For each piece of clothing, ask yourself if you've worn it in the last 90 days or if you will wear it in the next 90 days. If you answer no to both questions, place the item in a donate or sell pile.
Research shows that people use 20% of what they own 80% of the time. The rest takes up space, mostly untouched. Consider the things in your home, the clothes on your body, and even what you take in your luggage on vacation.
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.
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.
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.
In the quest for a clutter-free home, the “one touch rule” stands out as a simple yet powerful strategy. This rule suggests that you handle items only once, putting them away immediately rather than setting them down temporarily.
“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.”
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.
Always declutter first!! Here's why. #1 It is impossible to effectively clean your home without dealing with your clutter first. If you eliminate the clutter, your home will instantly look cleaner.
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.
Aptly named, the 5-second decluttering rule challenges you to pick up an item and within this short time frame, decide whether to keep or discard it. If you can think of a place to put said item, it's a keeper. If you're failing to come to a conclusion, it's time to let that item go.
Created by professional organizer Kayleen Kelly, the three-second rule for decluttering requires you to decide in three seconds if you'll keep or get rid of an item.
“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 “One-Touch” policy is a simple yet effective strategy where you aim to handle each email only once. When you open an email, decide immediately whether to respond, delegate, file, or delete it.
Clutter can affect our anxiety levels, sleep, and ability to focus. It can also make us less productive, triggering coping and avoidance strategies that make us more likely to snack on junk and watch TV shows (including ones about other people decluttering their lives).
You have reached all your decluttering goals
'A sign of when you may stop decluttering is when a specific decluttering goal has been achieved. These goals may include creating more space, reducing visual clutter, or simplifying your life.
“Kerri Richardson's new book, What Your Clutter Is Trying to Tell You helps you clear the clutter in your life by figuring out why it's in your life to begin with. It not only helps you eliminate physical clutter, but emotional and mental blockages, too, creating space for your soul to be energized!
For that reason, someone with hoarding disorder accumulates a lot of stuff, to the point that it impacts their day to day life. Clutter, on the other hand, refers to things around the home that are disorganized and don't have a place, notes the International OCD Foundation.
People with depression can often find themselves living in messy spaces. This is because feelings of hopelessness, low energy, and lack of motivation can make it hard to keep on top of everyday tasks, such as tidying.