In Japan, they say "Hara Hachi Bu." Roughly translated, it means, "Eat until you are 80% full." Excellent dietary advice to prevent overeating, which can positively affect both your health and your comfort. It takes 15-20 minutes for your stomach to send fullness signals to your brain to stop eating (per this Cleveland Clinic article). But you aren't here for dietary advice, are you?
No. This idea translates perfectly to spaces other than your stomach.
Another way to state the same rule when it comes to space is to say 80% Full is 100% Full.
In most situations and across most categories, you cannot easily organize and maintain a more than 80% occupied space.
Things need breathing room for visibility, mobility, and accessibility.
What Does Full Mean?
This is a judgment call, not a mathematical equation. I don't believe a pile on the floor that reaches 80% of the ceiling height is likely to be space-optimized. You probably don't want 80% of your living room floor space occupied with furniture. Floors covered with stuff are difficult to navigate and a safety hazard well before 80%!
If every space in your home was perfectly organized and 100% occupied at this moment, what happens when you do the laundry? How easy is it to retrieve a needed item from the back of the cabinet or drawer? Where do the dirty clothes go? What happens when you bring home something new? What if you need to pull something from a stack? Where do you serve or prepare food if your countertops are 80% full?
Permission to NOT Fill to Capacity
If I were great at research, I'd provide published references to the human tendency to need to fill a space. When things are piled, we need more bins, totes, boxes, or organizing materials. When we can't seem to get our clothes put away, we need a bigger closet. When traffic is heavy, we need more lanes or move trains or more roads. We are inclined to add add add, not subtract.
Perhaps it is an evolutionary tendency to collect for survival. Our living and societal conditions right now are very different from the vast majority of human history. Now, however, few of us live in a survival mode like our ancestors, regardless of the size of our bank accounts. There is always
Subtracting might actually be the key to improving function and our happiness! (see this podcast and this book)
For me, 80% is the MAXIMUM concentration for the use of space and is still too much in many cases. Not everyone has the luxury of property-sized or optimal, accessible storage, nor does a minimalist philosophy fit all personalities and lifestyles. But, I can say with certainty that any space with extra space will perform better and be more pleasant to use.
Benefits of Less Dense Storage Spaces
I could write another full post on this one.
Safety, visibility, speed, and accessibility are all improved with less stuff. Less searching amongst visual clutter. Faster retrieval and replacement. Less complex movement patterns. Less risk of displacing or damaging surrounding objects. Less items stored in areas that are challenging to reach or access. Improved decision-making speed. ...Just to name a few.
Less reaching, lifting, shifting, step stools, ladders, bending, and twisting means less risk of injury, especially for those with compromized mobility or balance. I will always recommend moving your body deliberatly in all of those ways to maintain a healthy body, but I would prioritize safety in your home and work environment, especially if shared with other bodies!
How to Put the 80/100 Idea into Practice
Here's an exercise to try. Start with a drawer. Pick a juicy one full front-to-back, side-to-side, and all the way to the top. Dump it out. Discard what you can. Start returning only truly useful things for the same use category or family. If you do have things left without a home, stop before you fill the surface layer (not the height!) with items and put the rest aside in a box for now. Close the drawer. Walk away and set a time to go back and open the drawer 10 minutes later. How does it feel to open the now less cluttered drawer? Can you see all of the items at a glance? Does it feel good? If you need to save more than what fits comfortably in the drawer, maybe that family or category should be housed in another area with more space. I will warn you, this is addictive. It can also lead to Google searches and contemplation on Minimalism.
Want to work with me to see firsthand what a major positive impact this concept can have on your environment? Contact me! I work with individuals in their personal and professional spaces as well as businesses. I'd love to work with you!
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