The British home renovation boom continues apace, but for every successful loft conversion or kitchen extension, there is a quieter, more revealing story. This week, the nation’s decluttering gurus have identified four common mistakes, and while the advice is practical, the subtext is unmistakably social. We are not merely sorting our cupboards. We are sorting ourselves.
The first mistake is failing to let go of ‘aspirational’ items. Those unused running shoes or unopened cookbooks. They represent the people we wish to be. But in a period of stagnant wages and soaring living costs, these objects have become symbols of a middle class clinging to a lifestyle that feels increasingly out of reach. The declutterers advise: be honest about who you are now. It is sound advice, but it also speaks to a broader cultural shift. We are learning to live with less, not out of zen-like enlightenment, but out of sheer economic pressure.
The second mistake is buying storage solutions before decluttering. We rush to purchase Instagram-worthy baskets and modular shelving, thinking that organization will solve our material problems. But the real issue is accumulation itself. And here lies the paradox of the decluttering industry: it sells us the tools to solve a problem it partly created. The human cost is not just financial. It is emotional. The pressure to have a ‘sorted’ home in the image of influencers has become another performance, another metric of worth.
The third mistake is decluttering alone. The experts say it leads to decision fatigue. But perhaps the real issue is isolation. We are doing this work in private, away from the community that once would have helped. In an era of shrinking social spaces and atomized lives, our homes have become both sanctuaries and prisons. The decluttering trend is a reaction to the overwhelming stuff of modern life, but it also reflects a deeper longing for connection. We are sorting through our possessions alone, when what we really need is to sort through our lives together.
The fourth mistake is not having a system for what remains. Without a place for everything, the clutter returns. But the cruel truth is that for many, the clutter is not just physical. It is structural. It is the accumulation of cheap goods bought because they were all we could afford. It is the inheritance of a generation raised on consumerism, now confronted with its consequences. The system we need is not a colour-coded filing system. It is a fairer economy.
Clara Whitby, Culture & Society Editor: This is the unspoken story behind the home renovation boom. We are not just stripping back rooms. We are stripping back identities. And while the decluttering gurus offer useful advice, the real ‘sorting’ we need to do is societal. Until then, we will continue to buy the baskets, watch the programmes, and hope that the next clear-out will finally set us free.
