lifehacker.com
There are a whole host of decluttering methods you can try, but no matter which one you choose, at some point, you'll you'll be faced with the difficult task of picking up and considering every single item in your space to determine whether it should stay or go. Ideally, you'll do this with a particular criteria in mind, and for a lot of people, that means following the KonMari principle of pondering whether the thing you're looking at "sparks joy." But that doesn't work for everybody, or every object. Maybe you're less sentimental, and more practical. Maybe you already did a round of decluttering and found that too many things "sparked joy," so you're still overladen with stuff. Maybe you just want to shake up your approach and find another way to weed through your belongings. Here are eight other questions you can ask yourself when gauging your feelings of joy isn't cutting it."When was the last time I used this?"This is my favorite decluttering question. It doesn't come from any well-established method or a cleaning guru's book. It's just a sensible, straightforward inquiry that can reveal a lot about the utility of the items you own. I find it most useful in the kitchen, because I'm not much of a chef or baker, but I have a habit of buying things like cake molds "just in case" I ever suddenly get the urge to whip up a confection in the shape of a large bear . When you use this question, you have two options: First, you can consider it a general survey, to determine how often you really use certain items so you get a better sense of your own habits; you can use that to tailor a more structured decluttering plan after that. Or, you can be a little more strict, and set a definitive timeline to determines what stays and goes. For instance, you could set out to declutter a cupboard with the goal of donating or tossing anything you haven't used in three months. "Do I want the job of managing this item?"This question comes from Tessa Hughes, a decluttering pro who posts helpful tips on Instagram Reels. I like it because it functions similarly to Marie Kondo's infamous question about joy, but is a little more realistic. You're still considering the feeling you'll get from interacting with the item in the future, but instead of ruminating over whether it might bring you some happiness, you'll also consider whether it might bring you some dread or a feeling of being overwhelmed. It's easy to hold onto things with the optimistic hope they'll make you happy, but considering whether they'll be drain on your resources, space, or timeanother "job" you have to overseecan help you figure out if you really need to hold onto them. Owning and using things does take up mental energy, after all: You have to clean your stuff, you have to store it, you have to relocate it when you move. All of those involve responsibility and effort, and, frankly, some of your stuff just isn't worth it. "Is this item working or functioning as it should?"It seems obvious that you should get rid of things that are broken or damaged, but as someone who is constantly making vague promises to myself to get things fixed, I know it's not. Similarly to asking yourself whether you want the "job" of managing the item, be realistic about what fixing a broken item will actually entail. I finally accepted the reality that I will not, in fact, ever take my 15-year-old shoes to the cobbler to replace the broken sole on the right one, nor am I likely to seek out a replacement part for the busted SodaStream I inherited from a friend who was decluttering their own apartment. Recently, I put both in the trash. It felt good. "Does this contribute to the life I want?"This question is based on Peter Walsh's decluttering method, which is similar tobut not the same asKondo's. Instead of thinking about the "joy" an item gives you, you should think about whether it has a role in the vision you see for yourself and your space. To utilize Walsh's method, you first create a vision for a space in your home and set an intention for it. For instance, you might want to declutter and overhaul your home office, so you imagine how it would look and operate if it were at its most functional, and you were at your most functional working within it. Having a clear goal for the space and keeping that vision in mind will help you declutter, because every item you go over will either fit into that vision, or it won't."Would I know I had this if I needed it?"The inspiration for this question is Dana K. White's "Decluttering at the Speed of Life" approach, which calls on you to ask yourself two questions: If I needed this item, where would I look for it? and, If I needed this item, would it occur to me that I already had one? Even if you're not following White's five-step method, simply asking yourself if you would even know if you had a particular thing if you needed it can be really illuminating when you're decluttering. It happens to me all the time: I'll find, say, a bottle opener or hex key stuffed in a junk drawer or other mysterious location, think to myself, "Wow, I didn't even know I had this," and then justify holding onto it even though I probably have more stashed somewhere. But if I take a minute to ask myself if I would even remember I had it a hex key in a junk drawer when I actually needed a hex key, the answer will usually be usually no, which makes it a lot easier to get rid of the thing without making excuses for keeping it. "Could I replace this if I needed to?"This question is a distilled version of the Minimalists' famous "20/20 rule." Those decluttering masters suggest asking yourself if you could replace a particular item for under $20 and in under 20 minutes if you discovered had to have it. This works best for smaller items and things you use infrequently. As the argument goes, there is no need to hold onto something you rarely, if ever, actually use on the off chance you need it again, especially if you can't even imagine a scenario in the near future that will call for it. It's much likelier you're just making excuses to not get rid of something, so tricking yourself with reassurance that you could easily obtain a replacement can help you break those bonds. "Do I have something that could replace this?"Another great question to ask when decluttering is whether you have another item that can serve the same purpose. I had a lot of success with this when clearing out my kitchen over the summer. As it turns out, I owned way too many pairs of scissors. They were all shapes and varieties, so I justified keeping them because they "did different things," but that wasn't really true. Simply put, they all cut things. I can only cut one thing at a time, so I can only use one at a time, which means I only need one. Another example I came across in my own decluttering journey: bottle openers. First, I can't remember the last time I drank a from bottle without a twist-off cap (see also: "When was the last time I used this?"), and second, my wine opener has a bottle opener attachment in the handle, so there's no need to hold onto the keychain and tchotchke versions littering my bar table."Would someone else benefit more from owning this than I do?"This is the question I ask myself when I am considering donating or listing clothes or accessories for sale, but it works for all manner of items. When I'm feeling cautious about getting rid of, say, a nice bag, I think about how much I enjoyed using it, question whether I'll reach for it again soon, and, most importantly, imagine how happy another person might be to have it instead. Applying this line of thinking to possible donations is really important: It's easy to selfishly hold onto something "just in case" you need it or because you have a sentimental attachment to it, but imagining someone else benefitting from it can shake you out of that pretty fast. Clothes that no longer fit you or your kids, school supplies, old kitchen appliances, furniture, and things you have duplicates of could all serve someone else better.
