7 Rules for Decluttering & How to Decide What to Keep

If you find yourself overwhelmed by too much stuff in your home and your life, it’s time to declutter. These rules for decluttering along with my other decluttering tips will help you decide what to keep so you can begin – and accomplish – this project with confidence!

Remove trash

If you have items sitting around that are trash, there’s no need to keep them, right?

Clean Out Duplicates

I think that another very effective piece of decluttering advice is to remove duplicate items.

Keep What You Use Regularly

If you haven’t used (or touched) certain items within the past year, you will likely not need them in the future either.

Convert Nostalgic Items to Digital Form

My rule for decluttering nostalgic items: take pictures of these items and then get rid of them in an appropriate way.

Release Guilt

Focus on keeping the items you use regularly rather than the emotions that are attached to items as you decide which ones to keep.

Would You Buy it Now?

Find a new home for these items by donating them so that someone else can get use out of them.

When it comes to clearing out your clutter, the most common pieces of decluttering advice tend to center around how to decide what to get rid of when you declutter.