I'm a decluttering expert - these are my 7 favourite methods
Looking ahead to spring, many of us will be thinking of giving our homes a good clean and clearout. Decluttering is a rewarding but often daunting task, as it's likely to cause a bit of a mess in the process. But by removing items we no longer need and organising what’s left, it can give us a fresh outlook on our homes and leave us feeling calmer and happier. It can also help us appreciate what we’ve stored and give items more meaning.
Of course, there’s more than one way to declutter. In fact, since its popularity rocketed back in 2011 with Marie Kondo’s bestselling book The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying, methods have been popping up all over the place to help you plan and order the process. There’s no right or wrong way to do it, but these methods can make the task a little easier and give you a route to follow to avoid making decluttering mistakes. I’ve rounded up my seven favourite decluttering methods below so you can see some of the options out there.
1. The ‘ski slope’ method
I liked the simplicity of the ski slope decluttering method so much that I use it myself. It was created by Anita Yokota for her book Home Therapy; as a therapist turned interior designer, she wanted to help make decluttering easier for her clients.
The ski slope method involves decluttering a single space or room with a methodical and thorough approach. The idea is that you essentially work through the room as if it were a ski slope, moving from side to side from the top of the room to the bottom. The benefit of this is you don’t take on too much at once and have a route to follow.
In her book, Anita says: “The idea is to imagine your messy room like a ski slope. If you try to go straight down, the steep angle feels scary and overwhelming. But if you traverse the slope, skiing from one side to the other, you lessen the angle and make it down the mountain without even noticing. Instead of looking at the room from front to back, look at it from corner to corner.”
I can tell you first-hand that this method does make decluttering a single room feel a little easier; breaking it up into zones makes it more approachable – although it’s still a good idea to take breaks because even a single room can turn into a lengthy project. Don’t miss out any sections in the centre of the room either, which can easily be overlooked.
2. Swedish Death Cleaning
Another method that deserves a mention is Swedish Death Cleaning. This was first introduced by Margareta Magnusson in her book The Gentle Art Of Swedish Death Cleaning. It sounds a bit morbid, but the intention is an important one. It’s a method of decluttering designed for those later in life and involves removing all non-essential items to ease the process for your loved ones once you’ve passed on.
While this is the original intention, Margareta points out that people of any age can use Swedish Death Cleaning to help declutter and organise. She says, “It doesn’t necessarily have to do with your age or death. Sometimes you just realise that you can hardly close your drawers or barely shut your cupboard door. When that happens, it’s definitely time to do something, even if you are only in your 30s.”
Swedish Death Cleaning is a wide-scale method to declutter your whole home. General rules include working down in size from larger items to smaller items, saving small sentimental items for last. She says basements and attics can be good starting points because clutter is easily collected here. When sorting through, try to get rid of any duplicates, but keep what makes life ‘pleasant and comfortable’; remember, this could also be achieved by removing more items.
It’s worth noting that Swedish Death Cleaning can be a long and thorough process, so pace yourself and take breaks.
3. The four-box method
The four-box method is what I’d recommend for those just starting out with decluttering, or those who are decluttering small, dedicated spaces. It’s incorporated in some way into lots of expert methods because of its simplicity and effectiveness. All it involves is getting four empty boxes out and labelling each with a purpose. There are some variations of the labels suggested but most experts include ‘keep’, ‘throw away’, ‘donate’ and ‘sell’. Other variations include ‘rehome’ and 'undecided’ too.
I’m not a fan of the final two labels unless you have the confidence that you’ll come back to the items and address them later – otherwise, you might end up with piles of miscellaneous items that will either just sit in a box or clutter up other areas of your home.
Once you have your boxes, go through your items and place each one into one of the boxes. You’ll soon see how you’re progressing by the volume in each box. If everything’s ending up in the ‘keep’ or ‘undecided’ boxes, then you need to have a rethink. This method is straightforward, but the problem is there’s little guidance in terms of the decision-making process. The next method can help with that…
4. KonMari
Probably one of the most famous decluttering methods is Marie Kondo’s KonMari method. This has been so successful that as well as inspiring a range of books, it was turned into a Netflix series back in 2019. It’s a method of decluttering a whole house by working through the items in it by category. The categories are as follows: clothes, books, paper, komono (miscellaneous items) and sentimental items. It’s important to stick to that order because the easier categories to declutter come first.
When it comes to what to keep or discard, your deciding factor should be whether it ‘sparks joy’ in your life. If it does, it still serves a purpose, but if not, Marie suggests you thank it, then let it go. It’s a very emotional way of sorting through items, but ideal if you struggle with decisions, and it leaves you with a newfound appreciation for what remains.
In Spark Joy, Marie says, “When something sparks joy, you should feel a little thrill, as if the cells in your body are slowly rising. When you hold something that doesn’t bring you joy, however, you will notice that your body feels heavier.”
5. Packing Party
This is an unusual decluttering method and it does require a bit of effort, but it’s a great way to avoid taking clutter with you when you move home.
The Packing Party method was created by The Minimalists; a group of three who host The Minimalists Podcast and starred in the Netflix documentary The Minimalists: Less Is Now back in 2021. The method involves putting all of your clothes, furniture and possessions into boxes as if you’re about to move home. The party part comes from the fact The Minimalists suggest you ask friends over to help you pack.
Once you’ve packed, only remove what you need for immediate use, such as your toothbrush and everyday clothes. Once three weeks have elapsed, you can look back over what you’ve used (aka what has the most value) and get rid of the rest, donating or selling the bulk.
It’s an extreme method, but good to give a real insight into what we need versus what we have. One thing to consider, though, is seasonal items that you might not need until later on in the year. You also probably own important paperwork and other items that you don’t need immediately but shouldn’t dispose of, so you might want to take this method with a pinch of salt!
6. The Minimalism Game
This is another method founded by The Minimalists, and it’s quite an addictive one. The concept is simple; you declutter a number of items each day according to the date of the month; so one item on the first, two things on the second and so on. What makes it a game is that you get your friends to take part, too, and see who can get the furthest. Sounds like an easy task, but trust me when I say things get difficult towards the end of the month. Given that you need to remove the items from your home each day (whether by donating, recycling or selling etc), it’s even more difficult.
I played the Minimalism Game with a couple of colleagues and it was a hard month, to say the least. While I struggled to find time on some days, I managed to keep up and get all the way to the end; if there are 31 days, that means you declutter 465 things in total! It’s very effective and takes advantage of your competitiveness to help you declutter. But because it’s a numbers game, it is quite ruthless. You can end up rushing through to find a set number of items each day, rather than assessing what really needs to be decluttered. That means you could end up regretting what you remove later. But if you take your time, it’s a very effective technique – the numbers don’t lie.
7. One in, one out
Once you’ve finished decluttering, the one in, one out rule can help you to keep on top of the volume of items moving forward. The premise is simple; you remove one ‘like-for-like’ item for each new item you add. In doing this, your clutter won’t build up again.
For instance, if you’ve decluttered your wardrobe, but then over the course of the year you buy a couple of coats, scarves, shoes and dresses, you’ll be back to square one again. But by removing one thing for each new addition, you keep the volume constant.
Keeping this in mind can help you to avoid making unnecessary purchases, too. So, if you stop and think: Do I really need these boots? Is there a pair I’m willing to let go of in return? It can make you think twice about impulse buys.
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