6 Popular Decluttering Methods
The thought of living with less clutter is appealing to many, and the benefits are well-known. Owning less stuff means having more time for the most important aspects of our lives, and even feeling more comfortable in our own home. As desirable as those results may be, the thought of decluttering a home can be overwhelming with a lifetime of stuff collected in basements and closets. While minimizing will likely require significant time and effort to accomplish, having a good decluttering method to follow can make all the difference.
1. KonMari Method
The core principle of the KonMari method is that instead of deciding what to get rid of, you choose what to keep and declutter the rest. To get started, collect every single item you own in a particular category and put them in a big pile. For example, get every t-shirt that you own and put them on the bed. Hold, feel, or wear each one so that you can get a good sense of how it makes you feel. While doing this, ask:
Does this (shirt) spark joy in my heart?
It’s an effective way to make a lot of progress decluttering in specific categories across multiple areas of the house at once.
2. Minimalist Game
Beginning on the first day of a month, the number of things you declutter corresponds to the day of the month. One item on the first day, two items on the second day, three on the third, and so on. By the end of a 31-day month, you will have removed 496 items from your home if you play all the way through. This game works best when you challenge a friend or family member and see who can keep going the longest.
An important aspect of this decluttering method is that it starts small and increases over time. This allows you to build confidence in your decision-making abilities and get increasingly better letting go of stuff.
3. Four Box Method
This method is a flexible way to deal with all the items cluttering up your home for however long and whatever frequency you prefer. By sorting the clutter into four categories, you’ll make a decision on every out-of-place item.
Set up four boxes in a room and label them: Put away, Give away,Throw away, and Undecided. Pick up clutter in the room and place it into one of the four boxes, and then process each box according to the name.
This decluttering method is straightforward, and there’s a category for everything. Rather than getting stuck on an item you’re not sure if you want to get rid of, items in the Undecided box can be reconsidered at some future date. It allows you to be flexible and declutter at your own pace.
4. One Method
This method was created by smashing together other similar philosophies into a simple concept: get rid of one thing every single day for a period of time. That thing can be literally one item, one filled box, or one filled bag per day.The One Method really helps to build a habit of decluttering. By getting rid of an amount every single day, you’re able to build decluttering into your daily routine. Another major benefit is the flexibility to create your own system. You can choose your level for each day depending on how much you need to declutter.
5. Packing Party
This is a fairly extreme method for decluttering your home, and more likely to be used if you’re already planning on moving to a new home. While it takes a ton of preparation and work (you may want to enlist the help of your friends), it can be quite effective if you go through with it.
Have some friends over and pack everything you own into boxes as if you were moving. Throughout the next few months, only take out the items you use. After about three months, the items left inside the boxes are sold or donated.
As one of the most extreme and labor-intensive decluttering methods, the Packing Party will help you get rid of whatever you don’t use. Things out of sight tend to be out of mind as well, so you likely won’t even miss the things packed away in the boxes.
6. Closet Hanger Method
The Closet Hanger method allows you to track exactly what’s been used without having to employ a massive effort like the packing party.
Per the name, this works best for clothing stored on hangers in your closet (duh). While it works best to face the hangers in the opposite direction than normal, the most important thing is to ensure all hangers are facing the same direction when you begin. As you wear items of clothing each day, you place them back in the closet with the hanger facing in the opposing direction to signify what you wore.This decluttering method is easy to implement and takes almost no time to get started. It’s also a clear-cut way to see exactly what you’re using and what you’re not.
Whichever decluttering method you choose, it’s most important that you simply choose to get started. Life does get better beyond the constant stress of clutter, it just takes some time and effort to get there.
If you need help with minimizing and organizing, Minimize-to-Maximize offers a whole lot of services for the same. Do call us to help you with achieving your target of a cleared up space! Waiting to hear from you soon.
Happy Decluttering!
