Root Cause - 5 Whys of cluttered room

The idea of Root Cause Analysis is to drive to the root causes of your problems, so you can address and eliminate the sources, rather than bandaid symptoms of your problem. It's like getting rid of weeds...you have to get the roots out or the weed will grow back.

There are different methods/tools of root cause analysis, but my favorite is the 5 Whys.
The process always starts with a problem statement. The more specific the problem statement, the better.

Problem Statement example: The Living room is cluttered.

Then you ask "Why?" And list out potential reasons.

Why is the living room cluttered?
1. There is too much stuff in the room.
2. There is not enough space in the room.
3. There are items that do not belong in the room.
4. No one picks up anything in the room.

After creating a sufficient list, you break each of those reasons down even further by asking "Why?"
This process is repeated for at least 5 levels of "Why?" Or until you have listed your answers to a root cause.
You then review the potential root causes and test or validate if they are true or not. Once you confirm your main root causes, you put an action plan in place to eliminate or address those root causes.
Ideally, this process is done in a group so you get a variety of ideas and inputs. Doesn't it sound like a fun family activity?

Here is my attempt to flesh out my clutter problem:
Problem Statement example: The Living room is cluttered.

Why is the living room cluttered?
1. There is too much stuff in the room.
2. There is not enough space in the room.
3. There are items that do not belong in the room.
4. No one picks up anything in the room.

1. Why is there too much stuff in the room?
1a. We have too many toys.
1b. We have too many pictures.
1c. We have too many knick knacks
1d. We have too many books.
1aa. The root cause of most of these is that we are emotionally attached and we are afraid we need them someday.

2. Why is there not enough room?
2a. The house is too small.
2b. There is too much furniture in the room.
Neither of these is a viable root cause, at this time.

3. Why are there items that do not belong?
3a. Family members do not put things away.
3b. It is not clear what belongs in the room.
3c. There is extra storage space in the bookshelf.

3a. Why are Family Members not putting things away?
3aa. They do not know where they go?
3ab. They do not care about the clutter.
3ac. They do not understand the consequence of leaving things out.

3aa. Why do they not know where things go?
3aaa. There is not a designated location.
3aab. The items are not needed (extraneous).
3aac. The designated location is not marked.
3aad. The designated location is not logical to everyone.

In this example, I only got through 4 whys and have highlighted some key root causes for clutter in the living room. Based on this exercise, I can develop an action plan to work with my family to 5S the room.