The sheer amount of clutter is overwhelming, and you don't know where to start. Enter the 5-Second Rule. The idea is simple: if you can decide whether to keep or discard an item within five seconds, it's a keeper.
This by-the-numbers decluttering strategy is simple: Only take up 80% of any given space in your home with stuff, and leave the other 20% empty. Generally, that means getting rid of about 20% of the items in your house to ensure your home is comfortable and has a feeling of spaciousness.
Every time you pick something up from the main pile, give yourself five seconds to make a decision about which of those categories it belongs in. If you're tossing, selling, or donating it, put it into its corresponding bag or box right away.
Start small and simplify. Beginning the decluttering process by starting small and focusing on one area at a time can be a highly effective strategy to prevent overwhelm, maintain motivation, and achieve tangible progress in organizing your living space.
The 333 method philosophy revolves around one simple rule: you choose 33 items to wear for 3 months. This includes clothing, accessories, outerwear and shoes, but excludes essentials like underwear, sleepwear or workout gear.
Ltd., said that the one-touch rule involves handling an item only once. “Rather than picking something up and setting it down temporarily, you place it immediately in its designated spot. This habit minimises clutter, and helps maintain organisation, and prevents items from piling up,” he said.
“No decorative object smaller than a cantaloupe.” Oklahoma City designer Valerie Helgeson recommends giving your pieces elbow room. “This creates negative space, which is actually a positive,” she said. “It gives the eye and mind a break.”
Coined by pro organizer Kayleen Kelly, the “Core 4 Method” breaks the decluttering process into four simple steps: clear out, categorize, cut out, and contain. In essence, it's designed to take the stress and overwhelm out of the organizing process.
What Is the 90/90 Rule? Here's the gist: When you come upon an object you're unsure about decluttering, ask yourself two questions: Did you use it in the past 90 days? If not, will you use it in the next 90 days? If your answer is “no” to both questions, away it goes.
It requires you to find 12 items to throw away, 12 items to donate, and 12 items to return to their proper places. By doing so, it encourages a more mindful relationship with your belongings.
No one item in the 50% is used 3% of the time. Any collection of items from within the 50% are used 3% of the time. So if you have ten shirts, then five are used 97% of the time and the other five are used 3% of the time.
It is entirely possible to declutter too much. Decluttering incessantly will result in you not being able to complete daily tasks easily – not because you can't get around your house but because you don't have what you need. You can also suffer from declutter regret, missing items you once let go of.
'The 1 In, 10 out decluttering rule is a refreshingly simple minimalist approach to managing clutter,' says Di Ter Avest, home and lifestyle professional organizer and founder of Diisorganized. For every new item you bring into your home, you remove ten items.
Step 1: Decide what you want to declutter
The first step is to make a list of what needs organising. Focus on contained spaces such as a drawer, cupboard, nook, or shelf, rather than whole rooms.
“A 'boundary' decluttering method is helpful because it puts limits on the amount of items you can have in a category,” Schmidt says. “By setting boundaries on what you own, you can save space, time, and money.”
“The entryway into one's home should be the first space you organize above all others, whether that is a foyer, long hallway, or just an entrance area,” according to Jane Stoller, founder of Organized Jane and author of “Decluttering for Dummies.”
The 333 method is essentially a bite-sized version of a capsule wardrobe. You choose three tops, three bottoms, and three shoes, and challenge yourself to create as many outfit combinations as possible with your selections.