A clutter-free home is a true gift anyone can give themselves. It removes stress, the pressure of undone tasks, and the visual chaos, leaving space for joy, growth, and true rest.
But the act of decluttering itself…is kind of a pain, isn’t it?
Fear not. If you hate the process of decluttering…if you’ve been trying and have burnt out on it…if you just don’t have the time or energy to dedicate to truly digging in, here are ten of my favorite methods for passive decluttering that take little to no effort.
You don’t have to put in hours of grueling work to make progress! It can actually be super easy. Here’s how.
The 10 easiest decluttering strategies for those of us who cannot be bothered.
1. Upside down method.
Best for: Kitchen items.
This works best for dishes, but you can make it work for any category. Simply turn everything upside down and set a reminder on your phone for the end of your experiment–a month is a great amount of time for this method.
As you use, wash, and replace the dish, put it away right-side up. At the end of the month, you’ll know exactly what dishes you used, and you can feel good getting rid of anything that’s left upside down.
This is an effortless way to determine which dishes you actually use. Zero thought required.
2. Backwards hanger strategy.
Best for: Clothes and accessories.
This is a similar method to easily declutter your closet. Turn all of the hangers backwards! I like to do this at the beginning of a season, particularly for clients who swap out their wardrobe seasonally.
At the end of that season (or year), you’ll know exactly what you wore and what you didn’t, then you can pass on the clothes still hanging backwards without a second thought.
3. Use-it-or-lose-it box.
Best for: Bathroom, home office, cleaning supplies.
I use this hack most often for clients decluttering their home office. When they’re just not sure what to keep on their desk, I recommend dropping everything into a box beneath the desk. As they use items, they put them back where they belong. At the end of the period (a week, a month, etc.), they know that whatever is left in the box can be donated!
Similarly, you can use this method for your bathroom items, cleaning supply collection, and any other category of utility items.
4. Donation routine.
Best for: All household items.
This method simply requires leaving a container in a convenient spot. For most of us, it’s by the door, but many people will leave several boxes around the house for convenience (like in the closet, kitchen, etc.).
When you come across an item you don’t want anymore, toss it directly into the box. When the box is full (or on a regular donation schedule), drop it off. This allows you to keep the momentum of your day, but constantly make progress to getting things out of your house.
5. Regifting.
Best for: Clothes, decor, functional items.
This is a favorite of mine–instead of spending money on gifts, double up! Declutter things from your home AND give friends meaningful presents. I’ll do this with books, home decor, and jewelry–basically items that hold their value and quality. For books, I’ll jot in a personal note, or even read it again to make annotations for that particular friend. There are heartfelt little tweaks you can make to keep it an intentional and meaningful gift–without spending money AND while decluttering your home.
It’s a simple mindset shift that can keep the outgoing flow of unwanted items while thoughtfully blessing someone else.
6. Let your friends shop your house.
Best for: Clothes, decor, functional items.
Similarly, you can let your pals mosey on through your home and ask for things they like! This might seem strange (and it is), but it’s a great way to make a lot of decluttering progress without making decisions yourself.
If you want to be more traditional about it, you can host a clothing swap party where everyone brings their quality but unwanted clothes to trade. You don’t even have to keep any clothes yourself!
Swap parties also work well with decor, kids’ toys, and kitchen items.
7. One-in, one-out.
Best for: Clothes, dishes, tools, supplies.
Using the one-in, one-out rule can help you to keep the clutter down and curate more quality items, all with very little effort.
When you bring something new into your house, something old must go. It’s easiest (and most effective) to do this with an item in the same category. Bought a new mug? Get rid of an old mug. Bringing in a new sweater? Out with the one that has snags or a random oil stain you can’t get out.
You’re keeping the newest item and ditching the worst one. It stops clutter from accumulating and helps you to gradually refine all categories you own without a single dedicated decluttering session. Win, win, win.
8. Throw it out when it annoys you.
Best for: All household items.
This is my favorite decluttering hack. If you use something and it annoys you, consider ditching it. Can opener that catches? Bye. Knick-knack that falls over anytime someone walks by the shelf? Toss it!
This helps move items out of the house AND makes your house generally less annoying for you to exist in.
9. Use-it-up decluttering.
Best for: Bathroom, pantry.
Use the bath bomb. Burn the candle. Cook the noodles. Put the extra phone charger in your car. Bring the spare pens to the office. USE STUFF UP! In fact, here’s a whole guide to Use It Up Decluttering to give you a ton of ideas and strategies.
Switching from a hoarder/collector mentality to a mindset of utilizing resources will clear up clutter effortlessly.
10. The Dana K. White Method.
Best for: All household items.
Dana K White has a simple, stress-free strategy for decluttering that I adore. Here’s my interpretation of her steps:
- Pick up any item.
- Ask yourself where you’d look for it if you needed it.
- Either:
- Put it there (declutter the area until there’s space for it).
- Or realize you aren’t going to look for this item ever, and get rid of it.
- Pick another item and repeat, if you want to.
This method goes item-by-item, so there’s no sorting, no clutter piles, and no time commitment. You stop when you’re done, GUARANTEED to have made some amount of progress. You can do it once a day, every time you leave a room, or however often you feel like it.
This is a simple, nearly effortless habit you can incorporate into your day for constant progress. Shoutout, Dana, I love your work. 🙏
BONUS: 11. Use this checklist.
Best for: These 100 items.
Grab our free list of 100 household items you can declutter RIGHT NOW. No thinking, no fretting–just follow the list and check off items as you go. FEEL how much lighter your house is afterward, then use any of the ten passive decluttering hacks above to keep the momentum flowing.
You’ve got this! Happy decluttering. 💜
