Transcript
Tap a time to jump · select words to save
Hello, this is 6 Minute English
from BBC Learning English.
I'm Neil.
And I'm Georgie.
Do you live in a neat and tidy home?
Or is there stuff everywhere?
If your room is filled with heaps
of clothes and piles of books,
you may have a problem with clutter –
things in your home which take up
space in an untidy, disorganised way.
Clutter is a common problem.
In fact, clutter was the topic
of a recent episode of
BBC Radio 4
programme, Woman's Hour.
Here's presenter Nuala McGovern
reading a message from one listener.
Some of you have been in touch
already to share your thoughts
and experiences when it comes
to clutter. Here is one.
The clutter in my house is actually
starting to affect my mental health.
I can't think or work anymore,
so much so it woke me at 4am
this morning
and I felt a strong urge to tidy.
I have given myself a week
as I cannot take it anymore.
So, Neil, do you have a problem
with clutter?
Well, I don't have a problem
with clutter,
but I live with children
and there is clutter everywhere.
And it drives me mad.
Oh, that's so annoying.
How about you?
Yeah.
I don't have a problem with clutter.
I would describe myself
as a minimalist.
I don't have very much stuff.
Ah, very efficient.
Yes. So, we don't have a problem
with clutter,
but if you do,
there's a simple solution –
decluttering or throwing away some of
the unused stuff filling our homes.
But deciding what to keep and
what to throw away is not so easy.
So in this episode, we'll hear some
advice on keeping your life clutter
free, along with
some useful new words and phrases.
And remember, you can find
all the vocabulary for this programme,
along with a quiz and worksheet
on our website, bbclearningenglish.com.
But first,
I have a question for you, Georgie.
Decluttering was popularised by
Marie Kondo's bestselling 2011 book,
The Life-Changing Magic
of Tidying Up.
And there's still lots
of interest today.
So, how many Instagram posts
can you currently find
under the hashtag declutter?
Is it a. 2.6 thousand, b. 2.6 million
or c. 26 million?
I'm going to go in the middle
and say b. 2.6 million.
OK. We'll find out the answer
at the end of the programme.
As well as social media,
decluttering has become popular
with television shows,
including the BBC's
Interior Design Masters.
Here, one of the show's judges
Michelle Ogundehin,
tells BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour why
she thinks clutter is such a problem.
Visual clutter is more exhausting
than we realise.
It's not just stuff.
Our brains are constantly processing
our surroundings,
so they have to work overtime
if they're surrounded by chaos.
So if you feel drained or exhausted
at home, it could be your clutter.
I mean, we know that homily
'clear space, clear mind'.
And I promise you that when you clear
away the stuff that has no purpose
in your life, you will feel better,
lighter, uplifted,
energized in a cluttered room.
Our brains work overtime, meaning
they work extra hard to make sense
of the disorder,
leaving us exhausted.
Work overtime also often means work
longer than your set hours.
Getting rid of clutter makes
us feel uplifted – cheerful, happy,
and more positive.
It sounds simple, doesn't it?
And there's even an expression
in English –
clear space, clear mind.
So why do many of us find
it hard to throw stuff away,
even things we rarely use?
One reason people put off
decluttering is the time it takes.
Plus, it can be emotionally
disturbing deciding what to keep
and what to throw away.
But don't worry,
says professional organiser and host
of the Declutter Club podcast,
Ingrid Jansen.
The answer is to go slow,
as she explains here
to BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour.
You have to do decluttering
slowly but surely.
One drawer, one cupboard at a time.
You can't go in all guns blazing.
You can't go in...
And that's what we hear all the time.
This weekend I'm going to sort out
my whole room of doom.
And after two hours in, they will
look around and go, 'what have I done'?
There's more chaos than there was before
because they've bitten off too much that
[more than] they can chew.
When it comes
to decluttering your home,
it's best to do things slowly
but surely
in a gradual but reliable way, which
will achieve the result you want.
It's a mistake to try
to declutter everything all at once
with all guns blazing –
an idiom meaning
to do things dramatically
with lots of energy and enthusiasm.
After an hour or two of this,
decluttering becomes physically
and emotionally exhausting.
You may have bitten off more
than you can chew –
another idiom meaning
to try doing something
which is too difficult for you.
So, if you want to declutter without
stress, remember break the job down
and go slow. Right,
it's time to reveal the answer
to my question, Georgie.
I asked you how many Instagram posts
you can currently find
under the hashtag declutter.
I said b. 2.6 million.
Well, you were correct.
Well done.
Yay!
OK, let's recap the vocabulary we've
learned in this episode about clutter –
things we buy which fill up our homes
in an untidy, disorganised way.
When something has to work overtime, it
works extra hard using lots of energy.
Work overtime also often means work
longer than your set hours.
The adjective uplifted means feeling
cheerful, happy, and optimistic.
If you do something slowly
but surely, you do it
in a gradual but reliable way which
will achieve the result you want.
The idiom with all guns blazing
describes doing things
with lots of energy and enthusiasm.
And finally, if you bite off more
than you can chew,
you try to do something
which is too difficult for you.
Once again, our six minutes are up,
but why not head over to our website,
bbclearningenglish.com
to try the quiz for this episode.
Good luck decluttering
and see you again soon.
Goodbye.
Bye.
Vocabulary
Word 1 of 15neat and tidy
phrase
0:13
"clean, organised and with everything in its place."
More Listening Practice
About this lesson
Find out why decluttering your home can improve your wellbeing and how to get started in this 6 Minute English episode.