Different ways to declutter in 5 days

Last week I posted on how to clear the clutter of your home on Facebook and Instagram. 

Here is the compilation of those posts:

There are so many ways to declutter that finding the right one for you and your family can get overwhelming. So, every day for the next 5 days I will go over one new way to declutter.

Day 1: Fly Lady 27 Fling Boogie

I came across Fly Lady over 10 years ago - her method of doing a little every is something I still do. It's a great way to keep from getting too overwhelmed in clutter.

What the it is:

Walk around your home looking for 27 items to throw away, recycle or give to charity. Everything counts even receipts lying around, a stack of old magazines, broken dishes etc.*

This works great if you just feel overwhelmed with the clutter in your home and want to get started somewhere.

If you want to try this today:

• Get out 3 bags - one for trash, one for recycling, one for charity
• Set your timer for 15 minutes
• Grab 27 items that you no longer want in your home

I did this earlier today and honestly was able to find 27 items before the timer went off. My suggestion is to just look around at what is out in the open and don't go after items that are sentimental.

*Everything counts as in everything that is yours - if it's your partners or child's items, leave them be. If they want to join you in the boogie, those items are their responsibility.

Day 2: The Closet Hanger Method

This method is probably the most passive way to sort through your clothes. There is also a similar idea called the Ribbon Technique which I will also explain.

What it is:

For the Closet Hanger Method - you turn all of your hangers around. Once you wear an item, you turn the hanger it is on so it's facing the normal way.

For the Ribbon Technique - at one end of your clothing rod you tie a ribbon. You designate what side of your ribbon is for worn clothes and which is for unworn clothes. As you wear items, you put them on the worn clothes side.

For both options you decide how long you want to go before you give away what hasn't been used - 3 months? 6 months? It's all up to you.

This works great if you have a ton of clothes that you have had a hard time clearing out. It's quick to set up (it took me less than 15 minutes last night). But obviously it takes a while before you see the results.

Day 3: The 90/90 Rule

If you have a lot of random things around your home that you don't need or really want but are having a hard time saying goodbye to them, this might be for you.

What it is:

For each item, you ask "have I/my family used this in the last 90 days? If not, will I/my family use it in the next 90 days?"

I just did this tonight and got rid of a box of stuff. My suggestion would be to set a timer, pick a specific spot to go through, or just decide you are going to find a certain number of things to say goodbye to using this method.

Day 4: One Item a Day or The Minimalist Game

The concept is the same for both one is just longer than the other.

What it is:

One Item a Day - it's pretty straight forward - you remove one item from your home a day. It doesn't seem like much but after a year, you will have removed 365 items from your home. You can do more than one item but the general idea is that you remove something every day and you don't overwhelm yourself.

The Minimalist Game - for this you start on the first day of the month and remove one item. On the second day you remove two, on the third day you remove three and so on. By the end of the month you will have removed at least 406 items (depending on how long or short the month is).

I have never done the One Item a Day idea but I have done the Minimalist Game with friends and although it was fun (yes, I said fun), it was also hard finding so many items by the end of the month. But it can be done and it's definitely more fun when you do this with your friends.

Day 5: Packing Party

I saved the most extreme way of clearing clutter for the last day. If you are seriously tired of clutter and someone who likes to go all in, this might be for you.

What it is:

You invite friends over and pack up all of your items as though you are about to move. You will want to mark on each box what is in it - because when you need something, you remove it from the box. If there are items left in boxes in 3-6 months, you get rid of them.

This is a lot easier to do if you don't have young kids and if everyone you live with is on board.

It's the most extreme but it's also the one that definitely gets rid of a lot of clutter.

Best of luck! Let me know which one(s) you did and if you liked it(them)!