Leo Babauta from zenhabits is a good source to go to.
Decluttering was a personal struggle for me, that I think to have handled now.
Here my current model for how to de:clutter. Note that I mix actual experience with theory, also some might not be universally applicable. Also I don’t know which points to elaborate on and which are obvious.
Preface:
Order is a process, not an end state!
Much progress is achieved early on. Like optical decluttering the visible areas, when everything is nicely boxed up. (80:20 principle)
Tools:
I use stackable plastic containers like these. The important factors are the volume that allows to store all kinds of things, transportability by hand, and the possibility to stack them onto them self.
Lots of garbage bags. (Get some of the big ones, some the smaller once9
It might be a good time to install more shelf space
Timing
Depending on your schedule you can use like half an hour each day, or some hours once or twice a week to attack it, and make as much progress as possible. Use a kitchen timer.
Get family involved if applicable.
Target areas
Choose a room, or an area smaller than a room to attack.
Common rooms or your own are best. (I think that parents should not clean up their kids rooms, safe for fire and health hazards.)
If you are into planning, make a list of all areas and their order, so you can cross them off. Find out which parts of the process give you pleasure and optimize accordingly. (Some people find it helpful to know exactly which steps to take, some get anxious from it. It helps to know which one you are.)
Maybe clean floor space first. And tables.
Depending on level of entropy you can go in one swipe, or do multiple rounds.
Methodology
Put everything that is obviously to throw away in a garbage bag.
Put everything else into the boxes. You can do a lazy general sort here right away, but its not necessary. If you do label the boxes with the tape + pen.
Take boxes out of the area.
Clean the area.
Think how you generally want to to lay it out.
Put stuff back into the area.
Leave everything else in its respective box, till you get into the area where it belongs.
In the end you should have some thematic sections. All office supplies in one place, all electronics. All tools etc. Make your own categories!
In general I find I helpful to know where an item belongs. It should be clear without much thought.
Appendix:
The way to declutter differs widely along what kind of stuff you actually have lying around. Some general pointers:
children toys should have their big box, where they go
work related papers should be packed into folders together alongside projects
(physical) mail needs its one place to go into
electronics should not block the living space
it pays to think about how to arrange an area. Maybe an inefficient design contributes to a higher ugh
Many, many are the times I’ve set aside time to properly clear up and found I’ve spent an hour sorting through one stack of papers…
I’d suggest: start with the big things first. You can sort which papers to keep and which to throw after you’ve picked up the bigger things and put them in boxes out of the way.
There’s a huge amount of relief in cleaning up even just the easy 80% of the clutter, so tackle the low-hanging fruit first and leave the details for the second pass.
Maybe to much of it. From the reactions so far it seems not to be too useful in practical terms. I guess the amount of hacks acquired by any one person is difficult to transport onto others.
Leo Babauta from zenhabits is a good source to go to.
Decluttering was a personal struggle for me, that I think to have handled now. Here my current model for how to de:clutter. Note that I mix actual experience with theory, also some might not be universally applicable. Also I don’t know which points to elaborate on and which are obvious.
Preface:
Order is a process, not an end state! Much progress is achieved early on. Like optical decluttering the visible areas, when everything is nicely boxed up. (80:20 principle)
Tools:
I use stackable plastic containers like these. The important factors are the volume that allows to store all kinds of things, transportability by hand, and the possibility to stack them onto them self.
Lots of garbage bags. (Get some of the big ones, some the smaller once9
Tape that can be written on + marker pens.
It might be a good time to install more shelf space
Timing
Depending on your schedule you can use like half an hour each day, or some hours once or twice a week to attack it, and make as much progress as possible. Use a kitchen timer. Get family involved if applicable.
Target areas
Choose a room, or an area smaller than a room to attack. Common rooms or your own are best. (I think that parents should not clean up their kids rooms, safe for fire and health hazards.)
If you are into planning, make a list of all areas and their order, so you can cross them off. Find out which parts of the process give you pleasure and optimize accordingly. (Some people find it helpful to know exactly which steps to take, some get anxious from it. It helps to know which one you are.)
Maybe clean floor space first. And tables.
Depending on level of entropy you can go in one swipe, or do multiple rounds.
Methodology
Put everything that is obviously to throw away in a garbage bag. Put everything else into the boxes. You can do a lazy general sort here right away, but its not necessary. If you do label the boxes with the tape + pen. Take boxes out of the area. Clean the area. Think how you generally want to to lay it out. Put stuff back into the area. Leave everything else in its respective box, till you get into the area where it belongs.
In the end you should have some thematic sections. All office supplies in one place, all electronics. All tools etc. Make your own categories!
In general I find I helpful to know where an item belongs. It should be clear without much thought.
Appendix:
The way to declutter differs widely along what kind of stuff you actually have lying around. Some general pointers:
children toys should have their big box, where they go
work related papers should be packed into folders together alongside projects
(physical) mail needs its one place to go into
electronics should not block the living space
it pays to think about how to arrange an area. Maybe an inefficient design contributes to a higher ugh
Lots of good advice here!
I’d also add: don’t get bogged down in details.
Many, many are the times I’ve set aside time to properly clear up and found I’ve spent an hour sorting through one stack of papers…
I’d suggest: start with the big things first. You can sort which papers to keep and which to throw after you’ve picked up the bigger things and put them in boxes out of the way.
There’s a huge amount of relief in cleaning up even just the easy 80% of the clutter, so tackle the low-hanging fruit first and leave the details for the second pass.
Maybe to much of it. From the reactions so far it seems not to be too useful in practical terms. I guess the amount of hacks acquired by any one person is difficult to transport onto others.