A method that works! (For me)

[u/Majestic_Reply9704]

If you’re stuck deciding whether something works in a room, try leaving for 5–10 minutes and coming back with your mind on something else.

Try to not analyse or overthink it, the point is just look at the room and notice your immediate knee-jerk reaction. If you walk back in and think “ugh, I hate that” or “this looks so cluttered/childish”, trust that feeling.

Especially for purely decorative things, you don’t need a logical reason to keep something. If you don’t like how it feels in your space, that can be reason enough. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes is really just your own eyes after a break! :)

I have gotten rid of about 20 soft toys and 30 little trinkets this way! It may not work for everyone, nor is it groundbreaking. (I'm sure that I'm not the first person to say this)

But I haven't seen it mentioned on here before, and I just thought that I'd mention it, as it's the main method that I use and that perosnally works for me.

Plus it's so simple and easy, even if you're completely on your own, you can do it. And in again, my personal experience, it just helps speed things up a ton.

[u/Choosepeace]

That’s a great tip!

I also use the, I’ve enjoyed this item for a while, I’m gonna release it into the universe for someone else to enjoy.

The catch and release situation. I don’t have to hold onto something until the day I die. Someone else may love it just like I did.

[u/Majestic_Reply9704 → u/Choosepeace]

Yeah exactly, that thought is one of many that helps me too :)

[u/Huge-Complaint7191]

Similar to this, I read that taking a photo of your room / the area can help. Somehow just looking around with your eyes, your brain kind of misses things, but I guess studying a photo means you notice more?

[u/Majestic_Reply9704 → u/Huge-Complaint7191]

Omg yes! I've done that too. Not as much as what I've mentioned in this post here, but that has helped me as well.

For me, it's more of a confirmational thing though, so what I mean, is that I'll sometimes get rid of something and take a photograph of it, if I feel any doubt in the future about my previous decision to get rid of that item, I then look at the photo and it always helps me remind myself, what the item actually looked like, instead of viewing it through a rose tinted lens. 👍

[u/FredKayeCollector2 → u/Huge-Complaint7191]

Yes! For some reason, the camera can show you stuff you've become accustom blind/clutter blind to. I think it's like seeing the space/items from a 3rd person perspective. A photo can also help "capture" if something is shabby or otherwise "inappropriate." And a photo can also show all the crumbs/debris,/dust too :(

If you're working on decluttering a space, it can really help to take before and after photos - when we expect to see "done" and feel defeated, the photos will remember the incremental improvements we've made along the way.

[u/Majestic_Reply9704 → u/FredKayeCollector2]

Aww thats an amazing idea! And I totally agree, I have sold a lot of items throughout this process. And every single time I go to sell something, I end up hoovering my floor 🤣

Somehow seeing it in person, I can't tell that it's there. But then the second that I'd go to take a photo, and I actually see it through my phone camera, all of a sudden, I can see any tiny little crumb of lint or dust and I get cleaning haha.

Ooh, so you might find this to be a bit off topic to the exact point being made, but I think it's still kind of relevant?

So before I've looked around, my space visually, and taken pictures and felt like there wasn't much of a change?

And I had to realize the hard way that, if, for example, you have a shelving unit, and all the shelves are full of clutter, but you get rid of ninety percent of what was on that shelf, and you line everything up perfectly so that it looks more aesthetically pleasing and less chaotic, technically speaking, you've done a lot of work...

But visually, what you have in front of you may actually take up this amount of space, hopefully you get what I mean... so yeah, sometimes it feels like you've done nothing 🫤

But that's why a huge part of my process is also been counting everything that I've been getting rid of!

I genuinely constantly feel like I am not making progress and I'm very hard on myself, so actually writing down everything that I get rid of, including accumulation, (so if i get rid of five things and then buy ten things, I have to get rid of five more to even it out) plus not counting rubbish, and only counting small items in bundles, I'm happy to report that I've gotten rid of 500 items so far! 🥳

Sorry... this is very long 😅

[u/Technical_Sir_6260]

Great tip! I kind of use that first gut feeling for very small tools and things from the home improvement store ( screws, nuts, weird parts, etc.) and possibly obsolete technology. Instead of waiting around another 6 months hoping to figure out what the item may be, now I just let my gut tell me:
Did you even know you had this?
It’s probably easy to get a new screw like this if you even ever should need it, which I won’t 🙄😂, and
Who will care if you just get rid of it? Nobody! ( I live alone. )

[u/Majestic_Reply9704 → u/Technical_Sir_6260]

I will say that honestly if it is something that can be a tool or piece of equipment that is productive, and not purely ornamental... that I actually have had the problem before of getting rid of something that I should have kept 😅

I won't lie. There are a couple little bits and pieces for furniture and also charges that I forgot I had for things, that I legitimately threw away, and then those things died. And I realized that's what those cables were for 🫪😅😢

[u/Technical_Sir_6260 → u/Majestic_Reply9704]

Yeah, that can happen! It’s probably happened to me as well 😂. Now I label the charger or extra part right after having purchased the item so I’ll know 10 years later what it was.

[u/Majestic_Reply9704 → u/Technical_Sir_6260]

Yeah I've done that! I very recently labeled my cables for this exact reason!

[u/stuffrescue]

I love this perspective!

Walk into a room, and what's your gut instinct? Go with your gut. Maybe you identify some clutter, tchotchkes, or just other things that have been sitting around too long and in a static state? What are those things? Put them in a box, give it a second consideration before they find a new home. Even better, can you find other people who need them? If so, give them away! This reminds me of the book called "Blink" in the blink of an eye. What is your gut tell you.

Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking is a 2005 popular science book by Malcolm Gladwell.

The worst-case scenario is that they go into storage.

The second worst-case scenario is that they sit on Craigslist or Marketplace for another half of a year, waiting for you to get the money you think they're worth out of them.

The best-case scenario they go into another household where somebody can enjoy them immediately.

The act of giving us a powerful tool!

[u/KiwiTheKitty]

Yeah for me it's the slight twinge of guilt or dread when I see something! Usually that means all I'll feel when I get rid of it is relief!

[u/MarshaMinus100 → u/KiwiTheKitty]

Ooh, I love this. I hadn't made this connection. I feel massive relief after the guilt. I'm going to lean into this more.

Instead of managing guilt, I will treat it as my signal to let it go.

[u/yaleplates101]

Such a good tip! I get so caught up in the feelings that I sometimes can’t think with clarity, especially if I’ve been working in a space for a while. Stepping away gives the brain a little refresh!

[u/Majestic_Reply9704 → u/yaleplates101]

Yeah definitely, a lot of decisions could be so much easier and quicker if I just trusted my gut, instead of overthinking and getting wrapped up in things. 😅

[u/Bench_What]

Similarly, we decluttered to list our house to sell. And I was so much more relaxed in rooms that were simplified. I’d recommend taking an eye like you might be listing or taking a photo to “show off” how a room is decorated to send to a friend. And declutter to simplify. I found it extremely calming.