It might not feel like spring quite yet, but we’re already having spring cleaning fantasies, in which we fling open the windows and flit about with a feather duster, sweeping a winter’s worth of build-up particles off the baseboards. The problem is, along with dust, clutter also tends to pile up during hibernation season, making it challenging to deep-clean or air-out much of anything. Decluttering is the obvious answer, but the declutter-verse itself is now such a cluttered space—with so many methods and so much #CleanTok content, it can be hard to decide where to start.
That’s why we’re loving a cleanse-like approach that’s like a 7-day declutter-your-home countdown, only you’re actually counting up. Our bite-sized take on the viral 30-Day Minimalism Game, this week-by-week mind game empowers you to start tackling clutter now, without all the usual overthinking and overwhelm. How it works: Choose one room or clutter hotspot (like a bursting bureau or overflowing junk drawer) and make it your focus for one week. On day one, throw out one item. Yes, just one! On day two, toss two items. On day three, three items. On day four—you get the idea. It might sound too easy to make much impact, but by day seven, you will have purged 28 items, which can make a serious dent in most spaces—and seeing this progress will probably inspire you to get rid of more stuff. After the week is over, you can repeat in the same room if needed, or move on to the next.
The main reason that this deceivingly basic method works: Decluttering in designated portions lets you feel an instant and constant sense of accomplishment—rather than spending hours wading through piles of stuff, getting worn down by decision fatigue, and still ending up with a lingering mess. By making decluttering a no-guesswork, low-effort daily practice, you build confidence in the process as the days go by, rather than feeling defeated. You’ll also make real, ongoing progress; unlike 15-minute or one-hour cleaning bursts trending on social media, this method keeps you on a schedule, so you maintain decluttering momentum. Yet this plan is still realistic about your schedule—there’s always enough time to make decisions about a handful of items, whereas a top-to-bottom declutter sesh can easily require a dedicated weekend (and who ever has that?). Ready to get counting? Here are a few space-specific tips that’ll help you apply our clutter count-up to any room or nook, from the easiest to the most notoriously chaotic—plus advice on what to actually do with all the stuff you purge.
Decluttering “easy” spaces
If you’re emotionally scarred from failed attempts to declutter your home, choose a manageable spot to take on this challenge. One great choice is your bathroom—a contained space with limited storage that tends to contain lots of easy-to-purge items (ahem, beauty products that totally didn’t live up to their promise … or cute packaging). It might even be difficult to toss just one overly greasy moisturizer or unflattering brow pencil on your first day. Other easy-and-satisfying zones of the home: an overstuffed linen closet (it’s hard to get too sentimental about sheets and towels), a coat closet or mudroom, or the living room (time to recycle all those non-functional smart remotes!). Another quick start idea is to begin with a category of item rather than a physical space; if you still have every book you’ve ever owned, dating back to high school, editing this collection could have a huge impact on your available storage space.
Decluttering more challenging spaces
When it comes to decluttering rooms like the kitchen or your bedroom, it can be helpful to focus on smaller zones. You could weed through your underwear drawer, tossing any items that are worn-out or ill-fitting. (Read on for ways to keep these out of the landfill.) Other hot zones to hone in on: your junk drawer, your coffee-mug collection, and toy bins in your kid’s room. In the kitchen, you could start with your tupperware cabinet; any container without a matching lid is first to go. (Oh wait, is that basically all of them?) When purging from your pantry, scout out expired items first, then move on to stuff you bought too much of or know you won’t use, and begin to fill a box that’ll go to your local food pantry or your kid’s next school food drive. After you successfully create breathing room in one of these dense and oft-neglected storage spots, you can reset the clock for another week and start to conquer the rest of the room with confidence.
What to do with all that stuff
We always hear organizing pros say that when decluttering, it’s important to clear unwanted items out of the room and out of our house as quickly as possible, to avoid creating new semi-permanent piles—and so we can immediately begin to enjoy the calming results of our efforts. That said, we obviously don’t want to just toss everything into the trash. For wardrobe items that are in good shape, designate a donation box/bin that lives in your basement, garage or other out-of-the-way place, and set a specific date and time on your calendar when you’ll bring these donations in—either at the end of the week, or the end of the month. You could deliver them to a local or national organization providing clothing to people in need, or give them away via your local Buy Nothing Facebook page (it’s standard to arrange a no-contact pickup). Even clothing that’s not suitable for donation needn’t end up in the landfill. Check if your local sanitation department offers textile recycling; if not, search for collection bins from organizations like Apparel Impact, which upcycle clothing fibers into new products. Even easier option: Bring items into a retailer that recycles clothing from all brands, like H&M (yes, they’ll even take tired underwear). Another idea is to order bags from Retold, a company that makes it painless to send away all those one-off socks and tattered jog bras. Got worn-out towels, sheets and blankets going out the door? These should also be diverted away from the trash; visit the websites of local animal shelters, which often collect them to use as animal bedding. Purging tons of outdated textbooks? These can be recycled along with your paper waste, as long as you remove any hard covers first. Electronic clutter can be dropped off for recycling at local retailers like Best Buy.
After sending your excess stuff packing, you might even feel fired up to try the full, month-long Minimalism Game—which involves getting rid of 465 things (!). If that feels too hardcore, we suggest putting our gentler seven-day equation on repeat. You’ll be feather-dusting those blissfully sparse bookshelves in no time.
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