Killing Your Darlings: Why Your House is a Rough Draft

In the publishing world, we have a term called “clutter.” It refers to the unnecessary adjectives and redundant phrases that hide the true meaning of a paragraph. Most people’s living rooms are full of the physical equivalent: the “adjectives” of past hobbies, the “adverbs” of guilt-tripped gifts, and the “filler words” of impulse buys.

If you want to understand who you are today, you have to stop living in a museum of who you were five years ago.

1. The “Just in Case” Fiction
The most dangerous phrase in the English language is “I might need this someday.” In editing, this is the equivalent of keeping a 2,000-word tangent in a 500-word article just because the research was hard.

If you haven’t used an object in two years, it isn’t a tool; it’s a distraction. It is “holding space” in your brain. Every object you own is a silent demand for your attention—it needs to be cleaned, moved, or stored. A “Clean Page” home isn’t about minimalism; it’s about making sure every object in your room has earned its place in your story.

2. The Legacy of Guilt
We all have them: the ugly vase from an aunt, the expensive kitchen gadget we never used, the books we “should” read but never will. These are “Guilt Objects.”

Keeping an object out of guilt is like keeping a bad plot twist in a novel just because you’ve already typed it. It muddies the narrative. Your home should be a reflection of your values, not a graveyard for other people’s expectations. If an object makes you feel “heavy” when you look at it, it’s a typo. Delete it.

3. Curating for the “Lead”
In a great news story, the “Lead” tells you exactly what matters. Your home should do the same. When someone walks into your space, they should know what you care about within thirty seconds.

If you love music, let the record player be the center of the room.

If you love hospitality, clear the table of mail and make it ready for a guest.

If you love focus, remove the television and face the chairs toward each other.

When everything is emphasized, nothing is important. By removing the noise, you finally allow the “Lead” of your life to be heard.