Keep Your House Tidy With TikTok's Simple 'Mailbox Decluttering' Trend

If you're a human being with a home and a pulse, chances are you probably have clutter. As a general rule, an online shopping habit usually makes the pursuit of minimalism harder, but one TikTok user has found a way to fight clutter with clutter. Step aside, 21 item toss and ski slope method; there's a new tactic in the war against encroaching clutter: mailbox decluttering. This technique involves using incoming packages as an excuse to declutter, filling each box with junk to be trashed out or donated before you're allowed to get rid of them. "I've created a new house law that whenever we receive something in the mail in a box, that we then have to fill the box with things we want to get rid of or donate," TikTok user @justmayzthings said (via TikTok).

In the video, they fill a recently emptied shipping box with objects they no longer have any need for; an old belt, a wad of scrunchies, a pair of neglected espresso cups, and some shorts that no longer fit. Every time a box arrives on your porch with something new, it represents an opportunity to clear out some of the old, maintaining a kind of clutter stasis in your home rather than leaving you at the bottom of a formidable pile of questionable Amazon purchases.

Shipping boxes can represent their own kind of clutter, and getting them broken down and into the recycling can be a small but grating thing to add to a to-do list. Packing them full of unwanted items to jettison gives these boxes a new purpose and gives you the motivation to make sure they actually make it out of your home. If you're receiving packages often enough, this can easily turn into a habit you don't think twice about. 

Mailbox decluttering has struck a chord with many users on TikTok. A few commenters found that this was a great second purpose for the regular procession of diaper boxes that accrue in homes with infants. Keeping an empty box out in the open can be a great visual reminder to declutter just a little throughout your busy week. It also represents a low-effort endeavor with a definitive ending — you get to stop as soon as the box is full again. If your boxes are more donations than trash, this practice can help satisfy your desire to get rid of junk while assuaging any paralyzing guilt that might come from the prospect of throwing something away that's still useable.

While mailbox decluttering can be helpful by providing a consistent, visible prompt to take a small, manageable step toward a cleaner home, it can come with its own snags. Professional organizer Darla DeMorrow told Homes and Gardens that it's important to make sure this hack isn't just kicking the chore further down the road. Some may be tempted to fill their car or hallway with cluttered boxes, avoiding the next task of taking them to their final destination.

If you find your mailbox method stalling out when it's time to make the drive to the thrift store, DeMorrow suggests finding a charity like GiveBackBox.com that will provide you with a pre-paid shipping label, turning "a donation box from a doorstop into something with legs," she said. Being proactive about eliminating bottlenecks will make sure this hack really is the timesaver it's supposed to be and will make sure your old stuff really does get a second life somewhere it's needed.