Spring cleaning is a thoughtful, slow process to declutter where we slowly consider each knick-knack and decide what to do with those old tee shirts, magazines, refrigerator finds, and stuff lying around the house.
There is a much faster process, where we take a big bag and fill it with things that simply annoy us. This Annoying Bag would digest the stuff we don’t know what to do with, or simply don’t like now.

That Annoying Bag Of Clutter

“Use this time at home to take inventory of your possessions — and to re-evaluate your relationship with them. Cultivate an awareness of what you have. On a practical level, this will prevent overbuying things, but I hope it will also bring a renewed appreciation for all that you do have.”

<figure><picture><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 3),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 3dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 288dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=600"><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 2),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 2dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 192dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1200"><source media="(max-width: 599px) and (min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (-webkit-min-device-pixel-ratio: 1),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 1dppx),(max-width: 599px) and (min-resolution: 96dpi)" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-mobileMasterAt3x.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale&amp;width=1800"><img alt="" src="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-articleLarge.jpg?quality=75&amp;auto=webp&amp;disable=upscale" srcset="https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-articleLarge.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 600w, https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-jumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1024w, https://static01.nyt.com/images/2020/07/26/realestate/24Rightathome/24Rightathome-superJumbo.jpg?quality=90&amp;auto=webp 1965w" width="600" height="538"></picture><figcaption dir="auto">Credit...
Trisha Krauss</figcaption></figure><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/at-home" title="" dir="ltr">Sign up</a> to receive the At Home newsletter. Welcome. Before weekdays and weekends were indistinguishable, we left the house. Now, we’re inside, many of us, most of the time. With the same people and pets, or on our own; the same routines and rooms; and, everywhere we turn, the same stuff, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/realestate/pandemic-housekeeping.html" title="" dir="ltr">so much stuff</a>. What used to be décor is now clutter. What once was cozy is now claustrophobic. This is when I turn to The Annoying Bag.The Annoying Bag is any paper or plastic bag I have lying around, or — when disposable shopping bags are scarce, as they have been in my apartment lately — a clear produce bag or threadbare reusable tote. Annoying Bag in hand, I prowl my apartment, dropping anything I deem “annoying” at that moment into it. I collect half-burned candles and stray socks; broken sunglasses, old magazines, jars of condiments that have been squatting in the fridge so long I forgot they’re not on the lease.The Annoying Bag is an exercise to be performed quickly, impulsively. This is not a closet overhaul or cupboard clean-out. You don’t hold an item close and ask if it <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html" title="" dir="ltr">sparks joy</a> before it goes in the Annoying Bag. The <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/magazine/marie-kondo-and-the-ruthless-war-on-stuff.html" title="" dir="ltr">KonMari Method</a>, spring cleaning — those are thoughtful, sustainable processes in which clothes get donated and yogurt containers get recycled. The Annoying Bag is all remorseless id: You might throw away the T-shirt you’re wearing because it’s annoying you. Three pennies that have been gathering dust on the counter, waiting to be put into a coin jar? A set of cake-decorating tips that you’ve used once but are taking up half a drawer? Don’t think about it. Throw them in.<div dir="ltr">At Home: Our best suggestions for how to live a full and cultured life during the pandemic, at home.</div><div><button type="button">Sign Up</button></div>After about ten minutes of snatch-and-toss, I knot the Annoying Bag and take it to the trash — not my trash can, but the trash on the curb, permanently out of the house. I have never once missed anything that left the house in the Annoying Bag. The impulses for disposal that occur in these feverish bursts of decluttering are always correct. The relief is instant and exhilarating.AdvertisementOnline shopping has been tempting during the pandemic. My usual thinking goes something like, “Stores are risky, distractions are limited, I’m feeling blue, better buy this teakettle.” A friend told me once that everything you buy makes each thing you own a little less valuable. I’m trying to keep that in mind, trying to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/style/self-care/how-to-buy-less.html" title="" dir="ltr">buy less</a> and keep annoying stuff out of the house in the first place. “<a href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-too-much-with-us" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers</a>,” wrote Wordsworth, exhorting us to dispense with materialism and get back to nature, which seems like a worthy pursuit right now.<UL><LI>Dig deeper into the moment. </LI></UL>Or, if you’re not feeling outdoorsy, consider Marie Kondo’s <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/realestate/marie-kondo-container-store.html" title="" dir="ltr">advice</a>: “Use this time at home to take inventory of your possessions — and to re-evaluate your relationship with them. Cultivate an awareness of what you have. On a practical level, this will prevent overbuying things, but I hope it will also bring a renewed appreciation for all that you do have.”<UL><LI>Instead of stress shopping this weekend, check out “<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/books/review/the-essential-octavia-butler.html" title="" dir="ltr">The Essential Octavia Butler</a>,” our guide to getting started with the science-fiction writer.</LI><LI>The Hold Steady has a new single, “<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KktO5nlLT0c&amp;feature=emb_title" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">Heavy Covenant</a>,” and it’s a good one for nostalgia. When Craig Finn sings, “It seems a single body is a couple different people in this one life,” it’s nearly impossible not to be <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/arts/music/01sann.html" title="" dir="ltr">transported to 2006</a>.</LI><LI>And the community Ask MetaFilter has some excellent ideas for <a href="https://ask.metafilter.com/350382/Help-me-with-my-pandemic-fatigue" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">dealing with pandemic fatigue</a>.</LI></UL><h3>Tell us.</h3>How do you contain your clutter? What are your best strategies for keeping your home tidy and organized? Write to us: <a href="mailto:athome@nytimes.com" title="" dir="ltr">athome@nytimes.com</a>. Include your name, age and location and we might publish your response in a forthcoming newsletter. We’re <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/at-home" title="" dir="ltr">At Home</a>. We’ll read every letter sent. More ideas for how to spend your time this weekend appear below. See you next week.Advertisement<h3>Like what you see?</h3>You can always find much more to read, watch and do every day on <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/at-home" title="" dir="ltr">At Home</a>. And let us know <a href="https://nyt.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e9cKGVFtci4CObz" title="" rel="noopener noreferrer" dir="ltr">what you think</a>!Advertisement

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<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/newsletters/at-home" title="">Sign up </a>to receive the At Home newsletter.

Welcome. Before weekdays and weekends were indistinguishable, we left the house. Now, we’re inside, many of us, most of the time. With the same people and pets, or on our own; the same routines and rooms; and, everywhere we turn, the same stuff, <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/24/realestate/pandemic-housekeeping.html" title="">so much stuff </a>. What used to be décor is now clutter. What once was cozy is now claustrophobic. This is when I turn to The Annoying Bag.

The Annoying Bag is any paper or plastic bag I have lying around, or — when disposable shopping bags are scarce, as they have been in my apartment lately — a clear produce bag or threadbare reusable tote. Annoying Bag in hand, I prowl my apartment, dropping anything I deem “annoying” at that moment into it. I collect half-burned candles and stray socks; broken sunglasses, old magazines, jars of condiments that have been squatting in the fridge so long I forgot they’re not on the lease.

The Annoying Bag is an exercise to be performed quickly, impulsively. This is not a closet overhaul or cupboard clean-out. You don’t hold an item close and ask if it <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/23/garden/home-organization-advice-from-marie-kondo.html" title="">sparks joy </a>before it goes in the Annoying Bag. The <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/10/magazine/marie-kondo-and-the-ruthless-war-on-stuff.html" title="">KonMari Method </a>, spring cleaning — those are thoughtful, sustainable processes in which clothes get donated and yogurt containers get recycled. The Annoying Bag is all remorseless id: You might throw away the T-shirt you’re wearing because it’s annoying you. Three pennies that have been gathering dust on the counter, waiting to be put into a coin jar? A set of cake-decorating tips that you’ve used once but are taking up half a drawer? Don’t think about it. Throw them in.

After about ten minutes of snatch-and-toss, I knot the Annoying Bag and take it to the trash — not my trash can, but the trash on the curb, permanently out of the house. I have never once missed anything that left the house in the Annoying Bag. The impulses for disposal that occur in these feverish bursts of decluttering are always correct. The relief is instant and exhilarating.

Online shopping has been tempting during the pandemic. My usual thinking goes something like, “Stores are risky, distractions are limited, I’m feeling blue, better buy this teakettle.” A friend told me once that everything you buy makes each thing you own a little less valuable. I’m trying to keep that in mind, trying to <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/28/style/self-care/how-to-buy-less.html" title="">buy less </a>and keep annoying stuff out of the house in the first place. “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poems/45564/the-world-is-too-much-with-us" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="">Getting and spending, we lay waste our powers </a>,” wrote Wordsworth, exhorting us to dispense with materialism and get back to nature, which seems like a worthy pursuit right now.

<ul><li>Dig deeper into the moment. </li> </ul>

Or, if you’re not feeling outdoorsy, consider Marie Kondo’s <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/11/realestate/marie-kondo-container-store.html" title="">advice </a>: “Use this time at home to take inventory of your possessions — and to re-evaluate your relationship with them. Cultivate an awareness of what you have. On a practical level, this will prevent overbuying things, but I hope it will also bring a renewed appreciation for all that you do have.”

<ul><li>Instead of stress shopping this weekend, check out “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/01/15/books/review/the-essential-octavia-butler.html" title="">The Essential Octavia Butler </a>,” our guide to getting started with the science-fiction writer. </li><li>The Hold Steady has a new single, “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KktO5nlLT0c&amp;feature=emb_title" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="">Heavy Covenant </a>,” and it’s a good one for nostalgia. When Craig Finn sings, “It seems a single body is a couple different people in this one life,” it’s nearly impossible not to be <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/01/arts/music/01sann.html" title="">transported to 2006 </a>. </li><li>And the community Ask MetaFilter has some excellent ideas for <a dir="ltr" href="https://ask.metafilter.com/350382/Help-me-with-my-pandemic-fatigue" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="">dealing with pandemic fatigue </a>. </li> </ul>

How do you contain your clutter? What are your best strategies for keeping your home tidy and organized? Write to us: <a dir="ltr" href="mailto:athome@nytimes.com" title="">athome@nytimes.com </a>. Include your name, age and location and we might publish your response in a forthcoming newsletter. We’re <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/at-home" title="">At Home </a>. We’ll read every letter sent. More ideas for how to spend your time this weekend appear below. See you next week.

You can always find much more to read, watch and do every day on <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.nytimes.com/spotlight/at-home" title="">At Home </a>. And let us know <a dir="ltr" href="https://nyt.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_e9cKGVFtci4CObz" rel="noopener noreferrer" title="">what you think </a>!

Getting Rid of Stuff

That Annoying Bag Of Clutter

MARIE KONDO

CURATED BY

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