The Best Declutterring Tips Our Editors Learned This Year

December is a time of excess, but for many of us, clutter is a problem year-round. Our junk drawers are multiplying, our closets are bursting, and we suddenly have five whisks (when and how did we gather that many of the same utensil?).Our editors spend all year researching and writing about the best ways to keep clutter to a minimum, and this year we’ve found some incredibly helpful tips and tricks. We’ve talked about ways to pare down your cleaning supplies, offered tips for keeping your counters clutter-free, and even asked some tiny home owners about how to keep clutter at bay. Among all of this, we did find some favorites. Here are the 10 pieces of advice that totally changed how we think about decluttering this year.

Start Small

Decluttering is often thought of as a marathon project, but there are times when it’s a sprint! Instead of looking at the whole home, tackle one very specific area like your sock drawer, refrigerator drawer, or your medicine cabinet. Finish this one teeny tiny little area and be done for the day. It’s a step in the right direction!

Put a Number on It

You may realize that you have too many shoes or too many pairs of earrings, but how many do you really have? Go through and count. If you have over 100 pairs of earrings, that means you could wear each one only three days a year. Our guess is that there are some you never wear, and some you like wearing for weeks on end. If you’re not planning on doing that three-day rotation, it’s time to donate some of your least worn (or not worn) pairs.

Try the No-Contact Approach

Decision fatigue is real and it happens faster than you think. So if you *think* you don’t need an item but can’t quite force yourself to give it away, try the no-contact approach and stash it in a box. Put a date on it (a month, six months), and if you haven’t used the item by that date, it’s time to let it go.

Treat Yourself

Most people don’t look forward to decluttering, so you have to find ways to make it more appealing. Save an episode of your favorite TV show to watch only when you’re going through that overstuffed closet or make a playlist of your favorite songs to listen to while you work.

Set a Timer

Anything is doable in short increments, decluttering included. Instead of tackling everything at once, set a timer each day for 15 minutes. Use that short window to go through your items and toss or donate some things you don’t need. As the days go on, you’ll strengthen your decision-making muscles and it’ll get easier.

Employ the One-In, One-Out Rule

We all have a finite amount of space (some of us much more finite than others), so while it’s fun to keep buying new things, eventually you won’t be able to fit them all. Even worse, everything will look messy and the stuff you really need will be hard to find. To keep clutter at bay, toss or donate one item for every new item you bring into your home. New coffee table book? Donate a different one. New work dress? Donate that one in the back of your closet that you haven’t worn in years.

Check Expiration Dates

This occurs to us with things like refrigerated foods (we’re looking at you, yogurt) but rarely with anything else. However, many items in your home do expire, both edible and nonedible. Go through the list below every six months and toss items that are past their prime.

• Spices
• Medication
• Makeup
• Batteries
• Sunscreen

Only Allow Yourself One Junk Drawer

We all have that one drawer that’s filled to the brim with an assortment of odd things, and that’s OK! You should definitely go through that drawer every few months and pare down, but it’s alright if you have a tiny space that’s dedicated to disfunction. The trick is keeping it at just one drawer. If you have one messy drawer in your bedroom, one in your kitchen, and one in your office, these places suddenly become a messy catchall for each room, which nobody needs. If you notice there are a couple of drawers like this in your home, categorize the items in each and see if they can be put away in a more specific place.

Do an End-of-Season Audit

It’s tempting to throw all your Christmas decorations in a bin at the end of December and call it a day until next year, but this is actually the perfect time to take a beat and get rid of some stuff before packing it back up. Which ornaments didn’t you bother taking out this year? Were any light strands broken? Toss them now before you forget. The same thing goes for summer stuff—which swimsuits didn’t you wear and what pool floats have leaks in them?

Give Yourself Permission to Break Up a Set

It’s fun to collect things, but decidedly less fun when you have lots of collections, most of which no longer interest you. Instead of stashing the whole lot, keep one piece to remind you of that time in your life and that passion. Donate the rest.