2:00

slowly growing, and

2:02

just generally looking like a mess. Then

2:06

a little over a year ago, we took the

2:08

donations where they needed to go and found homes

2:11

for things and dumped everything else. The

2:14

empty boxes went out with

2:16

the recycling. The hallway

2:19

was suddenly clear. And

2:22

then a funny thing happened. No

2:25

one has stacked anything in the hallway

2:27

since then. Since

2:30

everything got put away, everything stayed

2:32

put away. No

2:35

one leaves a random item sitting on the floor

2:37

in the hallway. If they did, it

2:40

would probably look so out of place

2:42

on a completely clear floor that

2:45

I or somebody else would put it somewhere else

2:48

immediately. While

2:50

stacks of stuff attract more stuff, an

2:53

empty surface tends to stay

2:56

pretty empty. Maybe

2:59

it is related to the broken windows theory

3:01

of crime. The

3:03

idea is that if people see broken

3:05

windows and the windows don't get fixed,

3:08

they figure no one cares. No

3:10

one is watching. More vandalism

3:12

happens. Whereas if

3:14

the windows get fixed, people wind up

3:16

behaving better. They know that

3:19

order is expected. Now

3:22

I don't know if the evidence is completely clear-clad

3:24

on that as a matter of police policy, but

3:27

I do know that in my house, the

3:29

existence of a big pile of stuff indicates

3:32

that people don't really care if

3:34

the stuff piles up. So

3:37

people put more stuff there, rather

3:39

than taking the extra few seconds to

3:42

find things real homes. The

3:44

pile gets bigger. Whereas

3:47

if the surface is clear, people

3:49

think twice before putting

3:51

a random sock or a

3:54

broken toy, or a piece of trash

3:56

there. Someone is

3:58

going to wonder why. Before

6:03

Breakfast is a production of iHeartMedia. For

6:07

more podcasts from iHeartMedia, please

6:09

visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple

6:11

Podcasts, or wherever you listen to

6:13

your favorite shows. Hey

6:24

listeners. For breakfast, after

6:27

lunch, throughout your day, Citrus

6:29

Magic has two ways to make

6:31

unpleasant household odors disappear. Just

6:34

place Citrus Magic solids anywhere for

6:36

24-7 odor elimination that lasts 45

6:39

days. Or

6:41

try spritzing any of their all-natural

6:43

spray air fresheners for instant

6:45

juicy smelling freshness. Ready

6:48

to try your hand at magic? Because you've

6:50

got the magic touch. Learn

6:52

more at citrusmagic.com today.

7:21

For more stories with unpacking the toolbox, listen to Unpacking

7:23

the Toolbox on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or