Try the ex test.Īnother trick to determine what items you actually love? Ask yourself if you’d contact an ex to get it back. In any case, the method will help you decide what’s actually necessary to keep. Note that the specific number is flexible. If you haven’t, will you use it in the next 90? If you don’t think you will, let it go.
Ask yourself if you’ve used it in the last 90 days.
When following The Minimalists’ 90/90 rule, start by looking at a possession. With this method, you won’t start to amass a ton of stuff. To better maintain a decluttered space, promise that you’ll get rid of one item for every new item you bring into your house. Plus, if you do move in the future, you won’t have to spend so much time decluttering during the process. Moving is no easy feat, which is why pretending you’re doing it as you declutter a space will help you weed out your belongings. Maybe it will serve someone else better! 10. If the gift isn’t something you need or like, don’t feel guilty about letting it go. It’s hard to let go of something that a loved one gave you, but it’s really the acts of giving and receiving that count. Don’t hold onto something just because it was a gift. Once you get down to the items you truly need, you’ll be able to store and organize them quicker. You can only do so much with the space you have. If your space is extremely cluttered, don’t bother trying to reorganize it all. Don’t waste time looking for storage solutions. This will give you a better chance of feeling satisfied with the work you’ve accomplished since you’ll hopefully have a lengthier period to work on it. This kitchen by Studio Dearborn features pegged drawers that stop dishware from shifting. Ley recommends starting with the easiest one, so you feel accomplished. For example, you can do one drawer in your bathroom each night.
Declutter and organize free#
If you have a limited amount of free time each day, dedicate some of it to smaller tasks within a room.
You don’t have to declutter your entire kitchen in one night. Determine a reasonable time you can dedicate to the task. Decide on a room and continue in that room until you’ve gone through every area.” 6. She continued: “Maybe it’s that bathroom cabinet or a kitchen drawer. “If you need some motivation and want to see and feel what a decluttered area can do for you, start with a small space that you see every day,” Ley shared in a blog post. If you have, say, a ton of food storage containers and water bottles, narrow the items within those categories down to your top choices. Ask yourself if an item is “the best, the favorite, or necessary.”Ĭoined by author and creator of the Simplified Planner Emily Ley, this little mantra can help you determine what items to keep and which ones to toss. If you have something seasonal, like a ton of Christmas ornaments, or a collection that you don’t always want on display, you can neatly stow those away until they’re needed. This doesn’t mean they have to bring you joy 24/7, though. This is where another Marie Kondo tip comes in: Only keep items that bring you joy. Use your storage wisely so that what you put in it doesn’t eventually become clutter. Putting things away creates the illusion that the clutter problem has been solved." You only have so much storage space to work with, no matter if it’s a closet, basement, or attic. Take it from organizing expert Marie Kondo, who once explained: "Storage experts are hoarders. Simply removing items from a room and throwing them into your storage space isn’t effective. Once you know the room’s faults, you can get to fixing them. Which rooms do you want to work on? Whether you want to declutter your home office or your entire residence, determine what’s working in the space and what’s not. Figure out your goals.īefore diving into decluttering your home, figure out what you want to accomplish first. This kitchen by Eric Olsen features clutter-free counters that are ready for meal prepping.