Choosing the right decluttering methodologies for you
Whilst I absolutely love Marie Kondo’s Magic of Tidying book, there are a number of different decluttering methodologies out there. In this post, I’m going to look at the ones that I’ve come across during my research. You’ll know which method appeals most to you.
What is decluttering?
Decluttering is simply the removal of excess “stuff”. Take a look around you, and for each item, ask yourself:
- Does this item have a specific function? For example, a coffee table.
- Is this something that I really love? For example, your clothes, artwork, a knickknack.
- Is it something that you have used recently? Especially useful when deciding whether to keep something or not. If you haven’t used it in a long time, would you really miss it? (Try putting it at the back of a closet or wardrobe and see if you notice it’s missing.)
If you can’t answer yes to any of these questions, then it may be time to let it go.
Decluttering methodologies
I’ve been downloading and reading loads of decluttering ebooks, and they can be divided into different methodologies.
- Decluttering by type of item. This is basically what Marie Kondo’s book is about. She suggests starting by decluttering your wardrobe, then books, then moving towards more personal and harder-to-let-go-of items, such as letters.
- Decluttering by room. This is as it says. Tidying up and decluttering each room, one at a time. This has the advantage that you can start small, such as a bathroom, and move to bigger rooms as you go. What may happen though is that you move things from place to place without actually finding it a home.
- Decluttering in a specific order. Some books advocate decluttering specific items and areas in a specific order. To me this is very prescriptive, and ignores the fact that you are able to decide for yourself what areas you should declutter and in what order.
- Decluttering by removing a specific number of items. This could be one item on day one, raising each day, or a set number of items e.g. ten items each day.
- A combination of any of the above. For example, you may want to start with a specific room, and declutter by the type of things in that room or by removing ten items a day until you’re finished.
You know your home, your circumstances and the amount of time you can devote to decluttering. To me, there are no right ways or wrongs ways of decluttering. However, for decluttering to work, you need to go through your complete home systematically, removing stuff and finding homes for things that seem to be in the wrong place.
I hope that you found this post useful. I’m developing my own 31 day declutter challenge to start in January, so watch this space!
Take care for now, and remember: you are resourceful, creative and whole.
Karen x