Use the 12-12-12 Method to Finally Declutter Your Home
In my house, “spring cleaning” was kind of a misnomer. We weren’t so much cleaning as we were putting things in order – my hometown even had a day every spring when people were encouraged to throw all their trash on the curb, and the city would pick it up the next day (of course, true proactive people used this as an excuse to drive around at night in large trucks in search of something valuable).
Maybe it’s my upbringing, but I think spring decluttering is better than spring cleaning because it will give you a tidier home all year long. And getting organized isn’t that hard if you have a good system to follow. The 12-12-12 method is a good system.
What is the 12-12-12 decluttering method?
This idea comes from Joshua Becker in the book Becoming a Minimalist . He’s compiled 14 affordable methods you can use to get organized, and 12-12-12 tops the list. It’s simple: every day you find 12 things to throw away, 12 things to donate, and 12 things to put away where they actually go.
Twelve is a good number to work with. It’s small enough to seem achievable, but big enough to pose a bit of a challenge. The first five things you throw away will be simple: find trash and broken items and throw them away. But then continue by being a little more judicious (or ambitious) to reach 12.
Determining the number of items you want to get rid of in advance will help you stay focused on the task and give you a more specific goal, which is key if you tend to give up on a cleaning project when you start to feel overwhelmed. If you exceed 12 points in any category, good for you! But using this metric as a guide can give you a little boost when you’re struggling.
How to use the 12-12-12 method at home
Here’s the thing: Becker’s explanation of this method consists of only three sentences, and one of them is simply: “That’s it.” You have a lot of wiggle room to tailor it to your specific needs.
I suggest going room by room, tackling a new room each day. I live in a studio apartment, so I don’t have “rooms”, but I do have “zones”. During my spring decluttering this year, I chose one per day: from the living room to the dining area, from the kitchen to the bathroom, from the bed in the attic and, worst of all, to the closets. Don’t overwhelm yourself by trying to tackle two rooms in a day – for larger rooms (say a garage), you can even break it up and attack the same room over two, three days or more. (In the spirit of transparency, I’ve been struggling with my closets for a week and a half now.) It’s best to go slow rather than rush, as this is a sure-fire way to get rid of things you might regret later, or get tired of and start holding onto things that are really worth parting with .
Choosing what to throw away or donate can be a daunting task, so I recommend starting with two categories: one is 12 things you need to put back in place, and the other is 24 things you want to get rid of. in some way – by throwing them away or donating them. If you’re having trouble letting go of something early on, call for reinforcements: An objective person, like a friend, will be more likely to firmly (but lovingly) talk you out of holding on to something that isn’t helpful .
I used this method in various ways over several weeks, setting goals for how many things I wanted to get rid of each day. I’ve also added a bonus category: Items for Sale. If you want something to disappear immediately, throw it away or donate it. But if you can hold onto it for a while and it has little value, list it or put it in a pile destined for the thrift store. For example, I sell a lot of bags and shoes on Poshmark , but I only list items that I know I’ll wear as long as someone else finds and buys them. If I really don’t see myself wearing it again (and the resale value is low), it goes into the donation box.
If you’re not sure whether something is worth selling, Google “used” or “resale” to see how much others are selling it for and decide whether it’s worth holding on to until it sells. Many resale sites like Poshmark and Vestiaire Collective will even show you how long someone’s item has been listed so you can get an idea of the demand for it. If the item has been listed for sale by someone else for six months and you don’t want to keep yours for six months, it’s time to donate.
Simplify the entire process by getting a set of storage containers so you can search through each room or area, pre-stuffing items into bins to “throw away,” “donate,” “organize,” or “sell” instead of giving them away. with everything separately. Even two boxes – “Get rid of” and “Keep” – will simplify things. As a bonus, you can use these containers for seasonal storage when you’re done with your big cleaning job.