Clutter: An Untidy History

by Jennifer Howard

"I'm sitting on the floor in my mother's house, surrounded by stuff." So begins Jennifer Howard's Clutter, an expansive assessment of our relationship to the things that share and shape our lives. Sparked by the painful two-year process of cleaning out her mother's house in the wake of a devastating physical and emotional collapse, Howard sets her own personal struggle with clutter against a meticulously researched history of just how the developed world came to drown in material goods. With sharp prose and an eye for telling detail, she connects the dots between the Industrial Revolution, the Sears & Roebuck catalog, and the Container Store, and shines unsparing light on clutter's darker connections to environmental devastation and hoarding disorder. In a confounding age when Amazon can deliver anything at the click of a mouse and decluttering guru Marie Kondo can become a reality TV star, Howard's bracing analysis has never been more timely.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Memoir, Audiobook, Self Help, Sociology, Psychology

192 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2020

About the author

Jennifer Howard is a writer and journalist and the author of CLUTTER: AN UNTIDY HISTORY, which Kirkus Reviews called "quick-witted and insightful... A keen assessment of one of society’s secret shames and its little-understood consequences." Jen's work has appeared in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the TLS, the Chronicle of Higher Education, the Los Angeles Review of Books, Slate, and many other publications. Her fiction has been published in the anthology DC NOIR, VQR, and elsewhere. She lives in Washington, DC with her family.

Reviews

[Nathan Shuherk · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really quiet and enjoyable read about so many different perspectives on a topic we tend not to talk about.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think if this book were a social media post, everyone who knows me — and knows my family — would tag me in it. I come from a family of “collectors” who didn’t admit to hoarding until we had to clear out 4,500 square feet of “collections.”

This fear of scarcity / security in acquiring / pride in owning and organizing is in my DNA. I don’t think CRISPR could splice it out of me.

I saw myself here, I saw my mom here and I saw my dad here.

My dear Dad had Scarlet Fever twice as a kid in the 30s & 40s. With no antibiotics at the ready, he was pretty much expected to die. When he didn’t, the family believed that all of his Scarlet Fever-tainted belongings needed to be removed, burned, or otherwise destroyed. You can imagine being in 2nd grade in 1941 and being sick as hell but miraculously surviving only to see all your precious belongings destroyed. Oh yeah, there’s a war on, so not a chance of getting anything new as a replacement. He told stories of “checking out” toys from the Salvation Army in those days. Like a library, they’d loan the bike (singular) to whomever got there first.

That’s all crazy, but imagine the war is over and *BOOM* he’s down for another round of Scarlet Fever. Anything he had managed to collect or construct himself goes on the fire. Again. Do I need to explain why he spent his entire adulthood collecting the toys of his youth?

I know the why for him. I am not sure why I modeled it. But I did. I do. I am. The only difference is that — at least — I’m trying to monetize this craziness. (There are probably 10,000 books in my garage, office, living room, dining room, car, and closet.) Have I mentioned this to a therapist? Absolutely not. Do I invite friends over when I’m in the middle of sorting and organizing and pricing my latest haul for sale? Absolutely not. Is it damn near a tripping hazard in my front hall? Yep. Does my front door open into a stack of books piled in the corner pretty much every day? It does, yes.

So, while I’m not likely to be killed under an avalanche of my “collection,” my two word refrain as I gobbled up this book? “IT. ME.”

[Liese Schwarz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful! It's particularly charming that a book about clutter is presented in such a slender volume. It would have been dreadfully ironic if this had been a tome. Instead, in "Clutter" we get a concise, lively history of the drive to accumulate, with not a wasted word. In highly readable and entertaining prose, the author traces the culture of *stuff* from the Victorian era to our modern caricature of plenty, framing the history with a personal narrative (the challenge of clearing out her own mother's jampacked house). It's fascinating and revealing, scholarly and sensitive. Even if clutter does not happen to be your bugaboo, this is a very compelling (and enlightening) read! I don't know anyone who would not enjoy this book. This goes on my "keeper" shelf.

[Judith · Rating 3 out of 5]

I became increasingly agitated as I made my way through this book and I realized it was too close to home. The writer got the job many of us have had or will have: that is cleaning up the detritus of a lifetime of our parent (s). Her mother was so like my mother: she had 3 husbands; divorced 2 and outlived the third and accumulated a mountain of trash. Fortunately for me, my mother never had any garbage (unsanitary food remains or animal feces or bugs)left in her house. But similar to the author's mother, had two Immelda Marcos' closets full of shoes, and ditto the clothes, purses, suitcases and dishes, furniture and stuff. At one point the author describes a desk which contained:


"Hundreds of pens and pencils, stored in six different containers on the desk and stuffed in drawers. Dozens of sharpies. Old snapshots of my kids. Post-it notes, every size and description. Tiny screwdrivers. An ancient comb. More tiny screwdrivers. Old pills. Shopper loyalty cards from various stores. Weird random crap I could not identify. A big marble. A spool of blue thread. Bobby pins, safety pins. More weird random crap. Key rings, business cards from people she had not done business with in years. . . . . . "

I had to remind myself that she was talking about her mother, not mine.
The author quoted from a number of books that I had previously read including the mother of all hoarding stories "Homer and Langley" as well as my favorite clean-up books "Swedish Death Cleaning" and "The life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up". I learned that the test of the "spark joy" did not originate with Marie Kondo but was first stated in an 1880 speech delivered by an architect to a school of art and design. And he probably found the quote somewhere else.

Even a famous line from the movie "Fight Club", "The things you own end up owning you.", is distilled from a 19th century domestic advice manual.

And the author goes on to explain why trash is such a world wide problem. Multiply her mother and my mother and then set it up on a global scale. It's no longer a matter of recycling. China won't take our plastics any more and that's just a small window into the world of waste. ARGH!

[Lela Trainer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have absolutely nothing bad to say about this book. Wonderfully written, researched, and presented. I'll be keeping an eye out for the paperback edition!

[Linda · Rating 5 out of 5]

Howard's book is a great read on the history of clutter. If you're looking for a how-to book to treat hoarders or how to clean your own place up, this isn't really the book. But it delves into how we, in the modern age, have come to acquire so much clutter from those who preceded us.

Interspersed throughout is Howard's own task with cleaning out her mother's house- a daunting task as a lot of us can commiserate. Many things rang true for me and I enjoyed reading how we ever came upon all these knickknacks and doo-dads in our house.

[Jadon · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm... not quite sure why this book exists, to be honest. The story is a time-honored one, something that even Howard themselves acknowledges lives in a fairly substantial part of our modern zeitgeist, if shows like Hoarding: Buried Alive and The Lifechanging Magic of Tidying Up are anything to go off of. Moving an aging parent into a home is a very raw nerve to touch on the best of days, one that feels like it needed to be told, and I enjoyed those parts of the story the most.

But the rest of this book feels like something you'd politely sit through during conversation at the dinner table with some far-flung relative on a homecoming tour, regaling you with their various teachings from a life well-lived. It reads like a quick-and-dirty Medium article by someone you've never heard of, something you skim because of the allure of a greater message (which you don't find). It makes some vapid points about Victorianism and how it relates to modern life, but that's about it, really.

That's what this book is. It's vapid. I liked the message, and the topic was interesting, but otherwise? It's nothing more than a soapbox, or a one-sided conversation where only the speaker is interested in the topic at hand. If you're looking for something more informative, the book you seek is in another clutter-filled castle.

[Karen Kelliher · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to enjoy and learn from this book, but it read more like a long, iffy magazine article. It also needs proper editing. I've never come across more errors in a published book. It feels entirely rushed to print.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this slim volume especially relevant in today's throw away world. The author relates her struggle going through her mother's accumulation of clutter. What I liked most about this book was the way the author incorporated statistics as well as interviews with experts. This book was a real eye-opener as well as a conversation starter. An excellent read!!!

[Jennifer Howard]

This book was a deeply personal project for me, and as we head into 2022, I'm so grateful to everybody who has read and enjoyed and shared it since it came out. Thank you. I hope new readers will continue to find it useful or thought-provoking this year and beyond. The paperback comes out this month, with a new afterword on how the pandemic has and hasn't changed our relationship to our stuff (including trends like #cluttercore), plus a final note about my mother. If you're struggling with too many things—yours or a loved one's—know that you are not alone, and that there's a long history behind the modern phenomenon of clutter. The struggle is real! Cheers, Jen

[Bell]

It is a perfectly nice nonfiction. On every page, between every line, I got the impression that Jennifer Howard avoided writing the story that she should have written, the story that only she can write. The story of her mother, and of what she discovered in cleaning out her house.

[Two Readers in Love · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting with my mother's things (she died young when I was in my teens, so even scrawled post-it notes in her handwriting seemed precious) to my mother-in-law's things (as she creeps up on 90 and has lost her ability to make decisions about not-so-precious items like junk mail and three-year-old grocery receipts) I seem to have been chosen by fate to be the designated cleaner-upper. I sometimes feel like one of those strange insects featured in Bernd Heinrich's "Life Everlasting: The Animal Way of Death"; a bug whose evolutionary niche is to break down the parts of death that mammals don't have the ability to digest, endlessly rolling away little balls of muck, piece by little piece, until it is all rolled up and a spot is ready for the next deer to fall.

Unfortunately, even if death-cleaning is "the blight I was born for," I have no gift for it. In cleaning out my grandmother's things, I spent hours daydreaming about how much more efficient it would be if I could just find a four-foot-nine woman with a penchant for petite twin sets in need of a new living situation. I fantasized about just handing her the keys to the apartment and waltzing away. Working a second job so I could pay a complete stranger's rent seemed easier than the clean-up job I had ahead of me at the time.

With less pressing decluttering, I'm given to overthinking. Perfectionist overthinking is one flavor of the dysfunctions that this book and others flag as a failing in executive control. This leads to cognitive overwhelm, delayed decision making, and ultimately -- when the right economic and cultural factors are in play -- in a perfect storm of clutter. I take no offense, and offer no defense, on this assessment. For instance, before donating a stack of 5K T-shirts I read "The Travels of A T-Shirt in the Global Economy" by Pietra Rivoli (excellent and fascinating) as well as multiple books on how to make T-shirt quilts (daunting at first but doable), crochet with T-shirt yarn or "tarn" (easy), and tips on upcycling T-shirts into any number of other items that I, ultimately, had to admit that I and my family needed even less than a pile of old 5K T-shirts.

Which is why I read so many decluttering books - as a kind of cognitive counterweight to allow me to find a "good enough" solution to my mother-in-law's 1964 BBQ tong set (new in box) without having to check ten books out of the library first. And this book was particularly satisfying as not just a counterweight but a little bit of a absolution.

Unlike the organization and declutter how-to books, Jennifer Howard's history has a decidedly non-chirpy take on the layers of commerce and culture behind our grandparents, parents, and our own layers of clutter. Seeing our consumption as part of larger forces doesn't absolve us of personal responsibility, but it does help us gain perspective. Bonus points for working in William Morris, John Ruskin, and Oscar Wilde's American tour (pp. 98-99), though with more space I'm sure the author could have gone into the irony of a handcrafted simplicity movement that, in America at least, resulted in a flurry of redecorating and the innovation of flat-packing Stickley style furniture on trains.

Extra bonus: As someone who mentally collects books on this topic, the bibliography alone was worth putting this book on my already-overstuffed "holds" list at my local library.

This book seems self-aware that -- like most all household organization books from Mrs. Beeton to Marie Kondo -- it has a middle- to upper-middle-class female take on the problem. I'd love to see an organization book that tackles the specific cognitive overwhelm that afflicts the (relatively) less wealthy. In rich countries, like the United States, one can become trapped by somehow having both too much *and* too little at the same time. When I toured the Soviet Union, I saw the same thing happen in less flush environments; hoarding resources in one area to make up for artificial scarcity in others. You can both over-buy and be under-resourced.

Again, there are larger forces than personal cognitive styles at work. I have to admit in my own experience, it sure is easier to decide to toss an accidental overstock of canned goods that fell past past their "best-by" dates when you haven't, in recent memory, been grateful for that vintage 2019 can of green beans still sitting in your pantry during a pandemic. ("Best" is a relative term, surely?)

[Haley · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've read a lot on the subject, but I thought this was one of the best and well-researched on the topic of clutter. The author delved into the breadth of topics related to clutter, from its roots in the Victorian era/industrial age, to its implications for life and satisfaction in modern times.

I particularly enjoyed its cultural analysis, of how primarily women are saddled (or, often, even burdened) with the ideal of a "tidy home." (Though I've never come across cultural analysis around the idea of a tidy home being bourne from nativism and white purity culture--fascinating and had me highlighting the text.) Though it only touched on the pathology and psychology of hoarding behaviors and chronic accumulation, I didn't find it off-putting. Being such a quick read, I feel that it could have gotten into the trap of fellow hoarder researchers (with the fellow title in this realm: Stuff by Levitt).

From minimalism and sustainability (ideas about waste diversion) to the cult of organization that Marie Kondo espouses, I very much enjoyed what this (albeit short) read was throwing down.

[Kelly]

I don't feel like this book offered anything new that hasn't been said in other recent -- and less-recent -- books about fast fashion, consumer culture, recycling, and waste. That so many quotes and insights are from those books makes me wonder why this needed to be an entire book at all.

The audiobook was pretty poorly produced, sounding as if numerous women performed it, instead of a single one. The cuts, the jumps, the volume shifts were all really jarring and amateur.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was disappointing, and I usually eat up books about minimalism and minimalism adjacent subjects without a qualm. But this one was just a sampling of other peoples’ writings. And poorly edited. Wow, so poorly.

[Amanda Mitchell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was listening to this book while packing up my apartment I have been in for 8 years. It was the perfect book to listen to as it made me want to pitch everything.

[Jac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked listening to this! And I feel authentically inspired to declutter. It's a little slow but the author is really great. She was honest and thoughtful writing about cleaning her mother's house (clutter) and also included so much research as well. It was easy and informal she touches multiple dimensions of clutter especially how emotional it is.

[Tracy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this short book about how we became so acquisitive. As someone who yearns for less, I am always attracted to these types of books. Of course, it made me head to my bins of junk I've saved from when the kids were small and clean them out.

It's amazing that to find that the things we keep that seemed so important at the time eventually lose their hold over us (well, at least for me). Separately, I think my kids must have written to Santa and the Tooth Fairy more times than any other family. I have so many notes.

Fun facts: Walker once said the book he would have liked to have written was an Atlas and Reed claimed her favorite celebrity was George Washington. I have not gotten to Nate's bin yet.

[Cathy Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am a Certified Professional Organizer and we read this short, engaging book for our Organizing Book Club. "Clutter" takes us on an amazing journey, not only does Jen share her personal experience clearing out her mother's home she tells us HOW and WHY we all got here. The history of the Victorians, and how industrialization made us all strive to have more and collect was so thought-provoking. As was her take on Marie Kondo the "cult" of The Container Store and other messages we are getting from media. Loved reading more about how our relationship with THINGS can affect our relationship with people, our community, and the long-lasting effects on the planet. I highly recommend this book!

[K.M. Alexander]

Centered on Jennifer Howard’s laborious task of cleaning up the remains of her mother’s house, Clutter is a very personal history book. Using this event as a catalyst, Howard traces a thoroughly fascinating chronicle following the rise of modern consumer culture from the gilded parlors of Victorian England through the industrial era to today. Compelling and well-researched, the scope is broad, but the book never loses its heart. Since finishing, I’ve found myself rethinking my own relationship with the things I own and how every purchase, ever discard, and ever reuse impacts the world around me. Absolutely worth a read.

[Vincent · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you liked Kondo's ethos, you will appreciate this slightly more personal narrative about de-cluttering, which includes a nice bonus in the form of a stroll through the history of holding onto crap.
Jen has found a way to explain the story of clutter in a non-judgmental way (perhaps too apologetically) so that we don't feel guilty about any part of it and instead see it in the context of how a capitalist consumeristic society naturally pushes everyone towards accumulating objects of all kind.
Eventually we all must dispose of that crap and Jen helps us see the value of starting that process before WE DIE!

[Molly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really appreciated the author's balance of personal anecdote and history of things and stuff. She doesn't take the subject too seriously and is kind to all of us who wonder how we ended up living with so many things. Shifting the perspective from the individual person without willpower to a system of increasing consumption that we are all caught up in makes it a little easier to step away from whatever object you've been grappling with and see how the system has sucked you in. Howard describes decluttering as a lonely act amidst the pressure to accumulate more and more stuff but reading about how common the situation and feelings are makes it feel more communal.

[Lizanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Clutter" finds a nice balance alternating between personal essay and journalistic exploration of our society's excess consumption and its effects. The personal essay part is a little more compelling, as Howard recounts the inevitable and sad process of closing out her mother's house and all its things. It's a discursive book, appropriate for a book about clutter, ranging from hoarding to recycling to the junk hauling industry. It is paradoxically reassuring to come away from it feeling like my minor clutter is not a character flaw!

[Yan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was so good and so important. We grieve more than just the end of one's life, we grieve all the losses and changes in our situations, possessions, relationships and identities. Tangling this bug period of change in her mum's cognition as she goes through the items her mum has accumulated and linking it with our historical roots of material possessions is so great. This was so well written and I cannot rate it high enough

[Dina Horne · Rating 4 out of 5]

An insightful take on the genre of what to do with all you inherit. I wanted more of the author’s story. She took the accumulation of things into challenging directions such as the history of consumerism and the need to recycle. Sometimes the book felt a bit disjointed, like it was a collection of essays. It definitely left me wanting more.

[Ben Tyeryar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent food for thought, really gets you to think introspectively and identify (and accept) the mental and physical clutter in your life. Very helpful to hear that the struggle with clutter and purchasing is much more widespread than one would normally imagine, bringing a typically taboo topic into the light and helping to break the stigma around "hoarding".

[Marta Pelrine-Bacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really feel this is a book we all need to read. It's informative and engaging, and I appreciated the questions the author poses. Side note: this is not a Marie Kondo style book. Just so you know. But it is complementary to probably any organizing/decluttering books you've read.

[Alyson Podesta · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book treated the human tendency to hang onto possessions with a gentleness I've found in only a few other books. it's highly researched, and it deftly moves from the sociological to the personal reasons why we ascribe emotions to our things without losing sensitivity toward this topic.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

This well researched, well written book looks at the rise of owning too much stuff. It's not a book about what to do with your clutter or how to organize, but instead researches and relates the why of it all. Very interesting!

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pretty short book, and that worked for me. A history of why we collect so much stuff, how people dealt with that historically, and how we are dealing with it today. Interesting. I wouldn’t have wanted it to be longer, but it touched on lots of different conflicts of consumer culture.