I’ve learned a thing or two (or twenty) about how to de clutter.
Unfortunately, I also seem to be pretty good at re-cluttering.
Anyway, I’ve mentioned this “technique” in many of my posts, webisodes, and talks about decluttering . . . but I’ve never given it its own “How To” post.
I have to keep decluttering as simple as possible.
First of all, it’s not fun for people like me, and therefore any level of complication just adds to my list of (totally logical) excuses.
Pre-blog, decluttering projects usually turned into bigger messes than they were before I started.
Most methods of clutter-sorting involve creating piles or boxes of things to be dealt with later. That’s more like pre-decluttering. If I go to bed before the pile is gone or the box is empty . . . it’s all over.
I’m pretty sure the light in our bedroom acts like that flashy-pen-thing they used to erase people’s memories in Men in Black.
When the light goes out, all memory of the box of clutter . . . is gone.
So how do I sort clutter?
I use:
- A black trash bag.
- A disposable donate/sell box.
- My feet.
Number One is for trash. Things not worth my (or anyone else’s) time.
Number Two is for things that have value but I don’t need. No big decisions at this point about putting them on ebay. (Sometimes I think #2 is a donate box but later decide I want to have a garage sale. Sometimes it’s the other way around.) I just know I’m getting rid of them.
Oh, and the disposable box part? It needs to be disposable because there’s nothing more frustrating than transferring clutter from one container to another so you can donate it.
Number Three? This goes along with my two decluttering questions and is the most important of all.
Instead of creating a pile (or box) of things to be dealt with later, I deal with each individual item as I find it.
Like that tack up there. It would usually get thrown into the trash bag. But I guess I’ve been throwing away too many tacks and the last few times I needed a tack I couldn’t find one.
Pre-blog, I would have put it into a pile of things to be delivered throughout the house once I was “done decluttering.” Now, if I decide I want to keep something, I immediately take it to its home.
Yes, it adds time to decluttering projects.
But . . . if I get stopped mid-declutter . . . it’s okay. And I get stopped mid-declutter . . . a lot.
Even the most well-sorted piles run the risk of being forgotten for days/weeks after a distraction happens.
And morphing into an even bigger mess.
This way, no matter when I get distracted, I’ve made progress. And progress is what it’s all about.
Does this make sense to your brain? Get ALL my decluttering strategies and so much more in my book, How to Manage Your Home Without Losing Your Mind. It’s funny. And helpful. And I wrote it.
Hooray for progress-cause, yup, that’s exactly what it is about!
I was working on my kids’ toys and their general toy closet a couple of weeks ago and had to say (out loud, like a crazy person) “OHIO” a few times. Only Handle It Once. No little piles to be sorted through again later- just get that thing to its “home” the first time. Same idea, right?
Very inspiring. 🙂
Exactly!
I’m going to implement this one — “OHIO!” love this tip.
I found OHIO just adds to the pressure and time as I try to make painful decisions. By dealing with the easiest and quickest items I soon find I have more out the door and unsorted containers can be reduced by combining their now smaller contents. Surprisingly, some time later when going through the same containers I find previously handled items are easier to deal with as I now think, “oh this thing again,” and I have less tolerance for keeping it. By easing the stress this way I start to associate sorting with success and good feelings instead of fear of making a decision, so I get more done.
I’m with you, Sheila. I think it’s just an individual thing. No one size fits all. 🙂 Glad to find I’m not the only one.
Me too. Sometimes it just pops into my head later where to put the item or to just get rid of it.
Thank you for sharing. I like your method. Sometimes, it’s just too hard to make a decision “right now.” I’ll probably combine your method with Dana’s; I’ll put away what has a home immediately, but the things I just don’t know what to do with can go in a “later” box. As you said, that removes the fear of making a bad decision, yet there is progress.
Dana also has said if you get stumped on an item, just skip it and go on so as not to impede progress. I think this is what you are talking about. The next time you come across an item that you had skipped over previously, you may be able to make a decision on it.
I read this, this morning and you have motivated me to declutter my many laundry baskets and boxes of junk. 1 down, 100 to go. Thanks!
100 laundry baskets?!?! I am SO guilty of that!
I’m with you, girl! I’ve discovered that I, too, must put each item in it’s spot, right now. Collecting things to put away later just doesn’t work for me. I’m thinking I had a light-bulb moment sometime last year when I was reading your A Slob Comes Clean backwards (from the beginning). Thanks, Nony.
I usually “hire” one of my kids to help me. As I go, I send the kids to run to the places where it goes, that way, I can continue working without breaking my momentum.
Oooh, I like it! “Hiring” the kids is a great idea.
You can make it a race with a “winner” to keep their tushes moving at top speed. I try to make my voice frantic and game showish.
When I was active duty, we called that person the ‘runner’. Run to get printer paper; run to return tools; run to check out hazardous chemicals.
Not really actually running, but it was a great way for everyone else to save time. And it was useful for the runner to learn where related workshops were and what they did.
OH MY WOW!
Ok first up I just discovered your blog. I have committed myself to my new years resolution of having a cleaner house, note the cleaner not clean. Because honestly I don’t have faith that I will follow through. And I may not but right now this post just felt like angels singing. I have tried several other declutter methods and they never work because just like you I get sidetracked or end up with boxes of stuff that should have been moved somewhere else. I’ve seen so much on sorting to bins or baskets to save time and only take stuff to the other room once. Well that just doesn’t work for me, but it was like a lightbulb when you said “yes it adds time… but it’s ok” IT IS OK! I feel like I ninny for not coming up with it on my own but I am excited to put this into practice!
Yes! The only guarantee for me is that I WILL get distracted at some point! Welcome, Dawn!
hi Dawn! listen, as someone with the same resolution (and I can’t tell you how many times that’s been my main resolution), I have to urge you to get Dana’s 28 Days to Hope book. It’s a fun and encouraging read and I’ve worked through it a few times … each time incrementally improving my house. Good luck in 2014!
Hehehe already on top of that. I actually got the 2 book special. Starting my resolution today as it’s Monday instead of trying mid week to change my wake up habits.
One advantage to taking each item to it’s home immediately is that it makes you move more. Not being a disciplined exerciser, whatever causes me to move a little more counts as a few additional calories used up. I like to think it adds up over the day. That thinking is one reason I like to wait on my husband a lot during meals. I get up and down frequently running between the living room and the kitchen because we are often not eating at the table due to the “stuff” on it. He collects stamps and I collect everything else.
But what if that OHIO thing requires a bigger project? For example, odd socks? I could spend a year pairing all of our socks (I have four kids under age 10 and I work full time). Or what if I find a picture that my kid painted that I wanted to frame? Do I stop and drive to the frame store? It is very hard not to have a to do later pile. Tips? Thanks!
I would take it to wherever you will do the project. Or wherever you would look when you decide you want to do a project like that. Don’t do the project, though. And no pairing socks. Just stick them in the sock drawer. The entire goal is to not get distracted and make progress (on the decluttering project) no matter what.
I have a basket where I throw socks if I don’t have time to pair them up or if there are a few unmatched at the end of my pairing. Then when I have a little time, I take the basket and pair those up. It keeps the unmatched ones from being scattered in too many places or driving me crazy.
I do this. And when I remember, I often pair the socks while talking on the phone (like to my mother, which usually lasts awhile). This makes a tedious task not so dreary.
When it comes to children’s socks, if you buy them the same type of socks all the time it’s so simple…10 pairs of the same brand, style and color is much easier than 10 pairs of individual brands, styles, or color. I was also blessed with a daughter who never wore matching socks. Even as a toddler she would pull off the matched pair I had just put on her and go get one each of two other pair. After a while, I stopped matching her socks.
You can even buy packages of unmatched socks. This is what my daughter wanted for Christmas last year.
Buy all socks the same. If your children are different sizes use a different color bottom our toe for each size. Then you don’t have to pair them. My daughter has a sock basket (dollar store variety) for each person and labeled with their names. Saves do much time.
I have wanted to declutter and tried to declutter for years and years. I’m a packrat and I finally admit it. Part of my problem is that I met my perfect mate and he’s a packrat, too. I say we should get rid of his “junk” and he says we should get rid of my “junk”. The problem is I don’t think my treasures are junk and he doesn’t think his treasures are junk. So, it’s time to get rid of the treasures, both his and mine. I really think your black garbage bag and donation box should work for this project. I just need to set myself a goal to make a little progress every day. Your site is an inspiration because you seem to think the same way I do. Thank you. I think you will be my saving grace.
Thanks, Michelle! Once I started decluttering my stuff and neutral stuff, my husband saw the HUGE difference it made in our home and began to declutter his stuff too. I’m a big fan of starting with my own stuff before fighting the battle of someone else’s treasures!
Dana, thank you so much for this respectful boundary that you speak and model. I really like the clear insistence on dealing with my own stuff first and having others either see and want it for themselves, or even not see, but the space is better because I did mine and the neutral stuff, and that’s OK.
Michelle – I am in the same place. My husband moved in two years ago, and where I had room for all my “stuff”, his “stuff” just seems in the way. I’ve been cleaning out my stuff and he has also started (without me having to say anything). So I think we are making progress. A big neighborhood garage sale in two weeks is also motivating us both to get the stuff out!
I have a lot to declutter and a very busy life with a full time business and kids, so rather than try to carve out a chunk of time to declutter, I have a reminder set on my phone to get rid of 5 items a day. Either throw it out or donate it, but at least 5 things must go. It can be any number, I just happen to like the number and it’s doable. Some days I end up throwing more than 5. I’m making slow progress but at least it’s progress.
That’s great, Lorrie!
I was sure I was the only person in the world who had to do this!
I’m gonna tackle my desk today! I will use your take it now approach.
I listened to your newest podcast and decided a place for all papers to go is best. So I’ll clear the toys, fishing pole, empty file sorting contraption and make a house rule that here’s where it goes.
Maybe then the fridge won’t be covered in field trip forms and reminders that get covered up themselves.
Depending on the room/area I’m decluttering (usually our home office is the worst!) I have a black trash bag for donations, a smaller white one for trash, then two or three smaller plastic storage boxes.
I put a post-it-note on the front of each with the room name: Kitchen, Bedroom, Kids room, etc. As I come across items belonging in these rooms they go in the appropriate box. As my organizing time gets short, I transport the box to it’s home location, put everything in it in it’s proper place and return the three boxes back to the start point for finish up tomorrow. It save me steps and a lot of time and I get more done in the room I’m working on. Once finished the three empty boxes (and their lids) nest in each other and go back to the top shelf in the master bedroom or under the bed in the master so they are ready for the next ‘organizing day’. The boxes cost around $3.00 each at Big Lots and they have been well worth the investment. Then, if I need an extra storage box for the garage or the laundry room, I have a spare to use in a pinch – as long as I remember to replace it the next time I’m out with a brief stop at Big Lots, Target, etc. This system works for me and saves me steps, climbing stairs and seems to get the organizing/de-cluttering job done more quickly.
Dana,
Not everyone has a Kindle or is computer savy. Or wants their computer tied up with E-books and I’m one of those people..Is your book available for sale in a hardback version in book stores? Okay, I’ve got that off my mind..
I love your blog and see a lot of myself in you. I know what needs to be done but I see it all at once and don’t know where to start to accomplish the most in one day. My ADD gets in the way every time and I tend to jump from one thing to another without finishing the first task I started. Just when I think that I’ll have a spare day free from Dr. appts. or other obligations, something happens that throws a wrench into my “Free day.” Does that ever happen to you? I am my husband’s caregiver and he takes up a lot of my time.. I tell him he’s like a kid..just as soon as I get a quiet moment to myself to think or plan, he calls me for one thing or another. I get the most done when he’s in bed late at night, but then I only sleep 4 hr. a night but that is interrupted by sound of the walker bumping into the wall enroute to the bathroom at least 3 times a night. I have to be awake to make sure he doesn’t lose his balance and fall.
I definitely understand! Have you read this? https://www.aslobcomesclean.com/2011/04/how-to-start-cleaning-up-when-you-dont/
As far as the e-books go, I’m hoping to have a traditionally published book at some point, but for now I am self-publishing the e-books. Sorry!
I know a guy who self-publishes his poetry and short stories on CreateSpace, as in they are physical paper books. You could try that.
That’s in my to do list!
After reading your blog this has helped me so much with decluttering, I used to have piles everywhere when I decluttered, and never would finish. Thanks bunches!
A good idea from another blogger is “Crap Baskets”. These are baskets she labeled for each famil;y member and in her house she keeps them on the main steps. Everything she finds that does not belong in the downstairs part of her house goes into the appropriate labeled basket and MUST be taken up by the person who the stuff belongs to. I can’t remember the “penalty” for not carrying your basket up; putting the stuff away and bringing it back down but–I am sure you can work that out!
IF you don’t have handy steps you could always use a bench or a shelf–anyplace that is SEEN by your family.
Part of my problem–and I admit–I DO have a serious “Stuff” problem!!!–is that I am handicapped and seem to have never “caught up” with the effects of this on my surroundings. Oh and the fact that after we THOUGHT the kids had LEFT we got TWO of them back–and one brought a husband two dogs two kids and ALL of THEIR stuff. And NONE of us is “Naturally neat”. Sigh. But I have no balance so carrying things is hard. And asking others for help is even harder for me to do–just not made like that. I will say—-if you can—have some one ELSE do some of this. We had a fridge spill and a friend of my daughters tackled it and tossed a LOT of old take out and general un-needed STUFF out–and now it IS easier to KEEP it neater. Because I cannot hang over the fridge and peer in without falling over this is a tough one! But I CAN keep stuff OUT if I can SEE what is IN there.
Perhaps all these other adults and smaller people living with you could be assigned the difficult-to-do tasks instead of “helping”. They live there too, and it is in their interest to have a tidier home and a cleaner fridge. Don’t ask; tell them what their task will be.
Yes, that would lighten your load so much. And they’d feel like they’re contributing. Don’t let them use the “too busy” excuse, because if they lived in their own home, they’d have to do it as well. Plus lots of other stuff. And if you’re not made to ask for help, you can also try to change that. Perhaps if you wrote it up like a contract, it wouldn’t feel so much like asking for help;. Do they pay room and board? If not, sweat equity is the next best thing. Treat them like adults.
Being disabled sucks.
Sometimes I’m in too much pain to actually walk.
If I must, I sit on the floor & just dump out a box. I use laundry baskets as temporary homes for things that will travel together based on their eventual destination.
One of the most helpful things I’ve learned was from the ADHD Reddit. Every day I wear a waitress’s apron with three huge pockets. I keep my phone in there.
As I move around the house, I can put small out of place items in the pockets. The next time I go to its designated room, I deliver the things from my pockets to their homes.
Get an apron with big pockets. Phone charging cords, chapstick tubes, dirty utensils, cat toys, etc. – the small things get delivered much more quickly.
I feel like I’ve been making a lot more progress on the small stuff using the apron. I feel great when I get those tiny feelings of victory.
I still have unpacked boxes from moving 9 months ago, and I’m preparing to move again in the spring. As i follow you & work on my own deslobbification I realized that i have over a dozen “Sort Later” boxes that have accumulated and grown with each move. NO MORE SORT LATER BOXES! … They breed & multiply! I am attempting OHIO IN – OHIO OUT as i start packing this time. Thank you for the reality check!
I have a friend who had some of those boxes that had not been opened since his move in a few years earlier. When it came time to move again, he put those all out for the trash without checking them again, figuring if he hadn’t needed that stuff for those years, it couldn’t be important. I don’t think I could do that, but it saved much time, sentimental angst, and moving costs.
I have always liked that idea, but i have been in & our of these boxes as they have continued to accumulate over the last 6 moves. When i consider throwing them away I realize there are a few very important things buried in those boxes: my grandma’s quilt, the last 5 years of tax documentation, baby photos waiting for their photo album, my wedding ring (yes, i know…). It is much easier to purge this time as i sort the boxes, but they definitely NEED sorting before purging…. this time!
Oh that’s such good advice. I’ve been trying to declutter by having the “sort later” box and well later never seems to arrive. I will definitely be trying the “feet” method. Thanks for sharing…you give me hope!
I am having such a hard time right now with sorting during the decluttering process. The problem I run across is while I’d like to just handle things once and put it immediately away where it goes, sometimes the place it goes is also under a pile of stuff to be decluttered meaning it is impossible to actually put something away at that point. Case in point, I found a box that conveniently has trinkets/decorations from every holiday that I decorate for. Christmas stuff is scattered all over my garage in piles, bags, boxes and on shelves. Easter stuff is neatly tucked away inside storage tubs, stacked under other storage tubs which are ultimately under piles of stuff. I think the St. Patrick’s Day stuff is up in our spare room. Think. So in order for me to just handle the contents of this box once, I’d spend hours locating the homes for each of these things. That’s too much for this slob to handle right now. At this point I need my ‘keep but put away later’ box. None the less, I find it extremely frustrating that I can’t just go put something away where it belongs.
I have a misc holiday box. So when I come across a holiday item it goes in the mixed box rather than taking the random item to the attic and digging past stuff to the appropriate box. Once the box is full or I feel like getting it out of my office I take it to the attic. When each holiday rolls around and I get the specific box out, I also grab whatever items from the mixed box. Ideally my attic would be tidy and every category or boxes would be easily accessible but this works for me for now. Even mixed up and all in a box it is still better for the Easter eggs and st Patrick’s wreath to be together in a box rather than mixed in piles or baskets with dishes and hand me down clothes and junk mail and whatever random stuff is in that box over there.
I really like this philosophy — keep it simple and don’t worry about how much you get done in a given session of decluttering. The whole thing, for me, is about not beating myself up anymore, and just saying, progress-not-perfection, look back at how the apartment used to be, five years ago, and realize how much better it is now. As long as we’ve made SOME progress (greater than zero), that’s a victory, and that makes today better than all those days when the place was messier, when we went to bed at night, than it had been when we got up in the morning. We’ve been living here 8 years, and in that time, have had visitors over exactly once — and that was only a month or two after we moved in, so it was sort of OK that we were still living out of boxes. The goal is to get the place to where it’s presentable enough to receive visitors again — and we might make it!
I just found your blog this morning. When I saw you term it as deslobification, I knew you were the long lost sister I never had. ( And in saying that, I realize that if my mother HAD had two of us, she would have gone to an asylum for relief.) And when I noticed that one of the commenters mentioned your term OHIO, I knew for sure I had found my more organized and much younger twin. I have signs that say PIANO (Put It Away Now, Ok!? I used to say “O’Leary” rather than “OK”, which made it more specific/threatening/gangster-like, before I got married. As if my rationale makes any sense!)
I found you at the perfect time, Sis! Thanks for learning the lessons I still need to learn. From now on, we will meet here regularly.
People like us! You were looking over my shoulder tonight as I tidied, weren’t you! With bad news imminent, our girls are coming home tomorrow, hopefully making it in time see their Grandgathrr for the last time. Hubby got called to the hospital earlier.
So I have to declutter the rooms for the girls and co to stay/ fit in.
I also prefer the put the keeper in its place straight away and then it’s done. A professional I have had help me says three bins/ bags whatever and don’t go running all over the house but stay with that one room. I know enough now to know my way is ok. As long as the space clears. I used to just find a place for everything but I am now out of room to do that. That’s what three households onto one does. Anda husband has always known when I am tidying up – the house looks worse than before I started. Goidnight
I have reading and following your blog for about a year now. I have to say I have made so much progress with your help. You help me to see things in a new light. I feel I have done really well with what I call day to day clutter. My question is how do you decide on stuff that is like decor? I have a large space on top of my cabinets and I hate to see it empty. I started with Atlas jars and its grown to all kids of glass knick knacks. I definatly want to keep some as they are very dear to me. Losing everything in a housefire a few years ago put things in perspective. Sometimes I feel it may be too much and not being able to decide what to do I just clean it and put it all back. Would love to get aome guidance.
I have been caught taking everything out of the cabnets or drawers. Your methods and how to declutter without making a bigger mess has now saved my life. No more messes just progress. Great inspiration. A well developed precess.
I just discovered your blog—and your delicious humor. I downsized last year and moved across the country in the middle of the pandemic—which is nuts all by its lonesome, but was made even worse due to so many “unfortunate” events that, if I was writing the move from hell as a film script the studio would have given me the note that there were six catastrophes too many and completely implausible. Even though I had gotten rid of SO MUCH STUFF, including over half of my furniture AND nearly 600 books (I still had 16 boxes of books when everything came out of storage after four months), I am still trying to figure out where to put everything seven months after moving into my little home. As a perfectionist/slob/procrastinator, I have developed a little game I play with myself: I set the timer on the microwave—usually for 15-20 minutes and put away/pick up 20 things during that time—and, as you recommend, I put even a lone thumbtack away. On a quieter day, I might play this game 4 or 5 times with little breaks in between. I love your two questions and THAT is going to help me with the boxes that are still stacked as I prepare for another trip or two to Goodwill. Thank you!
Awesome! My husband and I recently moved to a smaller house. It was unplanned, my husband and I are physically disabled, but the hardest part was was going through it all on the first anniversary of my father’s death.
I got rid of a few boxes of books, but I was in so much pain emotionally and physically that we just ended up paying movers to pack everything and put it in storage.
Well, we have emptied 3 of 4 storage units into the house so we are only paying for one unit.
But there are boxes everywhere. And dirty dishes. And tripping hazards.
My husband’s condition suddenly became much worse, so he is bedridden most of the time.
So everything – every thing – is on me. Whether it’s scheduling his doctors appointments and my doctors appointments, or picking up the cardboard boxes from frozen meals he left on the counter …
If I don’t do it, ‘it’ will not get done. I’m just trying to keep the kitchen and bathrooms decent, and unpack slowly.
I can’t ’put it away now’. I have laundry baskets assigned to upstairs/downstairs/garage.
When I’m in less pain the next morning, I pretend I’m a mail carrier ‘delivering’ packages.
Things go in the proper room at least, and slowly they migrate closer and closer to its designated home.
It takes so much energy to decide what to do with X or Y, that I often don’t have the mental capacity to decide where the item will ‘live’.
It’s a process. And it’s a different process – I wish I could work it like Dana does.
But eventually things ‘migrate’ closer to their ‘natural habitat’ and get settled in.
Slowly, slowly, slowly.
Your timing was perfect! I was taking a break from sorting when I received your email with the link to this old post. I had a pile for trash, recycle paper, donate items, photos to scan and then trash, plus a “don’t need it, but can I part with it” pile. That last pile is the elephant in the room. I will try again with most of the items and probably end up with a small to medium sized container to take with me when I move in 2 months.