Best Way to Declutter Your Home: Tried and Tested Decluttering Methods

In this article, we explore the world of decluttering, unlocking the secrets of the most popular decluttering techniques from the Japanese KonMari method to the Swedish Death Cleaning technique, Döstädning.

Whatever your reasons are for decluttering whether you're moving house, finding a fresh start, or just fancy a change, this article has all the tips and tricks you need to achieve your decluttering goals in the most efficient way possible.

What is Decluttering?

Decluttering often gets mistaken for just tidying, but it's so much more than that - it's the process of removing all the unwanted, unneeded, and unnecessary clutter from your life until all that is left are the things that matter to you most. Decluttering also offers the opportunity to reset your living space and create a more organised environment that promotes a healthier mindset.

Does Decluttering Help Your Mental Health?

In short, the answer to ‘Does decluttering help your mental health?’ is yes – There have been many studies that suggest a clean and decluttered environment can have a positive impact on your mental health.

Here are just a few of the ways that decluttering can positively impact your mental health:

Decluttering Reduces Stress and Anxiety:

Maintaining a clutter-free home can ease daily stress and help lower anxiety caused by a disorganized environment. A study from the University of California found that women who described their homes as cluttered experienced significantly higher levels of stress compared to those who saw their living spaces as tidy and orderly.

Decluttering Improves mood and Confidence:

Having a clutter-free home can promote a better mood - we all know the feeling of coming home to a tidy house, not having to worry about doing the dishes or putting the washing away. It can also improve your confidence, especially if you have frequent visitors, you don’t need to worry about having a messy house. Even the experts agree, according to an article by Diane Roberts Stoler Ed.D “Excessive clutter often leads to feelings of shame, hopelessness, and guilt".

Decluttering Enhances Focus and Productivity:

We’ve all been there, sitting down on a Friday night, after a long week, with the sole intention of having a nice, relaxing evening, only to have the mood tainted by the looming sense of guilt for having a messy house. Research from Princeton University clutter, whether it be at work or home, competes for your attention therefore distracting you leading to reduced productivity.

Decluttering Provides a Sense of Self-Control:

Having a clean and organised living space can give you a renewed sense of control over your environment improving your confidence and reducing stress, after all, a tidy home means a tidy mind.

Why Declutter Your Home?

It’s important to remember decluttering doesn’t just mean getting rid of a few old books and emptying the bin once in a while. Although taking these small steps is rewarding, decluttering means taking a deep dive into all of your possessions and rooting out all your unwanted junk from photo albums to clothes.

Everyone has their reasons for decluttering, and it's your reason for cluttering that will decide which technique you should use; each decluttering technique is designed to tackle different challenges and help you achieve your own specific decluttering goals.

Decluttering Techniques

Take a look at some of these popular methods that can help your decluttering game to the next level!

Swedish Death Cleaning (Döstädning)

The Swedish art of Döstädning, which translates into ‘death cleaning’, is the process of gradually decluttering as you get older. Despite its morbid name, Döstädning is actually an act of practical compassion, as slowly getting rid of your unnecessary possessions as you age, especially after the age of 50, removes the need for your loved ones to have to deal with them when you pass.

Döstädning was popularized by Margareta Magnusson in her book “The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning,” and has since swept the globe, featuring in several popular magazines including Vogue, The Telegraph, and Time.

Döstädning is a great way of clearing your conscience, knowing that the division and organisation of your belongings are going to be much easier for your loved ones.

How Does Döstädning Work?

The process of Döstädning is simple, starting with things like old clothes and other less meaningful items, begin filtering out the items you no longer need, and get rid of them. Start small and take as long as you need, it's not a race. Gradually build up to the things that have more sentimental value, like photos and old letters.

Get your friends and family involved with the process, and ask them if they want certain items before assuming they don’t. Labelling is also an important step during Döstädning, should the worst happen and you are not around to pass on your belongings, labels with keep track of what is going to who.

KonMari Method (Marie Kondo)

The KonMari decluttering method is based heavily on principle and is designed not only to help you tidy but also to help you define your relationship with your belongings. By encouraging mindfulness, introspection, and happiness, the KonMari method helps identify what brings you joy and what, simply, does not.

It was in 2011 that Marie Kondo developed the KonMari method, detailing it in her international bestseller “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” giving it the core principle “Keep only those things that speak to the heart. Discard items that no longer spark joy.”

How Does the KonMari Method Work?

The KonMari decluttering method is based on 6 key rules:

Commit yourself to tidying: Clear your schedule and focus on this, it's not just tidying up, you are resetting your living space. Imagine your Ideal Home: Picture what you want your home to look like and make it happen. A clearly defined goal will help you achieve it. Finish Discarding First: Don’t make the mistake of organising the things you don’t need. Finish discarding all your unwanted items before you start organising your space. Tidy by Category: Instead of going room by room, declutter a category at a time, for example, declutter all your clothes first, then books, then CDs, etc. This prevents rebound clutter, and it makes it easier to say goodbye to the things you don’t need. Follow the right declutter order: The recommended KonMari order of decluttering is Clothes – Books – Papers – Miscellaneous – Sentimental items. Ask Yourself if it Sparks Joy: At every stage of the decluttering process, you should ask yourself, "Does this item spark joy?" If not, let it go.

If you are a nostalgic person and find it hard to let go of things, this is an excellent decluttering technique for you. It breaks down the process into manageable steps and provides a structure to help overcome the nostalgic barriers.

The Minimalist Game (Minsgame)

What better way to finally tackle all your clutter than by turning it into a challenge? The Minimalist Game is a 30-day challenge designed to help you redesign your home and clear your clutter.

The Minimalist Game is perfect for anyone who thrives on structure, accountability, and a little competition. Originally invented by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, collectively known as the Minimalists, the Minimalist Game has been covered on numerous popular platforms, including Good Housekeeping.

How Does the Minimalist Game Work?

The Minimalist Game works on the principle of decluttering one more item than the previous day:

Day 1: Get rid of one item Day 2: Get rid of two items Day 3: Get rid of three items …and so on until you get to day 30, disposing of 30 items in one day. By the end of the month, you will have decluttered a total of 465 items.

If you are someone who struggles with routine or finds it hard to stay on top of your clutter, this technique can reinforce clutter-free habits and help you stay ahead of the build-up of unwanted stuff.

The Four-Box Method

The Four-Box declutter method is a quick and efficient decision-based decluttering method designed to cut through your clutter quickly. This method uses a quick and simple sorting system that reduces the risk of indecision and procrastination.

The exact origin of the Four-Box Method is unknown, but it is a universally recognised system that has helped thousands of people declutter their homes.

How does the Four-Box Method Work?

The Four-Box Method is simple; all you need to do is collect four boxes, labelling each of them one of the following: Keep, Donate/Sell, Bin/Recycle, or Relocate. Then, sort through all your possessions and divide them into these boxes using the following rules:

Keep:

• Items you need, use regularly, or just love.
• These items can be sorted and put back when you are finished

Donate/Sell:

• Items that are still in good condition and usable but you no longer need (clothes, tools, furniture, books, jewellery).
• Items that can be sold to earn you some cash or donated to charity.

Bin/Recycle:

• Items that are broken, expired, or just generally unusable. (Ideally, you should try to recycle as much of this box as possible)

Relocate:

• Items that are either in the wrong place or should be used for something else need to go in this box. (Once complete, these items can then be relocated to where they belong or put to better use)

This method is great for decluttering and organising your living space simultaneously, helping to reduce stress and free up some of your spare time that may have otherwise been spent tidying.

5S Method (From Lean Manufacturing)

The 5S method is a refined decluttering method that provides a systematic route to order and efficiency in the home. Developed by Hiroyuki Hirano and popularized by Toyota, the 5S method is based on 5 Japanese words – Seiri (Sort), Seiton (Set in Order), Seiso (Shine), Seiketsu (Standardize), and Shitsuke (Sustain).

How Does the 5S Method Work?

The 5S Method is a simple five-step process designed to help you get the most out of your possessions and efficiently declutter the items you no longer need.

Seiri (Sort)

• The cutthroat process of filtering out all your unnecessary items.
• Ask yourself, what do you need and what is just clutter?
• Find the best way to get rid of all your clutter – recycle, sell, bin, donate.

Seiton (Set in Order)

• Use the phrase “A place for everything, and everything in its place”
• Take this opportunity to organise everything you have so it’s easy to access when you need it.
• Label things where necessary and organise your storage.

Seiso (Shine)

• Now is your opportunity to clean everything!
• This is the perfect time to start getting into good cleaning habits, creating sustainable practices that will prevent dirt and grime from building up.
• Dust, polish, hoover, mop, clean – develop a system

Seiketsu (Standardize)

• Create a standardized system for repeating the first three steps easily.
• If it helps, write it down or create a schedule – checklists, delegate if you can, assign tasks, set reminders.

Shitsuke (Sustain)

• Trial your new decluttering schedule, tweak it, and refine the process.
• Build discipline and make steps 1-3 part of your routine.
• After enough time, they will become habits.

This is a great way of introducing a more structured approach to keeping your living space neat and tidy in the long run. If you find yourself falling back into bad habits, have a full reset and take yourself back to step 1 – Seiri, and you will soon get yourself back on track.

The One-In-One-Out Rule

The One in One Out decluttering rule is a way of maintaining a clutter-free environment in the long term. As you might expect from the name, the One-In-One-Out rule relies on a very basic principle of removing one thing from the house for every new thing that you bring in.

Though the exact origin of the One-In-One-Out Rule is hard to pinpoint, it offers a great way to stay ahead of your clutter and save yourself a mountain of work over time.

How Does the One-In-One-Out Rule Work?

• Buy a new shirt? When it goes into the wardrobe, take something else out and sell it.
• Get a new book? Raid the bookshelf and sell one you have already read.
• Upgraded your phone? Why keep the old one? Trade it in.

You won’t be able to use this rule to tackle a house full of clutter, but once you have used the other techniques on this list, you can adopt the One-In-One-Out Rule to stay on top of your clutter.

20/20 Rule

The 20/20 Rule is more of a mentality than a decluttering technique, one that can be applied to all of the previously mentioned decluttering techniques. Developed by The Minimalists Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, the 20/20 Rule is a way of conquering indecisiveness and making the process of decluttering more attainable.

How Does the 20/20 Rule Work?

Very simply, the 20/20 Rule says that you should feel comfortable getting rid of possessions if both of the following rules apply to them:

• It can be replaced for £20 or less.
• It can be replaced in under 20 minutes.

The 20/20 Rule removes the ‘What if I need it?’ question that we all ask when we are about to get rid of something we haven’t used in years.

Bonus – The Packing Party

Packing parties are an extreme, but effective solution to tackling clutter. Most of us will have had to go through the process of moving house at some point, packing all of our belongings and unpacking in a new home, Packing Parties replicate this process just without the move.

Popularized by The Minimalists, Packing Parties are a way for you to take stock of everything you own and provide the perfect opportunity to filter through it all and get rid of anything you no longer need.

How Does a Packing Party Work?

Packing Parties revolve around a simple process: pack everything up, and over a month, unpack the things you need and discard anything that is left in boxes at the end of the 30 days.

Get some family and friends involved with the packing process and turn it into an event, just don't forget the snacks. Pack up your entire home. Pack everything into boxes, ensuring everything is labelled so you don’t lose track of anything. Over the next month, live out of boxes, act like you have just moved in, only un-boxing the things you need. When the month is up, evaluate what’s left in the boxes. What remains in the boxes will be the stuff that you never/rarely use. The last step of the Packing Party is the declutter step. Now is the time to donate, sell, recycle, or bin the clutter left in the boxes.

This decluttering method is labour intensive, but it’s a surefire way to get the results you are looking for. Don’t forget, Packing Parties are always more fun when you get friends and family involved.

The Summary

So, that brings our list of the most effective decluttering techniques to an end; we have discussed decluttering techniques to tackle every kind of clutter problem, from the cutthroat decision-making of the 4-box method to the gentle nostalgia of Swedish Death Cleaning. Whatever style suits you, we hope that we have been able to help you take the first steps towards a more organised home.

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