This post may contain affiliate links, meaning I make a commission if you purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you. Disclosure here.
You know when you first hear about the negative effect clutter has on you, and you look around your home and suddenly realize it’s everywhere? And then you start decluttering, but 30 minutes in, looking at a pile of stuff you just took out of your closet, you’re deeply regretting your life choices?
Well, as it turns out, I could have done my decluttering so much faster had I known these seven easy tricks I’m about to spill.
7 Tips to Declutter 70% Faster
Keep reading below or watch the video:
1. Pick up the rubbish.
Let’s start with an easy win: grab a bin bag and go around your house to pick up the rubbish.
There’s probably loads of it just lying around: wipes that you’ve used, snack packages from your kids, boxes that snacks come in (you can decant those), birthday invites from months ago, cardboard boxes lying around or stuffing up your under-stairs cupboard, or paperwork that you no longer need from past appointments to your GP that are still lying around in your entryway.
All of these items can go. It’s such an easy win, and it can actually give you a lot of space back. Plus, it can help you make some progress in a really short amount of time.
So, go grab that rubbish and take it out of your house.
2. Do it in bite-sized sessions.
By going the bite-sized way, you can avoid decision fatigue, which is something that comes in when we do a long session of decision-making. And during the decluttering process, there’s a lot of decision-making involved.
You have to pick up all of these items and make decisions for each one of them: Am I going to keep this? Am I going to let it go? Am I going to sell it? Am I going to donate it? All of these questions are taxing on our minds after a long session of doing this.
It has been shown that the quality of our decisions actually deteriorates as we do this for a long period of time in one sitting.
That’s why doing small declutters can be way more effective as you can be a lot more refreshed. So just do 15 minutes or 20 minutes—however long you have. Tackle that one drawer, one cupboard, tackle your T-shirts or your jeans.
This way, you are more likely to be realistic with yourself. You’re going to make decisions that will make the whole decluttering process go so much faster in the long run.
3. Use the 1% rule.
This rule helps us reduce the pressure we feel when we declutter and I first read about it in the book “Atomic Habits”. It’s something you can use in lots of different areas of your life, but I have implemented it in my decluttering process.
The rule goes like this: when you look at a room or a space, ask yourself, “How can I make this 1% better?” It’s not perfection we’re aiming for here. You don’t have to have the perfect organization system, the perfect storage bins, or a massive space to store all of your things. We’re just trying to look realistically at the space you have in front of you and figure out how to make it 1% better.
It might be as simple as taking out the rubbish from that space. It might be decanting some of those items into jars or containers. Yes, it might be finding some storage containers to help you with the space. But generally, it’s better to declutter first and then work on organizing systems. Trying to organize clutter isn’t productive and will defeat the purpose down the line.
4. Make it a rewarding experience.
It’s been said in “Atomic Habits” that if you make a task a rewarding experience, you’re way more likely to want to do it again.
So, if you’re trying to create a good habit or get into a new routine, making it fun, pleasurable, and rewarding can help you immensely. Sometimes that might mean putting on some music or turning on a podcast. In a way, it’s kind of like tricking your brain but it helps, and I know I absolutely had to do this in the beginning.
Also, remember to do small declutters so that you can feel accomplished at the end of that short session. This is much better than having a long session that’s overwhelming, leaving you with a huge pile of clothes after taking everything out of your wardrobe and onto your bed.
That can make you feel like a failure, especially because you’re unlikely to have the energy to go through all of those items in one go. What’s going to end up happening is you won’t be able to effectively declutter, and then you’re either going to give up, put everything back, or just end up feeling really bad the entire day. Since you’re not enjoying the process, you’re way less likely to do it in the future.
While we’re on this point, as I’m reading “The One Thing” right now, here is one idea that I found really interesting: creating a new habit is really hard in the beginning.
We often assume we need to be super disciplined to create a new habit and be consistent with it. What we actually need is to only be disciplined and consistent with it in the very beginning, during the habit-forming phase.
Once it becomes a habit, you actually don’t need that amount of discipline anymore because it’s just something you do—kind of like brushing your teeth. It’s the same with decluttering, it does become easier over time.
5. Have a faster outflow.
It often happens that you grab all of these items from your home with the best intentions to get them out. Yet somehow the process of actually getting rid of them seems very lagging and slow. However, that’s usually within our control. We control how fast we get those items out of our house.
So, make it a priority. For example, this week, decide to go to the charity shop and take all of these bags with you to donate them. Or decide and put them on your local freebie Facebook Marketplace group so that someone can come and collect them.
Try to create a process for yourself to actually get those items out—whether that’s donating, recycling, or selling them on platforms like Vinted. Make a commitment to yourself to actually get them out and speed up the process. This approach will massively accelerate your decluttering efforts.
6. Ask yourself questions.
Questions like the ones from “The Fire Method” or “The Moving Method” can really help you evaluate whether an item is truly necessary or if you’re just keeping it because it’s there.
For example, with The Fire Method, ask yourself: “If you lost this item in a fire, would you miss it or would you go out and replace it?” If your answer is no, then it’s likely an item you can let go of.
Similarly, with The Moving Method, consider: “If you were moving and the item was fragile, would you make the effort to wrap it up, package it carefully, and find a spot for it in your new home?” or “If you lost it during the move, would you miss it, or would you be somewhat relieved that it’s gone?”
These questions help you put things into perspective and decide if an item is truly needed or if it’s just occupying space.
7. Declutter on the go.
If you can make decluttering a part of your daily or weekly routine, it will actually speed up the process without it feeling like this massive task that you have to tackle all at once. And for this, you can use the “outbox” I always mention.
For instance, when you’re going through your kids’ wardrobe and you realize they haven’t worn a hoodie in a long time—perhaps because they don’t like it anymore or have outgrown it—you can simply grab that hoodie and put it in the outbox. Then, the next time you’re heading to town or to a charity shop, you can take it with you and get it out of your house.
Similarly, if you look in your wardrobe and see a piece of clothing you’re considering wearing, but it doesn’t feel flattering or you don’t feel like yourself in it, that’s a good sign it should go in the outbox. You don’t need to keep items that don’t make you feel good.
Decluttering on the go is definitely a very helpful method to speed up your path to a clutter-free home.
Incorporating these quick decluttering habits into your routine can make a big difference, turning what seems like a daunting task into something manageable and even enjoyable. This way, you’ll find yourself effortlessly moving towards a clutter-free home.
