It’s tough to clean up around the house when you have too much stuff in the way, and that’s where decluttering comes in. Decluttering can be overwhelming because we’re not even sure where to start, so we end up putting off the task, which makes it an even bigger job when we actually get around to doing it. But a technique that’s going viral on TikTok may be able to help you streamline your stuff without getting overwhelmed.
Pro organizer Kayleen Kelly’s Core 4 decluttering method is a big hit on “CleanTok,” with how-to videos racking up over 23-million views. To use it, she advises starting with small spaces and doing each of the 4 steps in one room before moving on to the next. Here’s how it works:
- Step 1: Clear out - Remove everything and put it in a pile. Toss any trash, then focus on getting cabinets, table space and other storage areas completely clear so you can fill them in a more organized way later.
- Step 2: Categorize - Now it’s time to sort that big pile of stuff into smaller piles. You’ll need a bin for each category, whether it’s your clothes, pet supplies, makeup or whatever.
- Step 3: Cut out - This is where the process gets more challenging because you’ll need to go through each of those bins to decide what can be thrown away or donated. You may want to have a bin for clutter that you put in “purgatory,” full of stuff you’re not sure about getting rid of yet, so you stick that bin somewhere like the garage or attic for a month to see if you can live without those items. The goal with this step is to shrink the amount of stuff in each bin.
- Step 4: Contain - In this step, you reassess the bin situation. The bins themselves are important because they’re not just for holding your piles while sorting and decluttering, they’re what you’ll organize and store everything in going forward.
- Maintenance - You’ll need to repeat the Core 4 technique every once in a while, focusing on the “cut out” step and dumping the bins and going through the stuff inside to keep it all organized.
Source: Lifehacker