Jasmine for Miles

There is almost no way to declutter incorrectly, and most of us seasoned minimalists have our own unique way of approaching clutter. Yes, clutter can still happen to experienced minimalists (especially if you live with other people who aren't minimalists in the same way). I like to call my own method "Yes, No, Maybe So" because it not only makes distinct "Yes" and "No" piles, but it allows for some deliberation on more difficult "Maybe" items. How to Make it Work "Yes, No, Maybe So" works best when items are all gathered up as a large category similar to the KonMari method. Think emptying all of the closets out into one big pile of clothing, then sorting from there. There are only a few things you'll need to facilitate the sorting process, and it's likely that you have them all in your home already: The Yes Pile simply needs the existing organizational supplies that keep the category organized. For example, if your category

When I was still new to minimalism and sponging up as much advice as I could find, I came across no shortage of blog posts and articles about decluttering with the "one item in, one item out" strategy. Anyone who understands basic math will realize that a 1:1 discard-to-new-stuff ratio isn't decluttering at all. What's more is that it is not a good starting point for new minimalists, and trying to "declutter" this way will only end up in frustration. Of course, it's not all bad, and I'll explain the bad as well as the good with this particular method. When One In, One Out is not the best strategy One In, One Out is not a helpful strategy for someone who's just starting a decluttering or minimalism journey. To meaningfully declutter, we need to get rid of more stuff than we bring back in--plain and simple. There will come a point when each minimalist has decluttered and discarded enough that they have reached the right amount of things to have, bu