2 New Decluttering Tips To Do Now!

We’ve seen lots of posts giving you decluttering tips that you say (and with good intentions) you will take action on…but never do! Why? Because it requires too much effort.

Well, what if you had 2 things you can do now that don’t require too much effort? Would you do it?

Let’s read on! Here are 2 things you can do now.

First, thinking about decluttering your closet for the new year?

Try adding an empty box to your closet floor. Whenever you go to try something on, you’re probably thinking, “Eh, I’ll wear it eventually” — despite the fact that you hadn’t worn it in months or years — throw it in the box. When the box is full, consign and/or donate the clothing. Once you do, put the box back in the closet and start the process again.

You may be thinking that you’ll probably miss these items, but you won’t. Unworn clothes sitting in your closet do you no good — many times they make you feel guilty, and many more times they make you feel overwhelmed with clutter. It turns out that getting rid of the clothes, makes you feel great. Sometimes you make a few bucks, and other times you get to donate them to people who will wear and enjoy them.

Second, how about decluttering the kitchen?

Have you heard of the Rule of Five? This tip requires a bit more effort, but it’s well worth it!

To avoid choice overload, never have more than five options for anything in your kitchen. Five protein choices. Five snacks. Five types of tea. Anything more than that, adds unnecessary complexity to a routine mental task. Researchers at Caltech agree, though they’re a little more generous; they found the sweet spot for most choices to be between eight and 15 items. More options may seem better initially, but there’s the invisible cost of mental labor to consider. When faced with 24 options, the decision requires more of our time and attention, with little increase in reward.

Note that five isn’t a magic number, it’s what works for your space. You can probably fit five cereal boxes in a Texas-size pantry. For me, the magic number for cereal is one. You might have a totally different magic number. Following this system removes excess from your kitchen, gifting it to a food pantry or gifting it to a neighbor on your local Buy Nothing Facebook group so you don’t have to deal with the anxiety of wasting perfectly good food. 

If in doubt, give us a call or text us at 862-305-0916 to see if we can help! Rosie Cleans not only cleans homes but also organizes them! Our expert organizers help you declutter and develop a system to help you live, well… more organized!

Resources: Apartment Therapy & The Kitchn