Cluttercore: Is this Gen Z’s Revenge for Millennials’ Minimalism?

Move over, Marie Kondo. Your days of encouraging us to KonMari our way through all our accumulated clutter are over. Thanks to Gen Z’s new home decor trend, Cluttercore is in and Minimalism is out.  

For the past few years, Millennial influencers have been urging us to let go of the clutter and to try and decorate our homes like Kim Kardashian’s sterile and bare hallways. That's known as minimalism. Now, however, cluttercore, which is the antithesis of minimalism, is embracing “the more, the merrier.”  

Many people feel minimalism comes with a lot of pressure, especially for those who hold onto sentimental items that they can’t just get rid of, or for a hobbyist who finds many things worth collecting. Minimalism requires you to carefully curate your life and choose only a few perfect items to keep and display. If it's not perfect or doesn’t go well with others, you have to convince yourself that it doesn’t “spark joy.” It's no wonder that Millennials experience decision fatigue, as they need to constantly ask themselves which of their belongings they should let go of.  

Cluttercore, on the other hand, is organized chaos (if that's even a thing). Do you want to hang all your vinyl on your wall and call it art? Go ahead. Do you want to display all the cool rocks you collected during childhood? No one’s stopping you. There is no such thing as too much with Cluttercore. The idea behind this interior trend is to create a space that feels lived-in, reflecting the owner’s personality in every nook and cranny. If it's something that makes you smile, even if it's a pen with ink dried up, you have to keep it.   

So, is Cluttercore Gen Z’s revenge for all the years Millennials tried to make us paint all of our furniture white, beige, or off-white? Maybe. Or perhaps it’s just a sign that we’re all ready to post some reality on social media, being honest about our chaos and showing less perfection. Cluttercore is embracing your mismatched furniture and loud and flamboyant wall art.   

Either way, if someone tells you to declutter, just shush them with your personality and tell them you’re in your Cluttercore era. Then proudly display your ever-growing collection of My Little Pony figurines. Because, let’s face it, life is messy, so let your space reflect that!