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.
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.
I usually start with obvious trash. Wrappers, bags, random things. I start at one end of the room and work to the end. I then move onto clutter, spray bottles, spices, hair ties ect and put them away where they go. I then work on clearing off counter tops, tables, bags or clothing off the floors.
Take it room by room: Start decluttering one room at a time to avoid feeling overwhelmed. Focus on a specific area before moving on to the next. Sort methodically: Divide items into categories (keep, donate, sell, discard) and work through each category systematically to prevent decision fatigue.
When decluttering, Kelly suggests moving through each room in four stages: Clear out, categorize, cut out, and contain.
The idea behind Project 333 is simple: Wear only 33 articles of clothing for the next 3 months. All clothing, accessories, jewelry, outerwear, and shoes count towards your number. Exceptions include wedding rings, underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear, and workout clothing.
While it may seem logical to declutter by room, Mimi suggests approaching it by category. 'It goes clothes, books, papers, miscellaneous bits in the kitchen, bathroom and relating to hobbies, and finally any sentimental mementoes,' explains Mimi, whose approach is based on Marie Kondo's KonMari method.
Also known as don't put it down, put it away this is where you deal with clutter straight away so that you don't have to deal with it later. Instead of leaving your coat on a chair in the kitchen, put it straight in the closet or instead of leaving plates on counters, put them in the dishwasher.
Sentimental items. All of the experts we spoke to agree that you should likely ignore any immediate impulse to declutter sentimental items, even if you're unsure about how to practically use or display them. 'Be careful decluttering anything that means something special,' Amy says.
Instead, you might consider soft decluttering, which involves tackling clutter in small, manageable steps to prevent further overwhelm. If you enjoy decluttering your home, you might be able to tackle such tasks in a day.
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.
The 50% rule for clutter is a straightforward yet powerful principle: reduce the number of items in any given space by half. The idea is to keep your spaces only 50% full, allowing for breathing room for your items and a more manageable and organized environment.
The 1-Percent Rule, Blakey explains, comes down to this: When you are feeling overwhelmed by everything you need to do to get organized, “put aside the list and JUST do ONE small thing to make your home (and head) one percent better.” It could be something as small as making your bed, hanging up a single jacket, or ...
“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.”
#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. Clutter always makes a home look dirty, even though it may not be that bad.
As the name suggests, this method is all about embracing the often-chaotic process of decluttering. Rather than worrying about where everything will go in advance, or how things will look, you just take the plunge and take everything out of every cupboard, drawer, basket and box in a target area and go from there.