She Spent A Year And A Half Decluttering Her Entire House, And Her Starting Trick Was Tossing Only What Made Her Mad And Needed No Thought

Jane Clark

29 minutes ago

Everyone has stood in the middle of a cluttered house, felt tired just looking at it, and walked away. A woman named Erin says that feeling nearly beat her too, until she found a starting point that asked almost nothing of her.

Erin, who shares her tips at @erin.makehomesimple, says she spent the past year and a half decluttering and organizing her entire house. She had reached the point where she could not take it any longer.

@erin.makehomesimple

She Was Knee Deep In A Home That Never Felt Settled, And She Could Not Take It Any Longer

Erin says she personally loves getting rid of things, but going through an entire home is overwhelming. She describes living in a house she and her family never fully got settled in, and she hit a wall.

She did not have the time or the energy to start, but she knew something had to change. So she skipped the big plan and did something simpler.

“I Just Started Getting Rid Of Anything That Made Me Mad”

Her first rule was almost laughably easy. If she saw an item in a room, a drawer or a closet that made her mad or frustrated, or one she simply did not want to manage anymore, it went.

There was a catch that made the rule work. She only got rid of things she could throw away or recycle. Items that would have forced a decision, like whether to donate or sell, stayed exactly where they were for the time being.

Erin says that choice mattered, because selling and donating take thinking, time and effort. By leaving those pieces for later, she says she instantly created space and felt relief, without an unfinished project hanging over her head.

The First Sweep Built Momentum, And Momentum Kept Her Going

That quick sweep, in her words, builds momentum and gives you the energy to keep going. Her caption sums up the first step: do one quick sweep through your house and get rid of anything you do not have to think about. Toss the trash, recycle papers and remove the obvious clutter. Do not overthink it.

It is a useful reminder that the hardest part of any big project is the first ten minutes. Once the trash bag is half full and a corner of the counter is clear, many people find they want to keep going.

If A Whole Room Feels Like Too Much, Declutter By Category

Her second tip is for homes that still feel overwhelming after the sweep. Instead of going room by room, go category by category. Gather every item of one type in one place and go through it.

Her caption lists examples: books, mugs, water bottles, blankets, plates, toys and pillows. In the video she names plates, forks and blankets as places to start. Once one category is finished, you move on to the next.

She finds a single category less overwhelming than a full closet. It also does something else: you see how much you actually own. Most of us do not realize we have fourteen mugs until they are all sitting on the same table.

Only After That Does She Get “Mini Gritty” Room By Room

After the initial pass through the whole house, Erin says it is time to get more detailed and intentional. That is when she went room by room, closet by closet and drawer by drawer, and cabinet by cabinet.

She is clear that you do not have to be there yet, so do not worry about it. Her message is that small steps add up, and nobody has to declutter an entire house in a weekend.

How To Use Her Plan Without Getting Overwhelmed

Her approach works because it is sorted by effort. The easiest decisions come first, and the hardest come last. Here is a simple way to follow it at home.

Grab a trash bag and a recycling bin and walk through your home once. Take only what is obviously trash or recyclable.
Pick one category, such as mugs or water bottles, and gather them all in one spot.
Keep the things you use and like. Skip the ones that make you frustrated.
Set aside a box for items to donate or sell later, so those decisions do not slow you down today.

Professional organizers often suggest a similar order for a good reason. Quick wins build confidence, and confidence makes the harder choices, like sentimental items and paperwork, feel more manageable.

Setting a timer helps too. Fifteen or twenty minutes is enough to make a visible difference, and it keeps a decluttering session from stretching into an exhausting afternoon. When the timer goes off, you are allowed to stop.

If you do plan to sell or donate, put the box somewhere out of sight but easy to reach, and set a date to deal with it. Without a date, the box becomes clutter of its own.

Why “Not In The Mood” Is A Fine Place To Start

The most encouraging part of Erin’s story is that she did not wait to feel motivated. She started on a day when she had no time and no energy, and she started with the stuff that annoyed her most.

That is the opposite of how most of us picture decluttering, with a free weekend, a label maker and a plan. Her way is smaller, faster and a lot more forgiving, and it took her all the way through an entire house in a year and a half.

If your home feels like too much right now, take the trash out first. Then see how you feel. You can follow Erin for more decluttering tips, cleaning motivation and simple organizing ideas at @erin.makehomesimple.