8 Simple And Proven Effective Methods For How To Declutter Your Home

A great beginner method for those who are intimidated by getting rid of a lot of personal items, the Four Box method is all about categorizing where an item will go. The boxes are as follows: Trash, Keep, Give Away, and Relocate. Old underwear, out-of-date beauty products, outdated magazines, and random useless bits of paper (recycle!) and packaging obviously go into the trash pile — as well as anything whose poor quality makes it undonatable regardless of price. What can be donated — such as clothes, unlit candles, game discs, and so on — can be shared among friends and family or given to a charity organization such as Goodwill. "Relocate" can mean either individual items to be moved to another room or the whole relocate box itself be put in storage. Try to be strict with this one, however; sentimental items that you have no daily use for are often going to wind up in here for safekeeping. If you’re unsure of which items to put where, mix in the KonMarie method to discover which items spark joy.

This method will make your home a little awkward for a while, but by the end of the experiment you’ll know exactly which items you need and don’t need. Inspired by the way many people live during a move, the goal is to have the majority of your belongings in labeled boxes, such as clothes and kitchenware. Next, start unpacking items you need or miss as you need them. Find a home for them when you know you absolutely need those items in your life. As time goes by, you’ll start to notice that some items are lying stagnant in the boxes. Certain items like Christmas decor and seasonal outfits will obviously not pop out right away, but they can be stored in their own boxes for later. This method works best for those who are looking for a huge lifestyle change and don’t mind living out of boxes for a while.

No, this isn’t about fallen food but rather the notion of remembering an item's use. Pick up an item in your declutter list, and if you can’t remember the last time you used it within five seconds, then it’s gotta go. You can use a similar thought process with the KonMarie method; if it doesn’t spark joy in five seconds, then you don’t get enough pleasure out of it to keep. This rule can also be used to decipher any initial gut feelings about an object. What feelings does an old dress or hat give you within a short period of time? Happiness, sadness, regret, embarrassment? Because that’s probably how you’ll feel wearing it, and it’s probably how you really feel despite its pretty pattern or its comfortable stitching. A gift from an old friend or partner you no longer talk to may seem useful, but is it holding you back from moving on? Those first five seconds will tell you.

This method is amazing for those who struggle with finding the time and/or energy to declutter. As the name suggests, the goal is to get rid of one item when you gain another. You can keep this general or do it with specific categories. Say you find the perfect pair of shoes. Go ahead and get them, then find the least-worn pair in your wardrobe and donate them. Or throw them out if the quality is too poor. You can go through every section of your home and get rid of one object at a time.

As the title suggests, get rid of only one item a day until you see a difference in your home. This is perfect for those who get extremely overwhelmed easily, so it’s pretty anxiety-friendly. You can tweak this concept to be one item a day max, or one item a day per room or category. The downside is that it’ll take a lot longer than other methods, but if the alternative is deep stress, then your perfect home can wait a few weeks. That being said, the more you continue, the more likely it is that you’ll have the energy to up that number from one to two per day, or from five to 10. It’s almost like decluttering exposure therapy.

This method is mostly a visualizing exercise that makes you think about which items you hold dearest or hold the most use for you. Simply make a list of all the items you use on a daily basis and which sentimental items you won’t let go of. When starting a declutter, you may find items you haven’t listed and can get rid of. You don’t have to throw away a prized possession just because you forgot to list it, obviously, but there may be some useless items you didn’t even realize you had that can be donated easily after looking back at the list. No one is expecting you to write down every paper clip and hand towel, but the exercise may make you realize that just because you might use an item doesn’t mean you will.

You've probably heard of fashion capsules, where you have a whole month's worth of clothes and no more, sorted into simple and practical categories. The decluttering method is similar but goes for any and every type of item.

So take your collection of nail products — you probably don't need two nail clippers, so ditch one, and you don't need 26 variations of red polish either. Essentially what you want to do is ask yourself, per category, if I were only able to bring X amount of this thing on a desert island, which ones would I sacrifice?

This is a slightly unconventional but helpful visualization exercise. Gather your closest friends and all of your items in storage that need pruning down to a box or two. Ask your friends to go around the piles and select items they like. If you can't bear the idea of parting with something, then put the item in the "not for sale" pile. If you find yourself indifferent, then give that item to whoever wants it. The clever part of this method is that if you really regret giving the item away, simply ask for it back, but just make sure your friends are aware before donation that you might ask for it back. You'll actually be surprised about how many things you don't miss, and knowing they went to a loving home and not the trash will make you feel a lot better about getting rid of the items.