If you are overwhelmed by clutter in your home and don’t quite know where to start clearing the excess this decluttering challenge is for you. Everyday there will be a new challenge for you to gradually declutter your home. This decluttering challenge will help you to minimise the excess from your bedroom, wardrobe, bathroom kitchen to your garage.
If you only have 15-20 minutes a day, start with that and do more on the days where you have the extra time. In the attached is a list of daily decluttering challenge tasks for you to complete. Tick off each day as you go.
Let’s minimise the excess so we can focus on the essential!
Share your progress
Don’t forget to share your before and after photos at #minimisewithmedeclutteringchallenge and share it with your friends so you can keep each other motivated! Don’t forget to comment with how you went with the challenge below!
Good luck with the decluttering challenge, Minimisers!
When I first started decluttering our home I knew I had stumbled onto something amazing. It was what I looked forward to when I came home from work each day. With each freshly decluttered drawer, shelf or cupboard I felt a sense of accomplishment and slightly less overwhelmed.
I started with my own belongings; my wardrobe, shoe collection, make up, toiletries and accessories. Soon enough I was ready to move onto other areas of the house. I knew it was something I saw the need for, but also knew that it was not going to be so easy to convince my husband.
I spoke to my husband about this new lifestyle I had came across, Minimalism and living a more intentional life. Luckily he didn’t baulk at the concept and was okay with me decluttering our home as long as I didn’t touch his items.
After a while, I approached him about his wardrobe and if he would be okay with getting rid of some of his excess shirts that had seen better days. To my surprise, he was mostly willing to let go of everything. We continued to tackle the ‘easy stuff’ until one day after months of my own decluttering, he asked me to help him go through his personal space.
Over the past three years, we managed to declutter over 70% of our unwanted possessions. That was made a whole lot easier thanks to my husband being on board with this journey. Of course he didn’t start off donating baskets of items and yelling out ‘Let’s be Minimalists’, (although that would be pretty hilarious). But over time and with lots of understanding and communication, he saw – as I had, the value being added to our lives by letting go of the excess so we could enjoy what was essential.
We could find our stuff, we could close our drawers without a struggle, we had space and empty cupboards – shock horror! And most life changing was probably the fact that now as we were bringing less into the house, we saved money.
It was trial and error over that period to learn how to help someone else acknowledge the benefits of letting go of unwanted items just as I had. Through my decluttering process and working with my husband over time, I learnt some valuable lessons along the way that might help you get your family on board with decluttering and you working as a team, rather than facing and uphill battle.
Here are 10 Tips to Help You Get Your Family On Board With Decluttering.
1. Lead by Example
When was the last time you ever made a change in your life because someone told you to? If someone told you to stop eating chocolate would you jump on board that day? Or, would you be more likely to jump on board if you saw a family member or friend decide to do a chocolate free challenge and join in after seeing that they’d lost weight from doing that challenge? Some times we need to watch form the side lines before we can be willing to jump into something new.
If you want to get your family on board with your decluttering journey, rather than telling them what they have to do, why not lead by example. Start working on your own cluttered spaces. Declutter your wardrobe, your shoe collection, your own toiletries or beauty products, hair accessories, your DVD collection. When you partner or children, (or room mates if you have them) see your progress and how great your spaces are looking they will be a lot more willing to start decluttering their own space, or at least be more on board with you decluttering communal spaces like living and dining areas.
2. Communicate with with them
In order to help get your family on board with decluttering ask yourself why you want to declutter your home? you need to know your why so you can help communicate that message with them. Are you feeling stressed trying to keep things clean with your kids toys everywhere? Can you not keep up with the laundry because there are endless clothes strewn around and in the laundry pile? Do you find it hard to focus on anything when you have clutter piling up around you? Talk to your family about yours needs and why you need to declutter your space. When they hear your struggles and reasons for letting go of things, they may be more willing to help you and get on board. It may even spark them to think of their own reasons to declutter and how the process could help them.
In order to get your family on board with decluttering and encourage them to adopt a less cluttered space, find a communal why. Maybe it’s the fact that by selling your unwanted stuff you can make some money to go on a family vacation. Perhaps your children will be on board when they learn how donating their old toys can help other less fortunate children. How about a goal of downsizing your stuff so you can move into a smaller home which will enable you and your partner to work less hours, spend less time and money on house maintenance and have more time to spend doing things you enjoy together? When you both have a clear goal in mind it can make the process much more successful and help others see the benefits.
4. Clear the excess to make room for the essential
When you have too much stuff, we can forget what is really important to us. Have you ever gone through and decluttered your wardrobe and realised that you had misplaced an old favourite outfit and completely forgotten about it? Maybe your favourite lipstick was lost in a sea of 20 other ones or you forgot about your favourite books because you didn’t notice them on the shelf next to the 200 other books that you have.
When we clear the excess we can make room for the essential. We can curate a wardrobe we love, we can keep the books on display that we enjoy reading over and over again, we can display things around our home that bring us joy. When we have too much stuff we lose site of the stuff that adds value to us.
If your kids have too many toys they won’t have the time or attention to play with something fully. Maybe your spare room is filled with crap, rather then used as a room that is more useful such as a theatre room or studio. Or you have so many CDs or DVDs stacked on top and in front of one another that you can’t even see what you have and end up not using the ones that you do love as they are lost behind the excess. When the excess is gone, we can enjoy the things we truly love.
When on your decluttering journey be sensitive to your loved ones areas. You won’t be able to get your family on board with decluttering by attacking them and insisting they get rid of their stuff. Let them have their own designated space for what they find valuable. It may not be valuable to you but that doesn’t mean it is not to them.
Maybe their zone is the spare room they can set up as they wish, or a corner of the garage, or a desk in the house. Let this space be their sanctuary to keep what they please. Of course they will need to keep their stuff in the confines of the space, so once they fill their space they will need to remove something before they can bring anything new in. This will keep your partner or family happy, but also give you the ability to keep the spaces that you share less cluttered.
6. Help them
Sometimes your family may be on board with decluttering but don’t know where to start. Or aren’t quite sure of the benefits just yet. A great way to get them on board with decluttering is to offer them help them.
Be specific if possible to help your loved one recognise the need for your help. If you can see your child frustrated with their toys being everywhere that might be the time to offer to help them with them decluttering their toys so they have space to play. Or if you see your partner struggling to find their favourite shirt, that week might be a good time to discuss that issue. You could say something along the lines of ‘I noticed that you were struggling to find your shirt the other day in your wardrobe, would you like me to help you go through your cupboard and see if there is anything we can clear out to make space for the items you love?
Of course, if they decline, don’t force it on them. But hopefully you have planted a seed that they will consider and in time they might be more willing to come around and ask you for help when they are more open to to removing the excess.
Don’t expect your loved one to let go of their most treasured items from Day One. Start small and work your way up. Build their and your decluttering muscles gradually. Start with the stained and torn shirts. The damaged shoes, expired items and anything broken. Get rid of duplicate items around the home or anything that you both agree can go. Save the harder stuff for later when you are more experienced with decluttering and more knowledgeable on what does and doesn’t add value.
8. Make it fun
Decluttering doesn’t have to be boring and tedious, why not make a game out of it! Try The Minimalists Mins Game where you declutter one item on day one, two on day two, three on day three and so on. Or do a Packing Party. Another fun options is to make a simple challenge to see who can declutter the most items at the end of the week. Check out the Minimise With Me 31 Day Decluttering Challenge for one with daily challenges for you.
9. Make it a habit
Decluttering isn’t a once off event. Over time things can creep back into the home with Christmas, Birthdays, events, anniversaries and so on. It is something that needs to be reviewed as you go. Make decluttering a habit. You could do a seasonal declutter such as when Spring hits or bi-annually. Or simply leave a container in the bottom of your families closets so they can declutter items as they go, and empty their bins when they get full.
Make some new traditions such as donating unwanted toiletries and a bags to a local Charities Christmas or Winter Appeal. As you approach Christmas, ask your children to fill a bag or container with toys they want to donate to less fortunate children for Christmas. Let them know that they will need space for any new toys Santa is bringing and make a habit each Christmas for them to go through and select some toys they no longer play with to be donated.
10. Implement a one in one out rule
A good place to start is to try and stick to a one in out rule. Make a suggestions as new things come into the house. Is your partner getting a new laptop or electronic? Maybe they could sell the old on (Less clutter and money? Win!). This would also help offset the cost of the new one.
After a while this will become second nature and can help limit excess clutter entering the house, as only the things your family truly values will come into the home if they are going to have to let go of something else in order to bring it home with them.
What tips did you find helpful to get your family on board with decluttering? Were they on board from the start? Or got you on board? Or maybe it took some time but you eventually won them over? Share your experience in the comments below 🙂
With the new norm of fast fashion it can be easy for us to end up with an overflowing wardrobe filled with unwanted clothing choices that we no longer wear (and in some cases, never did) or that no longer bring us joy. We look into our bulging wardrobes and packed drawers filled with clothing options but still feel like we have nothing to wear. In this case sometimes less is more. When we can see what we have to wear, and compile a wardrobe of pieces that we love- with a little bit of planning, we can open up our wardrobe to better reflect what we need on a day to day basis.
But where do you start when you want to clear the excess and declutter your wardrobe? When we have so many clothes the thought of trying to go through them one by one and remove the excess can seem like an impossible task. Luckily there are questions we can ask that can help make the decluttering process of our wardrobes an easier and more successful event.
Here are 7 Essential Questions to Help You Declutter Your Wardrobe.
Let’s Get Started
Before you start going through your wardrobe grab three bins to help you organise your piles. They can be anything you have around the house: laundry baskets, boxes or garbage bags. This will help you keep track of what is what and avoid you getting confused down the line as the piles get bigger. Now grab a piece of paper and some sticky tape and label those bins – Yes, No and Maybe.
The Three Sorting Bins
Yes – These are the clothing items you want to keep. When you are done sorting, hang these back up in your wardrobe or fold them and put them back into your drawers. Remember to only keep what you can fit in your space.
No – These are the clothing items you no longer want. Donate this pile to a local charity clothing shop or bin. Be sure to toss any items that are non in sale-able condition.
Maybe – This is a pile for those items that you are unsure about. For anything that ends up here, keep them in a container somewhere separate to your current wardrobe. Set a calendar reminder on your phone to review this container in three months time. Over the next 12 weeks if there is anything in the container you want to wear, you can ‘save’ this item. Anything left in the container at the three month deadline can be donated.
Two Decluttering Methods:
Now depending on the time you have you have two methods to declutter your clothing.
1. All At Once: You can grab all your clothes and throw them on your bed to sort in one heap or;
2. By Categories: You can declutter your clothes category by category: dresses, shirts, shorts, underwear etc.
If you have a couple of hours or more to spare, go for the All At Once approach. This will mean you can declutter your wardrobe in session and being able to see the sheer number you have piled on your bed will help you let go. If you only have half an hour or so, it’s best to either wait until you have more time to do the full wardrobe declutter, or in this case, work on one category at a time.
Now let’s get into those questions and get decluttering your wardrobe!
7 Essential Questions to Help You Declutter Your Wardrobe
1. Do I love this?
As you pick up each item Ask yourself if you love the item you are holding. If you saw it in store would you buy it right now? As Kon Mari asks in her book the Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, ask does it Spark Joy? Pick one item at a time and see how you feel about it. Is it something you love to wear and find yourself always holding out for wash day to wear it again? Maybe it’s a piece that reminds you of a negative experience every time you see it? If it doesn’t spark joy and you don’t love it put it in the no pile. If it brings you joy and you feel happy wearing it put it in your Yes pile. Building a capsule wardrobe of clothes you love will ensure that everyday you get to chose your outfit from a handpicked selection of clothes that you truly love and feel comfortable in!
2. Do I currently wear it?
Be honest with yourself. You know what clothes you wear regularly and what you haven’t touched in the past year. It’s more than likely it is the same outfits in rotation that you are grabbing each day. If you don’t wear something anymore ask yourself why? Is it something you would wear but it missing a button or needs a hole sewn? If so put it in a mend pile and get it repaired so you can wear it. Actually put your pile of to be mended items into your car and take them to the alteration shop that same week to avoid delaying wearing those items any longer. Is it out of style? If it is something you don’t see yourself wearing again let it go.
The Minimalists have a rule to help decide what you do and don’t wear called the 90/90 rule. For each item ask yourself if you have worn it in the last 90 days and if you would wear it in the next 90 days. If the answer is no, let it go. If that is too short, make it a 6 months post and prior rule the “180/180 rule” to cover a full year. If you haven’t worn it in the past 180 days (6 months) and don’t see yourself wearing it in the next 6 month period it’s probably time to put it in the no pile.
3. Does it fit?
This seems like an obvious one, but we are all guilty of hoarding clothes for that magical day when we have lost all our unwanted weight. Does your item of clothing fit you or have you been holding onto it for years waiting to lose or gain weight so it will fit? If you are unsure, try it on. Maybe it does fit now and you can keep it, or maybe you will remember that it doesn’t and if that is the case let it go. If you are really attached to an item, and determined to get back into it, keep one or two favourites but let go of the rest. By the time you meet your weight goals, you will want to reward yourself and invest in a new fresh wardrobe anyway.
4. Does it suit your current lifestyle?
A good rule of thumb is to keep at least 80% of your wardrobe of things you can wear on a day to day basis. You don’t want to end up with 90% of your wardrobe filled with dressy outfits that you can only wear on a Friday and Saturday night and have nothing much left to wear the rest of the week.
If you are change careers from working in an office to being a yoga instructor you can do away with the excess corporate uniforms. Maybe you only need to dress up at the occasional wedding or birthday party but have 50 dresses in your wardrobe? If so let go of any excess dressy outfits that you won’t be wearing to free up space for the clothes that you will be the majority of the time.
5. If I found this in store would I buy it right now?
This one always helps me decide when I am stuck on whether to keep to donate something. Ask yourself ‘if I found this in store would I buy it right now’?If you wouldn’t buy the item you are holding again for whatever reason – it’s itchy, the colour doesn’t suit you, it’s too tight etc add it in your no pile. This question can cut through any guilt about what you spent on the item and will lose by letting it go and take you back to the real question – Do I want to keep this?
6. If I could sell this would I let it go?
This was a surprising one that helped me let go of lots of excess clothing. I found that if I imagined a scenario where I could hold onto something or get ten or so dollars for it, I would most often take the money and be willing to let go of it. These items I would put into a sell pile to upload on eBay which certainly helped claw back some of the lost money and helped give me that little extra push I needed at times to let something I no longer wore, go. Finding items to sell as you declutter your wardrobe can make the parting process slightly easier when you know you’ll get some bonus financial wins!
7. Is it Me?
This is the last question I like to ask when decluttering clothing. Something may fit okay and you may very much like it but you need to ask yourself is it me? Do you have stilettos that you know you won’t wear because you can’t walk in them? Or a dress that you used to love wearing but now don’t really feel like you have anywhere to wear it or doesn’t feel ‘you’ anymore? Maybe you have lots of colours in your wardrobe and now prefer more monochrome tones? As we age our tastes, interests and likes change and so do our fashion choices. What you may have liked three years ago might be completely different now. By asking ourselves ‘is it me?’ we can curate a wardrobe that consists of pieces that make us feel confident, comfortable and true to ourselves.
7 Essential Questions to Help You Declutter Your Wardrobe
Do I love this?
2. Do I currently wear it?
3. Does it fit?
4. Does it suit your current lifestyle?
5. If I found this in store would I buy it right now?
6. If I could sell this would I let it go?
7. Is it Me?
What questions do you ask yourself when you declutter your wardrobe? Please comment below with your tips and what you have found helpful 🙂
Sometimes it can be hard to know where to start with decluttering, particularly when there are so many decluttering methods available and so many different forms of clutter. It can be difficult to know which decluttering method is going to be the most useful to you on your decluttering journey. And more often than not, you probably don’t have the time or patience to research or try them all out.
A couple of years ago I too was frustrated with the amount of stuff that had accumulated in my humble sized home. Every cupboard, drawer, shelf, the countertop was filled with stuff and added stress to everyday life. Trying to cook dinner was a chore with piles of stuff on our small kitchen island that was hard enough to prepare meals with. It was a fight every time I tried to open a cupboard to get a set of sheets or towel out. Getting dressed often involved pulling out endless clothes only to realise that nothing went together, no longer fit, or had a button missing.
I knew something had to change and so I set out decluttering every area of my home that I could think of. Not a single drawer, shelf or cupboard was safe. It was a slow process I carried out in my spare time day-to-day over a period of 2 years. Lucky for me I found it therapeutic and it became something I am really passionate about.
Of course, that isn’t the case for everyone – some people find the process tiresome and tedious and may just not have the time to dedicate to decluttering or researching different decluttering methods. so I am here to save you the trouble (at least some of it)!
Since starting my decluttering journey, I have researched and tried and tested many decluttering methods so keep reading for a brief introduction to some decluttering methods from some amazing minimalism bloggers like The Minimalists and Courtney Carver at Be More With Less.
Here are 9 Top Decluttering Methods to Declutter Your Home that I believe on their own or in unison, can help you get on your way to a more decluttered home that you love!
9 Methods to Declutter Your Home
1. The Konmari Methid – Organising by category
The Konmari method of decluttering was created by organising expert Marie Kondo and is based on identifying what you want to keep, rather than what to get rid of. The decision on whether to keep each item is decided by asking if the item sparks joy. If the answer is yes, it goes in the keep pile. If no, it goes in the donate or trash pile.
The approach to this method is to declutter by one category at a time, rather than location. If you have books in different rooms, you are to move all of them into one location and sort all of them at once. This allows you to see the vast amount of stuff you have of one category and helps you to avoid keeping multiples of things you might not have known you had, if they were kept in separate locations.
Take clothes for example, if you have some in your drawers, cupboard in the hall closet and have some in the laundry you may not realise how many clothes you really have until they are piled up on your bed in a clothing mountain.
The Konmari method sets out the order for decluttering which is based on perfecting your decluttering skills before you move onto the harder items like sentimental items.
Marie Kondo suggests the order of decluttering your home is: clothes, books, papers, komono (miscellaneous household items like valuables, craft supplies, stuff for hobbies, office supplies, electronics and kitchen items) and finally, sentimental items.
Pros: This decluttering method focuses on identifying what you love rather than what you don’t. Over time it allows you to be more aware of what you do love and what you don’t. It also encourages us to be thankful for what we do have and appreciate our things as we say thank you to each parted item. Part of decluttering is to learn to be grateful for what we do have so the Konmari method really speaks to that.
Cons: Taking every item from one category such as clothing can be extremely time consuming and overwhelming. Marie Kondo, says that decluttering is a special event to be done once, so this might be too big of an undertaking for some with smaller pockets of time. This method also can make it harder to let your stuff go if you find yourself saying everything sparks joy.
2. Four Box Method – relocate, donate, trash, sell
The four-box method of decluttering allows you to make quick decisions and tackle small areas to declutter. Start with grabbing four boxes, containers, washing baskets or whatever you have on hand and labelling them with Keep, Toss, Donate and Sell. As you move through each area make a decision for each piece in the area you are decluttering and place it into the appropriate box.
This decluttering method can be flexible to sort through a whole room or a small area and can be used for quick decluttering or bigger time slots. Anything you decide to keep can stay in the same location.
Keep: Anything you love that you want to hold onto.
Toss: This is for any items you no longer need or want that are damaged, unsaleable or not in good condition to donate. Sometimes it is best to split this into two containers one for trash and one for recyclables. Just bring your regular recycling bin into the room ready for any recycling. Do your bit for the environment and dispose of each item as thoughtfully as possible. If it can be donated, recycled or sold take that option and limit what ends up in landfill.
Donate: These are any items that you no longer want or need, that are in good condition and could be used by other people. When the box is full put it in your boot and drop it off at your local charity bin or shop.
Sell: This container is for any items of value that you no longer want, but that you could sell on eBay, Facebook or local buy, swap sell sites. I would recommend setting a $20 limit, if you can’t sell any items for more than $20 it is probably not going to be worth the time and effort to list it and deal with shipping it or arranging a pick-up. If you are in need of cash and have the time by all means set a lower limit.
Pros: This decluttering method helps you to easily keep track of each item and sort it with one touch. It gives you 4 options to help limit any overwhelm from decision making. Sometimes having the decision based on what to keep, rather than what to get rid of makes for easier decision making on what to keep or dispose of.
Cons: This decluttering method doesn’t really give you any guidelines on where to start like the Konmari method.
3. The Minimalists Packing Party
The Packing Party is a game established by the Minimalists Ryan Nicodemus and Joshua Fields Millburn for people who don’t want to take a year to declutter their stuff and want fast results.
The idea is that you box up all of your possessions and only take out each item as you need them to decide what you do use and what you don’t. As you need towels, plates, clothes, shoes and other items take them out of the box. After 21 days see what you didn’t touch and make a decision on what’s left as to whether it stays or goes. If there is anything not out of the boxes consider whether it truly adds value to your life and consider selling, donating, giving it away or trashing it.
Pros: A great method if you don’t want to spend months decluttering or longer. Allows you to declutter your home quickly and see what you do and don’t use on a regular basis.
Cons: This can seem like a pretty extreme, messy decluttering method. It may save time decluttering and speed up the process, but packing up all of your stuff is going to take a significant amount of time in itself.
Minimise With Me’s Tip: If packing up your entire house seems daunting, unnecessary or impossible, try packing up one area at a time. Your towels, make-up, wardrobe, your kitchen utensils, plates and cups. After 3 weeks assess what you didn’t need from each area and declutter accordingly.
4. The Minimalists Mins Game
The Mins Game is a game developed by The Minimalists to make decluttering a little more fun and to ease you into the process.
Start off on day one decluttering one item. Day two declutter two items. Day three, three items and so on until you get to day 30 where you declutter 30 items.
Over the space of 30 days, you will have decluttered a total of 465 items. A great game to start off a new month and keep you on your toes.
To keep you motivated and keep track of your progress you can post your photos with #minsgame to look back on your decluttering journey and see others’ progress to help motivate you.
Pros: Builds momentum, starting small with one item and gradually increasing the number. Great way to motivate you to declutter a large number of items in a small space of time.
Cons: It can be frustrating initially to only declutter one item. Not extremely flexible in terms of time as you need to have more and more time to declutter as the month progresses which may not suit your schedule.
5. The Minimalists 90/90 rule
The 90/90 rule is one that you can use to look forward in time and backwards to make a decision on what to keep. It can be applied to your wardrobe or whatever else you like by simply asking ‘Have I used this in the last 90 days and do I see myself using it in the next 90 days’?
If there is something you have been holding onto ‘just in case’, ask yourself the question.
Writing a list of these items can help keep track of what things you are considering. Over the next three months be mindful of the item. If you have a use for it, you’re most likely going to use the item over that time frame. If at the end of that six month assessment period you still are yet to use an item and it isn’t something seasonal, consider if it is something you truly need. The 20/20 rule below can help you make this decision.
Pros: This can speed up the decluttering process by allowing you to consider the past three months in your decision rather than only looking ahead like the backwards hanger method.
Cons: This decluttering method doesn’t take into account that some items are things that you want to keep but might only use for a small period of the year such as seasonal items like ski equipment. For these items, it is probably best to stretch the assessment period to looking back six months and forward six months as opposed to three.
6. The Minimalists 20/20 Just in Case Rule:
The 20/20 Just in Case rule is a helpful tool to allow you to let go of those ‘Just In Case’ items that you aren’t using but keep you thinking – what if I need it one day?
This rule can be used in conjunction with the 90/90 rule and sets out that if you don’t need something but feel like you should hang onto it just in case you need it one day, consider whether you can replace that item within 20 minutes for less than $20. If that is the case, let it go.
You’ll often find that 99% of the time, what you have donated or sold won’t be missed. If there is that one item that you ended up needing you can easily go and reacquire it without having it take up valuable storage space in your home when you are not using it and at $20 it won’t blow your budget.
Pros: Helps in letting go of some of those ‘just in case’ items you’re reluctant to get rid of.
Cons: You may have a handful of items that you dispose of that you have to repurchase at a later date. By being honest with whether you need something, this will be kept to a minimum.
Methods to Declutter Your Wardrobe
Here are some decluttering methods specifically aimed at decluttering your wardrobe and help you to build a more curated wardrobe that you love!
7. The Backwards Hanger Method
This decluttering method is used to downsize your wardrobe and assess what you do and don’t wear.
Simply take all the clothes on your hangers and turn them backwards so the coat hanger hook is facing towards you. As you wear each piece and wash it, return the item to the wardrobe facing forward. Set a note on your calendar for three, six or twelve months, whatever you prefer, to remind you to review what you have and haven’t worn in that time.
Whatever is still facing backwards at the end of the calendar period is what hasn’t been worn and can probably be donated or sold. Keep in mind that some items like coats, will not be worn for 3-6 months across the summer months so it is probably best to separate your clothes by season and only include the clothes you will wear that season for review.
Pros: Takes the difficulty out of decluttering your wardrobe. Just set a reminder on your phone and have a reassessment at a later date. Allows you to ‘save’ clothes that you might have put off wearing and will encourage you to wear your favourite item more.
Cons: It is only useful for clothing and for items that you have hung up. If you don’t have much hanging space it won’t allow you to declutter much of your wardrobe.
8. Courtney Carver’s Project 333 Capsule Wardrobe
Courtney Carver’s Project 333 is a capsule wardrobe challenge to only wear 33 items. It includes clothing, accessories, jewellery, outerwear and shoes over a three month period. It excludes sentimental jewellery that you never take off, underwear, sleepwear, in-home loungewear, and workout clothing.
Once you have picked 33 items that you love and that can be mixed and matched, box up the remainder of your wardrobe, seal it with tape and put it out of sight. This capsule wardrobe is created every three months in order to tailor a wardrobe for each season of the year.
Pros: Takes the stress out of getting dressed every day. Everything in your wardrobe is something that you love wearing so you won’t have to stand at your wardrobe each morning looking through clothes you don’t like or wear. Helps you to get to know what clothing you enjoy wearing and what suits you so you can reduce buying clothes that end up unworn.
Cons: Paring down to 33 items for 3 months is definitely a challenge. If you can’t do 33 items, set a reasonable limit – 40 or 50 and see if you can manage that and try and pair it down with your next three-month wardrobe. It is meant to help you streamline your wardrobe not torture you.
9. Minimise With Me’s Drawer Rotation Method
After all my research on decluttering methods, I haven’t really found any decluttering method that catered to clothing that was not hung up but folded in drawers. I wouldn’t have been able to hang up all my clothes in my wardrobe due to the space limits. I also wanted to avoid going out and buying more coat hangers or special hangers to hold up singlets, shorts and the like, temporarily. I wanted a decluttering method that would allow me to assess what clothes I did and didn’t use, like the backwards hanger method for the clothing hung up in my wardrobe, but for the clothing, I kept in my drawers.
I came up with the Drawer Rotation Method which is a system I use, along with the Konmari Folding Technique, where you put your clean, folded washing to the back of your drawers – rather than in front.
This encourages you to wear all the items in your drawers, not just the items that you regularly wear and put back to the front, leaving the back items to sit for weeks or even months unworn and potentially forgotten, cluttering up your drawers.
This Drawer Rotation Method has helped me to keep an even rotation of the clothes I wear that are folded in drawers. It also helps to identify what you do and don’t wear. After a while, that old shirt that you hate wearing will be sitting at the front of your drawer as a constant reminder of how it might be time to donate or trash it.
Pros: Helps you to assess which clothes in your drawers you wear more frequently over a period of time and which ones you can declutter.
Cons: Only works if you use the Konmari folding technique where clothes as stacked horizontally in parcels, rather than in vertical, less-visible piles.
Have you tried any of the above decluttering methods? Did you find them helpful? Have you come across any others that have helped you? Please comment below with what has helped you declutter your home!
Are you finding yourself overwhelmed and stressed out by clutter in your home?
If you’re looking to minimise the excess in your life, Declutter With Me: A 12 Week Guide to Declutter Your Home is a go-at-your-own-pace course that will give you the step-by-step, room-by-room instructions to help you clear the clutter in your home in as soon as just 12 weeks!
But clearing the clutter isn’t just about getting rid of your excess stuff. It’s important to change your behaviour and consumer habits so you can avoid re-cluttering your space once you have decluttered. Included in Declutter With Me, are “Keep It Minimal” tips for each area in your home + 7 Tips To Help You Keep Your Home Minimal, to give you strategies you can implement to help you spend with intention so you can avoid bringing clutter back into your home.
If you are keen to minimise your unwanted clutter check out Declutter With Me so you can create a home you love!
It can be hard to know where to start when decluttering. There are so many rooms and areas you could begin with and it can seem overwhelming when starting out. When we are so focused on bringing new things into our home we can forget the importance of removing the items that are no longer useful to us and could be taking up valuable space in our home.
Do you open your kitchen utensil drawer only to become flustered trying to find the one thing you actually need?
Have you accumulated twenty mugs in the cups cupboard and seem to forever have endless ones to wash?
Is your linen closet overflowing so closing it is a struggle to open and close?
Downsizing our excess stuff can allow us to reduce stress in our lives and make some of our chores less bothersome. We are limited to the space we have in our homes so if your cupboards and shelves are overflowing with stuff it might be time to start clearing some of it out.
Here is a list of 101 Things To Declutter In Your Home Right Now that will give you a place to start your decluttering journey by area and hopefully the start to a less cluttered, more simplified life.
To make life easier I have included a Printable Decluttering Checklist for you. Simply click this link or the one at the bottom of this page & sign up to grab your free printable in seconds!
101 Things To Declutter In Your Home Right Now
Kitchen 1. Duplicate utensils. 2. Excess kitchen knives. 3. Excess cleaning supplies. 4. Cutlery. 5. Plates. 6. Cups and mugs. 7. Bakeware. 8. Single purpose appliances such as doughnut makers, popcorn makers etc. 9. Restaurant menus. 10. Excess vases. 11. Pots and Pans. 12. Tupperware with missing lids. 13. Expired medicine. 14. Unwanted cookbooks.
Fridge/Freezer 15. Expired condiments in your fridge. 16. Uneaten leftovers. 17. Unwanted drinks. 18. Frozen meats with freezer burn. 19. Food that you don’t plan on eating due to a change of diet etc.
Are you finding yourself overwhelmed and stressed out by clutter in your home? If you’re looking to minimise the excess in your life, Declutter With Me: A 12 Week Guide to Declutter Your Home is a go-at-your-own-pace course that will give you the step-by-step, room-by-room instructions to help you clear the clutter in your home in as soon as just 12 weeks!
But clearing the clutter isn’t just about getting rid of your excess stuff. It’s important to change your behaviour and consumer habits so you can avoid re-cluttering your space once you have decluttered. Included in Declutter With Me, are “Keep It Minimal” tips for each area in your home + 7 Tips To Help You Keep Your Home Minimal, to give you strategies you can implement to help you spend with intention so you can avoid bringing clutter back into your home.
If you are keen to minimise your unwanted clutter check out Declutter With Me so you can create a home you love!
Pantry 20. Expired food in your pantry. 21. Unwanted alcohol. 22. Expired spices or any you don’t use. 23. Any food you don’t plan on eating.
Bathroom 24. Shampoos and conditioners. Avoid buying separate ones for each person unless necessary. Try and stick to the same brand so you don’t end up with multiple bottles going unused cluttering up your cupboard. 25. Old or unused Makeup. What makeup do you currently use, is there something you haven’t touched in the past year? Do you have ten different eye shadow pallets when a few would be enough? Makeup has a limited shelf life and should be used up in 1-2 years for most products. See this link for details onexpiration dates of makeup. 26. Beauty products. Limit beauty products to what you need and avoid buying more until you’ve used up what you have. 27. Lotions and leave-in conditioners. If you don’t plan to use it give it to someone who will or toss it. 28. Decor. Remove excess decor from the bathroom and countertops. The less you have, the less you have to move when cleaning. Have a few nice decorative pieces and clear the rest. 29. Hair accessories. 30. Old razors.
Manchester 31. Towels, face washers and hand towels. 32. Quilt covers. How many quilt covers do you have? Assess what ones you still love and donate the rest. Ideally, you need one to use and one spare for when the other one is in the wash. 33. Blankets. 34. Pillows. 35. Bath mats. 36. Spare curtains that are no longer in fashion or have been sitting in the linen closet for years.
Master Bedroom 37. Perfumes or fragrances you don’t like. 38. Bedroom decor you no longer love. 39. The stuff under your bed. 40. The bedroom TV. Do you really need that eyesore in your bedroom sanctuary? 41. Books on your nightstand that you aren’t currently reading. 42. Anything that doesn’t belong in your bedroom (for us more often than not it’s guitars :p).
Wardrobe 43. Shoes that you don’t enjoy wearing. 44. Worn belts. 45. Ties that you no longer like. 46. Handbags that are no longer your style or worn. 47. Jewellery/Accessories that you no longer like or wear. 48. Clothing that you haven’t worn in the past 6-12 months. Use the backwards hanger method to establish what you do and don’t wear. 49. Socks that are missing a pair or have holes in them. 50. Underwear that is uncomfortable or has seen better days. 51. Old pyjamas that have had their time.
Laundry 52. Reduce your wardrobe. 53. Excess laundry baskets or hampers (once your laundry is reduced). 54. That random stuff that you find in pockets. Have a catch-all container or box to collate items found in pockets. Empty this regularly. 55. Cleaning supplies you no longer need. 56. Laundry products you tried and didn’t use again.
Kids Play Rooms/Bedrooms 57. Books. 58. Unwanted Toys. 59. Stuffed Animals. 60. Games or puzzles with missing pieces. 61. Kids art. To make room for new artworks to be displayed scan the image or take a photo of it and create it into scrapbooks or store them digitally. 62. Old unwanted electronic games. 63. Dried out texters and pens.
Garage/Shed 64. Old paint cans or other chemicals you no longer need. 65. Car oil or parts for cars you no longer have. 66. Cardboard boxes that have passed their warranty period. 67. Any broken gardening tools that you haven’t got around to fixing. 68. Things you haven’t used in the past year. 69. Scrap building supplies you won’t need.
Living Areas 70. Excess decor cluttering up your living spaces. 71. Excess furniture that is being unused. 72. Extra lounges when they are mostly empty. 73. Artwork or photos you no longer love. 74. Excess or drab cushions. 75. Rugs that don’t go with your colour scheme. 76. Excessive photo frames. Keep a few on display but don’t go overboard.
Entertainment/Media 77. CDs you no longer listen to. 78. DVDs you won’t watch again. 79. VHS. 80. Excess TVs. 81. Unused Gaming Consoles. 82. Games you haven’t played since finishing. 83. Old mobile phones and phone chargers. These can be dropped off at the local library or Mobile Muster collection points. 84. Old cameras. 85. Your DVD or VCR if you don’t use them. 86. Old laptops you no longer use.
Sentimental Items 87. Old cards. Scan them and save them digitally. 88. Bad quality or blurry photos or people that you no longer want in your life. 89. Other photos taking up space in large bulky photo albums. Consider making your prints into a photo book or displaying them in a digital photo frame and backing them up digitally. 90. Sentimental items that you have no connection to. Take a photo of the item if that makes it easier to let go. 91. Jewellery you don’t love. Find someone in your family who will love it or get it melted down into something special.
Home Office/Paper 92. Books you no longer read or reference. 93. Magazines. Cut out what you need and put them in a folder and recycle the rest. 94. Old bank or credit card statements. These can all be accessed online. 95. Utility bills. Get these emailed to you and reduce some of the paper coming into your home each month. 96. Old receipts. Scan them as they come in on your phone and recycle them or keep them in one file. 97. Excess notebooks/pads. Keep a few or put them in areas where they will be useful like your handbag or car. 98. Stationery from your uni days, that you no longer need. 99. Your printer (if you don’t use it). 100. Excess pens. Test what works and bin the rest or any you don’t like using. 101. Manuals for electrical goods.
Don’t forget to grab your Decluttering Checklist to get you started below.
