If you’ve left a stack of dirty dishes or a stray charging cable on the counter in the desperate hope that someone else in your home will deal with it, you’re not alone.
In fact, according to findings from IKEA’s Store & Organize Report 2026: Finding meaning in the mess, nearly 4 in 10 people (38%) admit to staging what it terms a “silent protest” — leaving clutter out for others to sort.
Does that sound familiar? If you’re a culprit, it might make you chuckle, but if you go around tidying up everyone else’s messes, it might make you sigh!
How does clutter impact our lives?
The global study surveyed over 31,000 people across 31 countries, exploring how the way we store, organize and live with our belongings impacts relationships, time, identity and well-being at home.
And it’s no surprise that the research revealed that clutter creates real tension at home, no more so than in the kitchen, with 34% of respondents saying the countertop is the hardest space to keep clutter-free.
In my home, the kitchen countertop is definitely a dumping ground for bits and bobs, like car keys and mail that is going to be ‘dealt with later’.
The report is a fun read, especially when you learn that one in ten of us use the oven for storage! And no, I'm not talking yesterday’s leftovers.
So what other sparks of joy does the report reveal? Here’s a round-up of the clutter busters in our homes.
The drawer of doom
I thought everyone had a ‘drawer of doom’ filled with clutter that doesn’t have a home, but according to IKEA’s report, only 68% of us do. And for 53% or respondents, one drawer isn’t enough; you need your own.
So, what’s inside this drawer? I’d love to know what you keep in your drawer of doom in the comments below, but it’s most likely cable clutter. Apparently, 54% of Boomer men still keep them for gadgets they no longer own. I think my tech-loving colleagues might have some thoughts on that.
Sentimental clutter
Are you one of the 82% who keep things purely for sentimental reasons, even if you rarely use them or keep them out of sight? Guilty as charged!
What’s more, men are 6% more likely than women to hide sentimental mementos from past relationships than women — now that’s a surprise to me.
Pre-party panic
Have you ever canceled a dinner party or friends coming round for drinks because your home was messy? 1 in 10 people has called off plans, while 34% admit to moving clutter from room to room before guests arrive. I’ve never called off plans, but I’ve been known to have a five-minute frenzy before guests arrive to blitz the clutter.
Hide and seek costs time
I am the top searcher in my home. If something is ‘lost’, I find it. But according to the report, people in India spend 80 minutes a day looking for misplaced items, amounting to two full weeks more per year than people in the UK, who average just 15 minutes.
While we spend time looking for keys, wallets and chargers, 11% of Gen Z spend 30 minutes a day looking for a charger. Did someone not tell them to look in the ‘drawer of doom’?
Meaningful mess – redefining the perfect home
It turns out 59% of those taking part in the survey would prefer a lived-in environment rather than a minimalist one. It's a clear indicator that we’re shifting away from perfection to what I view as reality.
My take? Life gets messy; why pretend your home is anything different? And what’s wrong with having a home full of objects that have meaning? That’s what I consider to be the truly ‘perfect home’?
Licca Li, Home Furnishing & Retail Design Manager, Ingka Group (IKEA), agrees: “People aren’t chasing a perfect home anymore. They want a home that feels like them — one that holds their stories, their memories, the things that matter. What we keep says a lot about who we are. It was never just stuff.”
The key takeaway
IKEA’s latest report takes a tongue-in-cheek look at how we deal with clutter in our homes, but I think the underlying message is that we’re no longer looking for perfection — we want a lived-in home that’s loved. Minimalism is so last year!
Take a look through the report, and let me know in the comments which of these statistics you most identify with.
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