Buy a small box (should be about the size of a cat; not too big and not too small) you can put in a place where you’ll see it frequently but it’s not in the way.
This box is your “physical inbox”. Any clutter you find or anything in your space that is out of place or doesn’t have a good ‘home’ goes in this box.
Once a week (or more often if you’d like), go through the inbox and resolve or find a new proper home for each item (even if get home is the trash).
I don’t use a box but I do the same thing. I call it a junk pile. If it topples over or I have nothing else to do, then I just start working on the junk pile. That means cleaning it or adding to it. Sure that one spot will never be clean but now at least the rest of the house is.
Think really hard before you ditch something. I got rid of a ton of stuff when I moved abroad and I regret far too much of it.
Having moved like 50 times, and lost a few households of things I want back I endorse this message.
Don’t do decluttering because it’s a fad if you’re not the type of person it suits. I work with hundreds of tools and it turns out they are essential in the course of my regular projects. Decluttering is always an experience in stupidity for me.
That said, I don’t tend to buy useless crap because I hate retail environments both online and offline. Scrap is my go to because material costs tend to exceed my budget.
Don’t hate your scrap resources for no good reason! Hate it because it’s low quality or something. Most things I clear are due to it being someone else’s wheelhouse or requiring funds I don’t normally have (at which point plans would change). Time in motion and other studies!
Exact opposite here. Missed almost none of it and wondered why I had wasted so much money buying it.
If you haven’t used it in a year, get rid of it.
Came here to say this!
Take pics of sentimental things of little value. Then throw out the thing and keep the pic
Make an album with the pics. Once that album is full, take a pic of the album and throw it away.
😆 never thought of this. But I just used them to fill up my Hotmail storage by emailing them to myself
Invite a judgemental friend or relative over for dinner. Best way to force you to clean and declutter your space.
Honestly inviting anyone over is motivation for me to clean. In my own space, there’s stuff everywhere, but when someone’s coming my standards for personal cleanliness and organization shoot up dramatically.
Abdication is both quick and brutal.
Get rid of stuff you don’t need.
Yes, you might save 20 bucks in five years by saving it, but you’d have to pay loads more than 20 bucks to store that thing somewhere.
Also that “sparks joy”-lady has a point.
Use the Poop Method
“If this object had poop on it, would I wash it off, or throw it away?”
Ohhh, POOP!
People Order Our Patties!
That explains my hand-me-down family poop knife.
oh dear god… there are two poop knifes in the world?!
More proof that poop knives are real things!
Thank you for helping me settle a marital dispute that has been running for 10 years. 🙂
I know a guy that had one in his house as a child. True story!
I had one growing up on a farm. We had to cut the large turds up so the septic system could handle them.
Register poopmethod.com, put static text on it and some ads, you’ll make millions with the productivity people.
On it, might as well “write” and publish an ebook on Amazon!
Guess I’m not brushing my teeth anymore.
Stares uncomfortably at wooden cutting board.
just give it a good wipe down of food quality mineral oil every so often
what, the poop??
Well that’s a super-cool website!
Occasionally get drunk and break things. When sober throw Away broken things.
Reduce and reuse. Recycling is the last resort.
Donate to thrift stores. sell on eBay, Craigslist, marketplace, swap meets, yard sales, etc. Give to friends and neighbors.
Keep what you need, keep what makes you happy. Judge what you actually need to keep. I got rid of so many things before moving, some I am happy I did and some I regret. But since I regret it, I know that I may find that same item again and to keep an eye for it. At least I can always get those items again, so getting rid of it wasn’t that bad.
- Don’t buy crap
- Don’t keep crap (recycle, don’t trash them)
- Stop wishing of buying more crap.
Any impression this incredibly wise list of advice could be based on personal experience (and on multiple failures at following them) would be correct. My life changed and the clutter vanished the day I stopped wanting to buy always more stuff and decided to only keep what was… worth keeping aka actually of any use/importance.
I sometimes order stuff off of temu or wish. You know, those situations where “crap quality product” is what you’re actually after.
But I have a rule of never ordering before a week has passed. If I still need or want the item after a week, the purchase can be justified, but I have to pick an item I already have to get rid of first.
One piece of crap in means one piece of crap out.
Things I’ve bought like this: Phone holder for my night stand (a simple one that allowed me to keep my phone in portrait mode. I WFH with my bed as my “office”).
Maunesium (the kids were curious once I mentioned that metal can burn). Moisture detection stickers (they turned out pretty good, actually. I use them at work all the time).But I have a rule of never ordering before a week has passed
This a great way, I used to do that at the beginning but I don’t need to anymore… I simply don’t want to buy anything anymore unless I really need it.
Regarding phone holders: I made mine out of… cardboard, recycled from the phone packaging. Contrary to what many people think cardboard can be real sturdy (and is very easy to work with) ;)
What do I do if most of my clutter is previously purchased crap that I don’t know how to responsibly dispose of? The recycling facilities in my area are awful. I literally have bags/boxes of shit that I feel too bad to throw in the waste.
lol
Only keep things that are functional, attractive or sentimental. I like the poop plan for things that are on the edge of these.
It’s very simple.
Any time you set something down, keep this thought in the back of your mind: If you can put it down, you can put it away.
Shop Sign-> Don’t put it down; Put it away.
- use it, clean it, put it away
- box and label
- big things get used once a month
- medium things get used biweekly
- small things get used weekly
- tiny things get used every six months
- if it’s not being used outside of that, it’s on a list to get donated
If you haven’t touched it in a year, get rid of it. Exceptions of course for sentimental items or things like legal documents.
I now put dates on everything (sharpie or paint pen) in an inconspicuous place so I know how long I’ve had something.
Do the same with containers - get a date when I open it to use something. If I come across a container (say USB cables) that hasn’t been opened in 2 years, maybe I don’t need that stuff.
