no longer serves a purpose. Anything not belonging in your office must go. Anything that causes a cluttered feeling must go.
Gather your tools:
- Bags
- Bins
- Boxes
- Labels
Then begin small and contained: one drawer, one cabinet, one closet at a time. Move through one area until it’s complete before opening the next.
The 5Rs: Five Homes for Every Item
As you empty each drawer and shelf, every item finds its answer in one of five categories. I call them the 5Rs:
Release. Have the to-go bag ready! If the item no longer serves a purpose, place it in the bag, labeled for a charitable cause, a children’s home, or a mom’s group. This step may be a breeze or weighty. Be honest with yourself. Then imagine the joy of someone taking ownership of their new treasure. Let it go!
Remain. Love it! It’s a perfect complement to your office. It remains, and it earns a proper spot, grouped like with like.
Relocate. Extra furniture. Shoes. The things that wandered in. These items are easily identifiable. You will know at once to remove them and place them in another room. Move them there today, not later.
Revitalize. Workshop ready? Can the item be repaired or transformed? If so, does it stay? Or, is it best utilized in another room?
Recycle/Trash. Nice knowing you. Expired, stained, cracked, beyond repair. This category is simple.
And for the questionables, the items that make you pause. Hold each one and ask: Does this belong in my office? Will this create a new cycle of clutter?
- No maybe answers allowed.
- Only yes or no.
- Do not second-guess your decision.
And when guilt takes hold, ask yourself why. Recognize the emotional attachment. Let it go.
“Swish!”
Clear the Space! Clear the Mind!
Now close the drawer. Open it again. Feel that?
That little lift in your chest, that lightness, is not your imagination. It is the feeling of clutter releasing its hold. Because clearing is never only physical. As you clear the space, apply the internal 3Rs, too:
- Release unhealthy, negative thoughts.
- Renew yourself.
- Revitalize with positive, uplifting emotions.
Sing a little. Dance a little. Laugh a little.
One drawer becomes two. Two become a shelf. And one quiet afternoon? Sooner than you think. You will open that closet door and feel good. The room breathes differently. And so do you. Your focus returns to your work, whole and undivided, because nothing behind you is asking for your attention anymore.
Be aware of your sense of accomplishment. Because a clutter-free home = a clutter-free mind.
The 3Rs have been my constant companions from the very beginning. Over the years, this work has grown into what I now call My Five Pillars™ for Healthy Luxury Living: Beautify™, Simplify™, Healthify™, Lovify™, and Fortify™. Clearing the clutter is the heart of Simplify™, and it opens the door to all the rest. Because once the space is clear, you can make it healthier. Once it’s healthier, you can make it beautiful. Once it’s beautiful, you fill it with what you love. And all of it, together, fortifies the foundation for the years ahead.
Staying on the Clutter-Free Path
Maintaining the calm is simpler than creating it. A few daily rhythms keep the clutter feeling from returning: place things in their special spot the moment you finish with them. Drop something? Pick it up straight away. Never place items in a drawer or closet “temporarily,” a big no-no! Then let the seasons help you: spring is for renewal, fall is for release.
Small rhythms. Beautiful, lasting harmony.
What the Cleared Space Is Waiting For
Here’s my favorite part, the part no one tells you about decluttering.
When the clutter goes, something else becomes visible: room. The empty stretch of shelf. The cleared corner of your desk. The wall you can finally see. And that room isn’t emptiness; it’s an invitation.
This is where Beautify™ begins to whisper. Not with more stuff, we just released the stuff! But with one intentional touch that makes you smile every time your eyes land on it. A tea towel with a pattern that feels like a deep breath. A fabric-covered pinboard in colors that spark your creative flow. Artwork with purpose. A once-forgotten blank wall transformed by wallpaper into something extraordinary.
Every pattern I design begins with this exact moment in mind: the cleared space, waiting. My collections are created to bring joy, rhythm, balance, and a place for the eye to rest: the airy calm of Coastal + Clean, the gentle joy of Soft + Feminine, and so many more. They are designed to work within your space, never to compete with it.
So when your drawer is done, and your shelf can breathe, wander through my Spoonflower collections of original wallpaper, fabric, and home décor. Choose one small, beautiful thing for the space you just cleared. Let it be your reward. Let it be the smile waiting for you tomorrow morning. Do note: *** Send me a request for custom colors or to resize a pattern.
Wander through my Spoonflower collections of original wallpaper, textile, and homegoods to create a deeper connection to the spaces we call home.
Ready to Begin?
Everything you just read lives in full inside my book, Eco-Conscious Home: Creating a Healthy Lifestyle in Your Heart + Home, the complete Clearing the Clutter chapter, plus the guided worksheets to walk you through it: your clearing goal, your clutter sources, your 5R solutions, your seasonal keys, and space to capture your own story along the way.
Inside the book, I use the bathroom as our teaching room, a beautifully contained place to learn the process. But the process itself belongs to every room. Today, we brought it to your home office. Tomorrow, it may be your bedroom, your kitchen, your studio. That is the beauty of One Room at a Time: learn it once, and it travels with you through your whole home. The book is part guide, part workbook, part story, and entirely yours to move through at your own rhythm.
Begin with Eco-Conscious Home → each copy signed, available at charissemarei.com/shop
And if you find yourself wishing for a gentle guide beside you as you clear, someone to help you see your space with fresh eyes, my one-on-one Clutter-to-Clarity Sessions are an open door. We begin simply: schedule a complimentary 15-minute call, tell me about your space, and together we’ll see if it’s the right fit for you.
Books . . .
If you’re ready to begin transforming your workspace and creating a healthier, more inspiring home environment, start with my book, Eco-Conscious Home.
Inside, you’ll discover practical guidance to help you Beautify™, Simplify™, Healthify™, Lovify™, and Fortify™ your home, One Room at a Time.
For those who wish to deepen the journey, A Timeless Keepsake serves as a companion guide for reflection, discovery, and capturing meaningful moments, insights, and transformations along the way.
Together, these books provide both the roadmap and the space to make the journey your own.
If you’ve been longing for a home and workspace that better reflect who you are today, and support who you are becoming tomorrow, I invite you to take the next step.
And if you find yourself wishing for a gentle guide beside you as you clear, someone to help you see your space with fresh eyes, my one-on-one Clutter-to-Clarity Sessions are an open door. We begin simply: schedule a complimentary 10-minute call, tell me about your space, and together we’ll see if it’s the right fit for you.
You’ve got this.
About the Author
Charisse Marei is an Eco-Conscious Interior Designer, Building Biology practitioner, Surface Pattern Designer, educator, and author of Eco-Conscious Home and A Timeless Keepsake. Through her One Room at a Time approach and My Five Pillars™ for Healthy Luxury Living, she helps women create healthier, more beautiful environments that support well-being, creativity, and purpose.
One room. One intentional choice. One beautiful step forward.
One Room at a Time.
Charisse Marei
