057. How to Manage the Small Stuff: Stop Tiny Items from Creating Big Clutter

Small stuff, big mess? You’re not alone.

In this episode of Organizing for Beautiful Living, we’re taking on one of the biggest hidden sources of clutter: all the tiny things scattered around your home. From hair ties and Legos to spare screws and tech cords, the little things can quickly cause a lot of chaos — unless we learn to manage them intentionally.

Here’s what you’ll learn today:

• What “small stuff” really is (you probably have more than you think!)
• Why these little items cause so much visual and mental clutter
• The secret to organizing them for good — based on urgency and frequency of use
• Smart organizing product ideas and placement tips
• A simple labeling system for all your random parts (like the mystery items in your junk drawer)

💡 Quick Tip: If you’ve ever opened a drawer and felt instant stress, this episode is your guide to clearing the clutter — one tiny item at a time.

📦 Free Class Alert!
I’m teaching a FREE live class soon called “3 Simple Steps to Painlessly Declutter Your Kitchen in Just a Weekend (and So The Clutter Doesn’t Come Back)”.
✨ Get on the list here: https://fireflybridge.com/update

Connect with me:

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Here's my website: https://fireflybridge.com

Call or text me: 305-563-2292

Email me: zeenat@fireflybridge.com

Transcript

Let’s talk about the small stuff, those tiny things around our homes that, if we're not careful, create big clutter and big frustration.
Today we’re talking about:
What "small stuff" really is
Why it's a major source of clutter
And, most importantly, how to take control of it for good.

Hey, welcome to Organizing for Beautiful Living, the podcast for working moms and entrepreneur moms that provides sustainable organizing tips for your home, work and life.

I’m Zee Siman, Professional Organizer and Productivity Consultant, and I’m here to share simple ideas that don’t take a lot of time so you can love your home, excel at work, and have the time to enjoy both without stress or overwhelm. 

Ready to get beautifully organized? Let’s make it happen!


You guys, small stuff is sneaky.
My sisters both have junk drawers in their kitchens, and when I visit, yes, I get the itch to declutter and organize those drawers for them.

Yeah, even if they don’t want me to. I am that sister!

I’m annoying. I am.

But I’ll open that drawer, pull out a random tiny metal “thing”, and ask them, soooo…what’s this for? Huh? 
And they’ll get all bothered and say, “I don’t know, but it’s important, ok? Put it back! And get away from that drawer!”

So I like to bug my sisters, but if you open your junk drawer right now, do you have a random tiny metal tool, or random pieces of something in there that you’re not sure what it is, but you think it might be important one day?

Or maybe you have a collection of small stuff that you know exactly what it is, but they sit on the corners of your kitchen counter, or on your nightstand because, well, where should it all go?

So I think this episode will really help you to figure this all out.

We don’t often realize how much space tiny items take up, or the stress they cause until they're everywhere.

And it’s not just the toys strewn across the family room causing the daily chaos. It’s the pile of mail on the kitchen counter every day.
It’s not the size of your kitchen that’s the culprit. It’s the school papers, hair ties, and chargers, and bottles of vitamins that are scattered all over it.

Here’s why small stuff is so problematic:

It’s because it’s easy to just set it down “for now," right?
The small stuff is usually too small for you to feel urgent about putting it away.
But it collects fast because we usually don’t really bother or know how to assign it a home.
It blends into the background of your home, until it becomes overwhelming.
Small clutter is the kind of clutter that grows quietly. You wake up one day and think, “How did we get here?”

Once upon a time, and maybe it’s when you first moved into your place, your bedside table only had your book and a bottle of water on it. But today, it’s got some loose batteries, some slips of paper, random corded earbuds, even though your phone doesn’t have that particular jack anymore.

And inside the drawer, you’ve got suitcase nametags, a couple of packs of travel tissues, some coins, a few tiny screws from who knows where, lots of pens, maybe the teeth that the tooth fairy took away. Shh, I won’t tell.

And every time you open that drawer, it causes you just a little bit of anxiety because it’s a mess. So is this where this stuff should go? And if not, where should it all be?

And really, it’s pretty overwhelming to think of where and how to organize all those little things. So in the end, they just stay there, and probably more small stuff will be added to it.

Because clutter attracts clutter! Your brain knows there are tiny bits of things in there, in that drawer, let’s say, so when some other tiny thing shows up in your house, guess what? Your brain is going to tell you, “Hey, just drop that in with the other tiny things! Why not?”

Now the small stuff is a problem when it shows up all over your house, not just in one drawer.

And let’s take a look at this in reality, ok?
Here are some examples of small stuff that love to create clutter:

Your keys, sunglasses, and wallets.
Chargers, earbuds, and random tech cords.
Think of pens, paper clips and coins.
Or jewelry left out on dressers or on your bathroom counters.
Kids’ toys, especially the tiny extra pieces like Legos, the action figures accessories, that have never had a home to begin with.
And hair accessories like scrunchies, and clips and bows.
The little sample makeup and skincare bottles.
Craft supplies like glue sticks, beads, and spools of thread.
And then, of course, kitchen junk drawer items, like batteries, rubber bands, brochures and business cards.


Now, each of these things might seem harmless by itself.
But together? Like, when I just read off that entire list, did it feel like a lot? Yeah, it felt like a lot to me. And it all creates visual and mental noise.

It’s what makes rooms feel cluttered, even if your big furniture pieces are beautiful and minimal, ok?

So the small stuff problem has a solution:

And it is to give every small item a home.

That’s it.
If it doesn’t have a place it belongs, it will land wherever there’s an empty surface, and that's how clutter spreads.

Every single category of small stuff needs a few things so it doesn’t become clutter. So it needs:

A defined place to live, so its home, right?
And it needs easy access if it’s used frequently or urgently.
And it needs big, easy-to-read labels to prevent "lazy drop-offs", meaning you just put something down in the general area of its home because you know it belongs in there “somewhere” but it’s a little too difficult to take the top off something to drop it in. Right?

When things have a home, it’s faster and easier to put them away.
When they don't, they live wherever your hands happen to leave them.

OK but one tip here:
When you’re overwhelmed by clutter, don't start by buying organizing products, ok?
Start first by deciding: Where should this live?

If you can answer that question for your small stuff, you’re already 90% of the way toward getting organized. And I’m not being silly here. I really, truly believe that. If it’s got a home, you know where that home is going to be, you’re 90% of the way there. 

All right. Now let’s look at how to organize the small stuff.

Here’s a big organizing concept I teach my clients:
Organize based on urgency and frequency of use.

Now, I’m going to remind you here that I am the Lazy Organizer, right? So don’t get caught up in the terms urgency and frequency. Just think of hey, how often do I need this, and when I do need it, how quickly do I need to get my hands on it? All right?

Right, so as you look around your house and see the small stuff, and you’re going to start seeing it more now, scattered all around, ask yourself two simple questions:

How often do I need this? (That’s frequency)
How fast do I need to get my hands on it when I do need it? (That’s urgency)
Depending on those answers, you’ll organize differently:

Here are some examples. OK.

First, the stuff that’s really important that you use every day, maybe even multiple times a day. These are High urgency and high frequency. So things like your keys, your sunglasses, your wallet, chargers, the kids’ iPad, the diaper bag, things like that.
Now these need a "drop zone" near the door or in the kitchen.
And because they’re high urgency, the best thing to do is not have any barrier to grabbing them, ok?
So think of a big open bowl, or a tray in your entryway or the kitchen where you will always drop your keys, your wallet, your sunglasses, the iPad when you get home.
Now, for a lot of women, all this stuff may actually just live in your handbag or in the diaper bag, and if that’s the case you just need a spot for that bag that is without a barrier. A barrier meaning no doors, you don’t need to open a door to get to it, you don’t need to open a drawer to get to it, you don’t need to move other stuff out of the way to get to it. 

And usually, you’ll need a spot in the entryway or in the kitchen when you get home, and then you probably take that bag with you to your bedroom at night, ok?.
So, think about a spot in the entryway or kitchen where it’s easy to put that bag. Maybe it’s just a hook in the entryway? Or in a particular spot in the kitchen that’s not a meal prep area. All right? And then, in your bedroom, when you take that bag to your room at night, what spot will you designate for your bag, so that in the morning, you can grab it easily on your way out?



Next, there’s the small stuff that you use daily, but it’s not like you only have seconds to get your hands on it. These are Low urgency and high frequency.
Things like your hairbrush, your daily vitamins, or the tiny toys that your toddler plays with when you’re waiting for your other, older kids at drama practice, let’s say. You use these things often at a certain time and maybe in a certain place, but they’re not truly urgent, are they?
For this type of item, store them where you can grab them easily. Open storage is probably best, again without covers and lids, but there’s usually a lot of this type of item, like all the vitamins, so make sure you contain them in some kind of container, basket or pretty bin. And while the container you keep them in could be open, like I said, if it bothers you to have them out in the open because you prefer a more clear, streamlined look to your surfaces, then you can keep these, this container behind closed doors, like inside a cabinet or inside a drawer. It’s tempting to leave them out, because like vitamin bottles on the counter, cause you’re thinking “Well, I need the reminder to take them”, but I’ll warn you again that small stuff left out on a surface quickly attracts more clutter, and then you’ve got the vitamin bottles in that container, then you’ve got little baggies of dog treats, and all of a sudden a free water bottle ends up in there, and other stuff that’ll get drawn to that space on the counter and in that bin, and before you know it, it’s visual clutter again.


OK now, the small stuff that you barely ever use, but you still need them. This is the Low urgency and low frequency stuff.
Things like holiday bows or gift tags, right? These are things you can store in less convenient places, maybe up on higher shelves, or in an out-of-the-way storage closet. 
You want to make sure that you label the bins or drawers that you use for these really clearly because you’ll store them in spots that are outside of the prime real estate areas of your home, so you want to be able to find and identify where you stored them when you actually need them, so you’re not buying more of what you already have.


And finally, the small stuff that you don’t use often at all, but when you do need it, you want to get your hands on these things in seconds. These are high urgency and low frequency.
These are things like first aid stuff and pain medications, or small flashlights that you’ll use during storms, or the batteries for your car keys, or tv remotes or ceiling fan remotes.
Like you don’t need these things often at all, but when you need them, you want them fast! 
So you want these to be easy to find, but not, like, just hanging out on the kitchen counter every day.
You need to be able to access them easily when you need them right? So don’t bury these things under other bins and boxes. Keep a container of these on the top level, like at eye level, and label them really really clearly.

You don’t need fancy or expensive systems to keep the small stuff under control.

And what works for you might not work for me in my home. I might like a certain style, and you prefer something else.

I’m happy with matching white plastic open-top bins from IKEA for the glue sticks and the beads and glitter, but you might prefer to keep those things in a box with a lid.

And you might prefer matching bamboo drawer organizers for your office supplies in the top drawer of your desk. And I might prefer plastic.

You might want a very specific organizer for your lipsticks that keeps them all upright, separated from one another, and I’m ok with my lipsticks lying flat in my drawer. 

Right. Now one very important tip for you is for all the small stuff that you think is important, but you’re not really sure what it is, I know how we can get stuck on these things. Like, do you keep them, do you not?

And the same goes for the extra pieces that come with something, like extra screws that came with a piece of furniture, or the tiny accessories that came with a toy or an electronic gadget.

For these things, here is a potential solution:
Keep a small box of plastic zip-top baggies, a couple of different small sizes because sometimes it’s teeny tiny pieces, and sometimes it’s a big tool that you want to keep. Add a sharpie, and keep these things in a box in an easy-to-reach spot, like a spot for High Urgency but low frequency spot. This is a perfect little container to keep in a kitchen drawer, or your desk drawer.

What you’re going to do is when you bring something home with extra parts, but you’re scared to get rid of the extras, immediately put them in a baggie, label it clearly with the sharpie, like “White desk parts”. And you’ll then drop that baggie into a bin or box or basket that you’re going to label “Spare Parts”.

And if you come across something in your house that you don’t know what it is, like the metal thing in my sister’s junk drawer, put it in a baggie, label it “Don’t know, Looks important”, drop it in the Spare Parts bin, and call it a day.

Now you’ve got a resting place now for all the random spare parts that come into your house!

And you want to make sure that this Spare Parts bin is easily accessible. Don’t hide it under other things because then guess what’ll happen? You won’t put the little baggies in there! And then you’ll be back to clutter!

OK, let’s do a quick recap because I feel like this was a lot.

Today we covered why small stuff is one of the biggest causes of clutter, right? Because we haven’t given each of these tiny things a home.
The simple but essential solution is to give everything a home
and you can decide where that home is based on urgency and frequency of use.
So the stuff that you use often and need to grab fast, use an open container in super easy access, like for your keys or your handbag.

The stuff you use routinely every day, but they’re not truly urgent, like your vitamins, maybe contain them in open storage, and behind closed doors, let’s say, or in a drawer so it’s not visible out in the open.

The things you might use once in a while, and they’re also not really that urgent, like gift tags or suitcase nametags? Well put it away, on a top shelf is fine. Just make sure that the container is labeled well, in big letters, and it’s better to store that stuff out of the prime real estate spots in your house.

And the stuff that you need to get your hands on quickly but only every once in a while? Like your first aid kit, the batteries for your car keys. These things you don’t need often, but when you do, you need them immediately. Store them in a container with easy access, at eye level, and well-labeled!

And then, of course, create a Spare Parts bin to drop all the random pieces that you’re scared to get rid of. Use little baggies, label them with a sharpie, so you know what the parts are for.

Makes sense?

OK, so here’s a gentle challenge for you this week. Pick a tiny spot that has some of this random small stuff in it, like your junk drawer, your bedside table, or just a spot on your kitchen counter.

Now I want you to find only the Low Urgency, low frequency stuff in that area, the stuff that you barely ever use, and it’s not even very urgent when you do need it, ok? But you need to keep it. Like suitcase nametags, or holiday bows. I want you to get those things out of the prime real estate areas of your home. 

So, find a little container for these things, or just use a shoebox, label it, you can use a sticky label, or use clear packing tape to tape a note card or piece of paper onto it. And then create a home for this bin or shoebox. Put it away someplace that’s not in the main areas of your kitchen, like the top shelf of your hallway closet.

Look! You just organized some small stuff, and you’ve cleared off some of these things from your kitchen or your dining room, ok?

Let me know how it goes for you because I know, and my sisters know, that the small stuff can really cause big clutter.

I want to take a moment to remind you that I’m going to be giving a free class coming up at the start of the summer called 3 Simple Steps to Painlessly Declutter Your Kitchen in Just a Weekend (and So The Clutter Doesn’t Come Back).

If you want to be on the list for that class, please go to fireflybridge.com/update and I’ll keep you updated, ok? I’ll put the link into the show notes.

Thank you for listening. I appreciate you spending your time with me! I’ll see you on the next episode.