Decluttering at the Speed of Life: Winning Your Never-Ending Battle with Stuff

by Dana K. White

And that was when I made a conscious choice to live in the phase of life I was in. Right then. I decided to stop assuming I knew what I’d love to already have in the future.

Accept the limitations of the space you have, and declutter enough that your stuff fits comfortably in that space.

One-In-One-Out Rule. If a container is full, and I need to put something in it, I have to remove something from the container to make room for the thing I’m putting in.

after I started letting things go, I began to see that empty space has monetary value as well.

Visibility Rule: when I declutter, I start with the most visible spaces first.

The best way for me to get stuff out of my house quickly, and without emotional hassle, is to donate.

the mind-set is that life is better and easier with less.

And it’s better to live without something you might use than to have something you don’t use.

Decluttering Question #1: If I

needed this item, where would I look for it first? Take it there right now. The key word is would, which is a question of instinct. No pondering or thinking or analyzing needed. The second part of question #1 is ridiculously important. Take it, right now, to the place where you’d look first. Decluttering Question #2: If I needed this item, would it ever occur to me that I already had one? This needn’t be asked if question #1 has an answer. If there is no answer to question #1, it’s likely because I wouldn’t look for it because I didn’t even know I had it. If the answer to this question is no, I stick it in the Donate Box.

STEP 1: TRASH (THE EASIEST OF THE EASY STUFF)

STEP 2: DO THE EASY STUFF

STEP 3: DUH CLUTTER Stick Duh Clutter (or Duhs) in the Donate Box. Duh Clutter shouldn’t be a thing, but it totally is. It’s the stuff that at the first quick glance I know is clutter. Not much explanation needed here, other than that it’s the stuff that makes me go, Duh. Why do I have that? Examples of Duh Clutter: Things I thought I already decluttered. Things I have always hated.

STEP 4: ASK THE TWO DECLUTTERING QUESTIONS Decluttering Question #1: If I needed this item, where would I look for it first? Take it there now. Decluttering Question #2: If I needed this item, would it ever occur to me that I already had one?

STEP 5: MAKE IT FIT This is the step where you apply the Container Concept to the space where you’re working.

Step 5.1: Consolidate

Step 5.2: Purge Down to the Limits of the Container Consolidating opens my eyes to how much of something I have.

DEFINE THE ROOM

STEP 1: TRASH

STEP 2: EASY STUFF

STEP 3: DUH CLUTTER Identify Duh donations. Look around for stuff you never liked but for some reason were waiting to get rid of until you were in a decluttering mood. Well, you’re in the mood now.

STEP 4: ASK THE DECLUTTERING QUESTIONS

Decluttering Question #1: If I Needed This Item, Where Would I Look for It First?

Keep Boxes let me justify waiting to put things away. They’re neat little procrastination holders. I’m still working through Keep Boxes that have been in my garage since we moved twelve years ago. If I put things away immediately, I’m done. If I stick things in a Keep Box, I have “empty that Keep Box” on my mental to-do list indefinitely.

Decluttering Question #2: If I Needed This Item, Would It Ever Occur to Me That I Already Had One?

If I didn’t even know I had them, they need to go in the Donate Box.

STEP 5: MAKE IT FIT Trash is gone, things that don’t belong in this space are in the places where they do belong, and stuff you wouldn’t look for at all is in the Donate Box. But the room still feels cluttered. This step is about applying the Container Concept to each area of the room. Surface by surface, shelf by shelf, you’re accepting limits of each container and, ultimately, the room.

But what about the intense desire to go bookshelf shopping so you can keep all the books? This is a living area, right? It’s for living. There needs to be room for living. For sitting. For reading. For talking, for plopping down on the couch, for resting together as a family. This means the goal of this room isn’t to fit as many books as possible. It’s not a storage room or even a library. If another bookshelf would make living more difficult, don’t do it.

When a paper pile overwhelms me and I find myself pretending it doesn’t exist, I give myself permission to simply look. To feel absolutely no obligation to make any decisions at all. Just to look at each piece of paper in the pile and only get rid of the ones that are easy. Every single time I do this, I reduce the pile by more than half.

The number one thing I have done to dramatically reduce the paper clutter in our home is to walk straight from the mailbox to the trash can (or recycle bin, if you have one) and immediately throw away anything we don’t need.

KITCHEN

STEP 1: TRASH A bread bag with only a heel. The pasta box that has been empty since last night (or last week) but is still sitting on the counter. Empty boxes of cereal on the breakfast table.

STEP 2: EASY STUFF Put things away in their established, decision-free homes.

STEP 3: DUH CLUTTER

I just went against my own Visibility Rule and it’s only the second room. In the kitchen, multiple items, large and small, get pulled out of and put back into drawers and cabinets every day, so function is everything. Decluttering both visible surfaces and inside closed cabinets is important.

Decluttering Question #1: If I Needed This Item, Where Would I Look for It First?

Decluttering Question #2: If I Needed This Item, Would It Ever Occur to Me That I Already Had One? For example, a garlic press. If you needed to mince garlic, would you search for your garlic press? Or would you smash the garlic with the side of the knife you were using to chop other vegetables? Would you do this without ever stopping to consider if you have a garlic press?

STEP 5: MAKE IT FIT

The dishes you just washed are your favorites. You chose them over the dishes that are left in the cabinet. They deserve cabinet space more than the ones sitting in there that you don’t use as often.

Step 5.1: Consolidate

Put pasta pots together. Stack skillets. Put all your saucepans in one place.

Step 5.2: Purge Down to the Limits of the Container Keep going. Declutter until the things that are left fit comfortably in the space you have and are easily accessible. Leave space to reach in and grab the skillet you need without first having to move your slow cooker out of the way.

THE PANTRY

Step 1: Trash In the pantry, trash is expired stuff. (If you want to argue about that, wait until the end of this chapter.) Trash is empty boxes and bags, and almost empty boxes and bags with a small amount of stale food in them.

Step 2: Easy Stuff Like everywhere else, easy stuff in the pantry is the stuff that has an already established home somewhere else in the house.

Step 3: Duh Clutter Start pulling out Duhs. In the pantry, Duhs are the things you will never eat.

Off to the Donate Box they go.

Step 4: Ask the Decluttering Questions

Step 5: Make It Fit

Step 5.1: Consolidate Put rice together, pasta together, and jars of sauces together.