5 Decluttering Methods That Work - Which one do you like best? 

I liked the placemats!

Me too. ：)

Omg!! I love u kimstube, I was reading ur comment 5 seconds after I told myself I've got to get up and start this process instead of being so great at watching them declutter &writing down all the tips.. I literally lmao when I read ur comment ... That is me to a tee... But don't u bet we're totally AWESOME at watching these decluttering videos... We could start our own RU-vid channel teaching people how to watch these videos well... Lol! Thanks so much for the laugh I needed it!!! Ur a girl after my own heart!! 🥰😂

this is so true for me too & I appreciate you saying it because it made me think about how to translate into action & I decided I need to pick one thing/tip & do it for 20 minutes or whatever seems realistic & then I think of a reward I can look forward to at end of that time & it worked to get me started… sometimes I can continue on longer, sometimes I break for reward & then set up a second session in same format - in any case it has helped so thank u!

LOL!! Ummmm….me too! Hopefully we’re normal.

Set a timer for 15 minutes and just go. Getting started is the hard part. But then don’t burn yourself out!

Yep! Sad but true!

Me too. It makes me think when I see sales now and ask myself do you really need it and to say no I makes me smile now.

I feel this and see the $ I wasted. I've avoided impulse shopping thanks to COVID19. Huge difference it has made.

Yes. I feel the same way!

Same!!!!! 😬

Love this!!

This was how we tended to tidy when I was a child.. but the box would feel intimidating, filled with so many categories of objects. Not a good method if you have issues with executive function ♡

I want to do this... but I never get back to it and then I might miss important documents. But I am a cricket clutterbug that needs to deal with everything now or I forget it like a bee or butterfly might if it is out of sight. I reorganized some stuff recently and can't find something because it had a permanent home, and I moved it and can't remember where.

That is me!!!

@@sophiesong8937 I couldn’t agree more. As someone with ADHD, I end up with 50 boxes of random stuff and I end up stashing the boxes away and buying the same things over again when I struggle to find things immediately.

Right?!? Love that lady 😁

Erin K. “... still doesn’t count!!! 😂🤣😂

🤣🤣🤣

She is super awesome, right?

😂🤣😂🤣

This is so me,so I have to complete one task at a time.

You are sooo not the only one.

That is the no mess method in my house. It is why I rarely get anything done. Plus, more opportunity for my kids to need help with... something

OMG I thought I actually had a mental issue because of that problem.. actually went to the GP and she suggested I get tested for ADHD by a psychiatrist..turns out I'm just an average mum..

I found motherhood always had me on standby to help the family. Getting projects done was a major accomplishment for me! Maybe there are seasons where one thing works better than at another time. (We just moved - it’s different for me than other times.). See my note 📝 if interested.

I think that you mean " promPTs." Or points?

Kathaline Hansen no- props makes sense. It gives her credit- not reminders.

Haha, yeah girl! I'm so ADHD with cleaning, you get those steps!

Yup

I’m going to try this 😅

Great way to deal with the paper issue.

Same here. I got a lot of paperwork to go through, so now I have a folder designated for what I need to shred. It's very helpful.

Agreed! I used to pull everything out and be left with crazy messes for days or months over and over again. Now I think..."do no harm." It helps. I still love pulling things out and organizing, but at the end I scoop it all back where it went. If I didn't get far, I don't worry about it because sometimes it's just for fun (makeup or earrings).

That's the truth!

G E N I U S 😂

Yes! Although I run the risk of finding the stuff I gave them to put away being randomly dumped on the floor when they got distracted by something shiny. Distraction is so important. Yesterday I tragically discovered our deep freezer hadbeen switched off and I had to spend an hour throwing virtually everything out. Adding insult to injury, my kids decide to do some painting while I was busy. Oh the humanity!

You might want to check out Dana K White - her method sounds really similar to what you're doing, and her motto is "Better is Good".

KC Davis with struggle care is also amazing. She has a book called how to keep house while drowning. She focuses on teaching that cleaning is morally neutral, and you're not a bad person when your house is a mess. She also has a serious on digging out of your depression house. She uses a 5 things method of cleaning. Trash, dishes, laundry, stuff that has a place, stuff that doesn't have a place. And doing one thing at a time

I like that mind set of Death Cleaning too. We don't have children so who knows who will go through our stuff. Nonetheless having recently lost my mother I am very aware of the amount of thngs we hang on to for no reason. The sentiamental things will make very little sense to other people, eg a full tin of spam. So that is in a box that will be marked to throw out along with other personal things that I can't quite let go. I also like the bin/recycle/donate/sell/doesn't belong technique.

So basically it's asking myself "Would I want my mom or daughter to find this if I died tomorrow" method...

@@MsAngeldrake yes I would say that question is perfect for very personal sentimental stuff eg letters and diaries, photos.... .. But for the rest of the categories in the Swedish Death cleaning method you just have to ask yourself "would they really want it? or is it just important to me?"... So for the other stuff eg I have collected things on my travels which are decoration in my house and have sentimental value to me to eg paintings, sculptures, furniture etc. To me they are important because it was from my travels, but it was not their travels. So I have written a letter to them, which states they are free to get rid of it all, unless they really want to keep something of it- but they should not feel that they have to keep it "just because it was special to me!" And for the remaining categories .. Which I used eg the ConMari method to declutter, I told them in the letter I only have those things out of necessity eg kitchenware etc.. And they should also not feel they have to keep any of it.. They should just sell/donate/trash it! Important is that you "give your family the right" to get rid of all your stuff!... So they don't feel "guilty" about not wanting it. Then they feel OK about getting rid of it! I only have one extra part in my letter.. Because my children are still young (8 and 15).. If I suddenly died tomorrow.. I have asked that the things in my sentimental category eg photos, some of my travel stuff which I know they love and has meaning to them to (I included a list with my letter) should be kept for them until they are 24.. Then they can decide what they want to keep.. And my photos from family and my life they should keep until they have their own kids... Because I have learnt from all the minamalism channels I watch that millennials are quick to throw everything out.. But when they start having their own families/kids.. They wished they hadn't and wished they had some of the sentimental to show their kids! Hope this helps you.. Good luck🍀

@@rebeccarendle3706 you just helped me in so many ways. But the fact that I've had a brain tumor for the last 15 years and I'm supposed to have a living will, which I still haven't done only because I didn't know what to put. I just figured my stuff will fall on my daughter and if my mom is still with us; she'd get what she wants or it'd just stay the same in my family home til someday my daughter let's go of it. I'm starting to allow myself to change things and let go of my grandparents stuff. The decorations on a wall my grandma put up, paint the walls and design it more for me and hopefully someday my spouse. Some of the stuff I'll keep because they were important to me the family pictures always be displayed and saved I just need to find a good way is store them the ones they do put away; do you have any suggestions on how to save stuff like that ? Also is the ConMari method the letters? If its more can you explain that method for me. The help I get here also is shared with my mom; getting her to help declutter her stuff will save me from a lot of pain that I've already been feeling with the grand's stuff. I've been even finding stuff that belonged to my aunt who passed when I was young.

@@MsAngeldrake Hi again.. Sorry to hear about your brain tumor.. Stay positive and enjoy life as well as you can.. .. And it's great you are changing the home to your taste...enjoy it.. It's your home! All the old stuff from your family... 1) ask your mum and daughter if there is anything they know now that they would like to keep..do not ask about "specific objects" otherwise they might feel obligated to say yes...My mum did this with my sister and I.. She asked us to walk around the house and see if there was anything we really wanted to inherit so she could write/record it in a letter. We told her, and the rest she knows we don't want.. So she can declutter it if she wants. 2) if they decide there are some things they want.. If you don't want them anymore yourself a) give them to your mum or daughter now or b) if they can't take it now, pack the things in a box with their names on and store them somewhere dry.. Eg attic, garage. 3) if you don't want all the pictures on your walls and your mum and sister don't want them (see 1 and 2 above).. Then decide if you would be happy to just photograph them and have the photos of them in an album and then sell/donate or bin the actually pictures. If you love the frames.. You could always keep them and put other pictures in them that you love (either over the top of the original picture or replacing it).. If the frame colour doesn't suit your interior design colour scheme then paint it to suit your style. That way you still have a part of your eg grandmothers picture (which you will remember her by when you look at it) and also you are up-cycling and producing less waste. If you really wanted to keep the pictures, and can't part with them, buy a couple of plastic hang-file storage boxes and store and label the paper and/or canvases flat or rolled in the boxes and store somewhere dry eg attic or garage. Label it "to bin when I have gone" (so that your family know they don't need to keep them! If they look at them and choose to keep something then, that was "their decision" and not due to "obligation " 4) all your photos on the wall, and elsewhere, if you want to keep and display them.. Make a gallery wall.. So they look like 1 big picture and then the other walls are not cluttered.. Or use the same principles as in point 3 outlined above. I have one small gallery wall, all different silver frames on a painted wall different to my white walls. The rest of my photos are all in photo/scrapbook albums... Which I enjoy looking at several times a year with my kids or on my own on a cosy evening. If you still have stuff from your daughter eg memorabilia... Then prep it for her eg. I have 2 big plastic hang-file storage bins.. They have 1 hanging-file per school year from birth to age 20 with photos, cards, crafts etc..in the second one is also a small clip file with all their certificates and school reports (in chronological order). In addition they also have one plastic box each which I put in the bulky stuff eg crafts they made, baby hospital clothes, christening candle etc. Anything that is not flat and can't be put in the hanging file boxes. So when they leave home they each have 3 boxes of their life from birth to 20yrs. Next year I plan to make them printed photo albums for each year (these will go in the bulky stuff box). I have been doing this over the past couple of years evenings and weekends with a drink and film to make it more enjoyable ..now the box system is set up it's easy to put new stuff in the boxes when they have something new they want to keep! I did this with 19 boxes from my childhood/life at home with my parents when I was home with my first child 16 years ago.. It took me a year.. But now I only have 1 small plastic memorabilia ( with the bulky stuff) box and all my flat stuff in chronological scrapbook/photo albums (instead of hanging file boxes, which i have for my kids because it is quicker). If I have the time, when I am through with decluttering and minimalising my house, then I will also photograph everything in these boxes and keep a file... For me as a memory jogger when I am older and just incase they throw their boxes away or loose them later.. Then they will have a reference..😊. I hope these ideas help you some more. Sending love and positive vibes.. Keep going.. It is really liberating! x

Same!

I am the same way. I would never look at the basket again and would probably re-buy the things that are in it because I can't find them.

Ruth Lloyd I can totally relate lol

I like your approach and intend to give it a try!👍🌹

I just throw stuff in one room and shut the door

Great idea!

your kids might grow up to be hoarders

This is brilliant. I will need to remember this with my daughter.

🤣🤣🤣

I did too!

Ha! That was great.

I did too! That would be something i would say even though i know better, lol

Oh yes, please do that.

Oh, please yes! 🤩 I love the idea of the bullet journal, but I'm struggling with finding the best way to use it that I don't abandon after a few days. 😒 I'd love to see your ideas!

Bwahaha!!

Agree but I do love that Cass has such a positive outlook on a gloomy situation

Lol that's funny. But seriously though, who will the insurance company blame? Who will have to make the claim?

I too use Hoarder shows to help me break my hoarding tendencies! My husband thinks I'm crazy for watching those shows. He just doesn't understand the 'pull' to keep things. But the shows help see why that 'pull' is harmful in the long run.

@@carismaloney1377 I find by watching those shows sitting in the middle of the mess, seeing where that mess is headed if I dont figure it out scares the shyt out of me.... I started my pile method because I found myself just shifting things to proper rooms but still need space to give it a proper home. I have gone as far as taking everything out side to my porch... nothing comes back until it has a home, in theory.. I must admit that in the end of an insomniac cleaning fit there is usually a few " catchall" boxes left but over time thats down to 2 small boxes instead of 10 Ihad to find Organization methods that not only worked for me but my Children as well. But L can proudly say there is zero Clothes horde! for the caily kids Messe(my grand kids are 4 and2 and live with me) I sweep EVERY things into a pile. when they See their toys mixed with trash that I m sweeping up they quickly rescue their toys from impending doom. I maY have raised messy kids but my Grandkids tell me to stay" Calm" cause they made amess but promise to Clean it Up!

@@katiedangelo404 Yes, It scares me too! I'm only 48 and I don't want my family to have all the junk around to go throwing either. My 10yo loves her 'stuff' and I'm trying to teach get not to hoard as well. My 25yo doesn't hoard at all.

@@carismaloney1377 I have the same problem with my own kids. I've had to go in and create organization systems my kids could function with. I can proudly say that items like legos, slime making stuff, LOL dolls and all their little tiny peices are finally being loved not hoarded. 3 back packs full of LOL doll stuff doesnt feel ridiculous when its organized. It took 2 years of going after my kids and reorganizing their stuff often without them after they get frustrated they cant find a cherished toy....after 2 years!!!! It is finally clicking. I have 7 people, 3 adults and 4 kids from 15 to 2 in a 1 bedroom space.... we have been minimalizing little by little as I'm headed to tiny house living!!!! And I've succeeded! The standard of acceptable clean is that of my mom who is not a hoarder. Everyone has privacy, everyone has work space, their cherished items, and controled clothing!!!! My kitchen is still busting at the seams, but my adult daughter needs to let me weed the kitchen down more.... and we are preparing for the possible 2nd outbreak coming later this year.... All in all I can declare that thanks to these shows I broke my hoarding habits and when I find myself slipping and lacking motivation I put on that show and get to cleaning..... hang in there and teach your daughter how to store the toys she loves and over time she will start letting go when maintaining those items isto muchwork.... remind her that letting go makes room to enjoy the things she loves

@@katiedangelo404 Thanks. I sure hope She kicks this habit of hoarding. I try to organize it and give her what she needs. I need to help her see the value of 'less'

Four sort is my favorite, too

I think a lot of “Con”Mari is random and gimmicky, so it’s like a con for me. But whatever works for someone and can be maintained is great.

Eboni Tompkins that’s when you put it on the Does Not Belong Bin, so you still have a tidy area, and save it for later. Lol

Eboni, Yes, the no-mess works for me once there are systems and no method really works when there aren't systems.

Sooner than later, my husband WILL notice, even if he hasn't looked at it / for it in more than two years. Honestly I don't know when he wouldn't notice.

Dawn is amazing. I love her channel too.

Same here! Also depends on my motivation to decluttering.... lol

I think I do, too. Years ago, before I had any systems at all in place, I really used the Easter egg method and that always felt so fulfilling and could take only 5 minutes and I would put things straight into my car and take it to Goodwill and that was easy and fun and it would motivate me to do the same thing a few days later. Anything more complicated than that was too much when I didn't have systems. I think because there were things to decide in every single category, but each category also had some obvious things that I didn't have to think about and getting rid of those built the muscles for the other methods.

I'm right there with ya. I'm going to be 40 soon and I know eventually my family home will be mine. Right now my home and will always be my grandparents house. When I moved home to help my mom, there us still ALL my grandparents stuff. I've decided that things gotta go so I can fully cherish my home. That thought helps me when I get overwhelmed, to know that someday I'll have put my touch and I know they'd be proud of me. The part I have to take one day at a time is that I have to learn to let go of the past the stuff, their stuff is only important to me because it was my grandparents. I hope you and I get through this.

@PinkBabyGlam 6989, You got this! Slow and steady will get you to the finish line! I'm still working towards the finish line myself. Getting close, but still a bit more left to do.

And? Which one is it? Please don’t leave us hanging...

I do that too. That is part of the FOUR sort method, so you put away the "Does not Belong" at the end

@@Clutterbug yup. I find that putting away right away districts me. Although sometimes I do both. Put away right away works well for with big objects.

It was fun knowing Joe was involved in your video! Thanks for your great content, as usual.

I thought that, when the drawers were opened!

But why? She’s just throwing out the trash. I assume the mom purchased every item in that entire room.

When I was a teenager, my mum tore all my posters/pictures off my walls and threw out whatever she didn’t like. I’m almost over it - decades later LOL

My older daughter went ballistic when I did a VERY gentle trash therapy on her room. Apparently some of those gum wrappers were sentimental. She just finished college and moved to a different state...it’s probably safe to try cleaning in there again. LOL!

@@michmash7888 my husband moved out of his parents as a young teen to his grandmother's place. His step mom "cleaned it" because she didn't think he was coming back. Husband didn't have a chance to keep any of his stuff because of that. Unless your daughter packed everything away, take caution lol, this stuff is detrimental to relationships :(

I suffer from might-itis as well.

Me too! My house is FULL of "mights"

I'm the same!! 🙄 I invariably end up hanging onto it when I probably should just let it go.

@@thomaslcook1998 awesome idea!

Do a packing party and use the 20 20 rule. If you can replace it withing 20 miles/kilometers and for under $20, pass it along.

I found so much junk in just two drawers, including a BAG of human teeth. Just...why?

@@Clutterbug Save the teeth for Halloween!

I’ve wondered though - is anything wrong with Decluttering in one spot then when you take things to another spot you’re Decluttering a little there. Seems like something we beat ourselves up about but maybe keeping it varied can help with motivation. Just wondering if anyone else thinks like this.

Wendy S. King i do this but it's gathered for a room, take all at once

We don't wear shoes in the house here in Canada. NO ONE wears shoes inside in Canada

@@Clutterbug I mean I do because it’s like ruining your outfit if you take off your shoes lol.

@@Clutterbug I'm from Canada and I do, hahaha 😊

@@Clutterbug shoeless Canadian here, too!

She didn't notice. She would probably have been mad, but I found open candy and soooo much garbage, so no regrets.