Make One Little Addition To Your Closet And It Will Declutter Itself Over Time

Keeping your closet organized is hard. No matter how often you tidy up your items, it always seems like it's back to its messy old self overnight. Shoes get strewn on the floor, clothes are dumped in a pile in the corner, and accessories topple off the shelves. One easy way to make it more manageable is to declutter all the items you no longer like or need. But taking everything out and deciding one by one what to toss can be a daunting task. This is why most of us procrastinate decluttering the closet until things become unbearable. However, what if we told you there is an easier way to get a perfectly decluttered closet without having to remove everything from it? All you need is a cardboard box. 

The key to decluttering your closet without much effort is to put a permanent donation box in the corner of it. This could be a plastic bin, old cardboard box, or any other large container. When choosing an outfit each day, if you find something that doesn't fit well, is outdated, or that you'll probably never wear again, simply toss it into the box rather than putting it back on the hanger. Keep this container at the bottom of your closet for months, waiting until it fills up to the top. Then, once it's full, bring it to the donation center. Once emptied, place it at the bottom of your closet again to fill up once more. Pretty simple, right? Here is a closer look into why it works. 

We usually need to lean on mind tricks in order to convince ourselves to declutter our closets. For example, the Pomodoro technique puts a certain amount of time on a timer, allowing you to stop cleaning once it goes off. Another one of the best strategies for decluttering your home involves using boxes labeled keep, toss, and donate to decide what to do with each of your garments. However, these techniques take time, put you on-the-spot to decide what needs to go, and could lead to decision fatigue. The donation box method, on the other hand, is passive, which is why it works. 

This trick doesn't force you to declutter for a certain amount of time or to make many decisions all at once; instead, it allows you to declutter only whenever you find something you no longer want. For example, if you tried on a pair of skinny jeans and were horrified at how you looked, just toss them straight into the box and move on. Trying on something and hating the results makes it easier to part with the item and feel secure in your decision. Furthermore, this trick allows you to ponder your decisions further. Part of the reason people have a tough time decluttering is because they're worried they'll regret donating the item. This technique, however, lets the donation box sit in your closet for months, so you have time to decide if you really want to part with the item before bringing the box to the donation center.