DAY 2: 15 Decluttering Principles & Rules That’ll Help You Tidy Your Home

ApartmentTherapy
ApartmentTherapy Posts: 41

Community Manager

edited September 18 in Decluttering Cure 2024

It's day two of Apartment Therapy's Decluttering Cure! Today, we'll be establishing our guiding principles and setting some ground rules to make decluttering so much easier. A guiding principle can be a word, phrase, rule, statement, or philosophy that will resonate with you and keep you on-track. Share with us below what your guiding principle is!

Comments

  • DanielaAraya
    DanielaAraya Posts: 371
    edited September 17

    Wooo day two! Today is all about setting the tone for your decluttering journey. Whether it's "less is more" or "if it doesn't spark joy, it's gotta go," your guiding principle is here to help you stay on track

    Whenever I start to stray from a goal, I always remind myself to go back to the ‘why.’ So when in doubt, try going back to your guiding principle, and then ask yourself why you joined the Decluttering Cure in the first place. Just imagine how amazing you’ll feel on day 14 🤩

  • Hollis
    Hollis Posts: 11 ✭✭

    I love all the guiding principles from the article!! I think I might write down a few and keep them above my outboxes as a reminder.

    Another one I've come back to over the years is a Zac Brown lyric: I've got everything I need, and nothin' that I don't.

  • akinnyc3405
    akinnyc3405 Posts: 2

    What lovely guiding principles! I often use the concept in leading workshops: I never thought to apply to decluttering. How helpful! Mine will be...it won't be perfect in one day!

  • nichole1801
    nichole1801 Posts: 1

    I like Lisa’s principle from Organize 365 that if it talks back to you, it’s gone. I first used it to toss a pair of pants that had been in my closet for a decade and never fit quite right. ‘Yackety yack, don’t talk back’ is a whimsical reminder.

  • As a Taurus rising, "useful and/or beautiful" is a good guiding principle for me. I am so ready to declutter my stuff! I was quite "minimalist" before my kids came along—but the 4- and 2-year-olds sure accumulated a lot of stuff…and somewhere along the way my spouse and I lost our minimalist ways. Now our home is full of SO MUCH JUNK that I have to manage. Some days I fantasize about putting all our stuff in a pile and burning it just to start fresh. I think that means it's time for a change! This Cure couldn't have come at a better time.

  • abi2513
    abi2513 Posts: 1

    I’ll be moving house soon having been in this flat for 20 years. I’ve not really found any decluttering guidelines that work for me until discovered the one that I will be using. It was in an ADHD tips article. The guiding principle is “if this got poo on it, would you wash it off or throw it away?” The second I saw this I was able to look round my belongings and separate them into keep or throw with a clarity I’ve never had before 😆

  • mymanchome
    mymanchome Posts: 1

    Mine is: decluttering doesn't just happen once.

    Even if you're a tidy person who doesn't buy much, it's surprising how much 'stuff' you end up with. It's good to keep on top of it regularly, donating and selling and mending on a quiet weekend at home.