The 80/20 Rule for Decluttering
We get 80% of the outcomes from 20% of the causes. This is the 80/20 rule, also known as the Pareto principle, which I learned about way (way) back in college as it applies to business. Decades later, I’ve learned the 80/20 rule applies to many things in life but can be especially valuable to help us declutter.
How does this rule apply to the contents of our homes? We use 20% of our belongings 80% of the time. Realizing how much of our stuff we actually USE gives us the understanding of how much we really NEED. In reality, that extra 80% of stuff in our homes can actually block us from finding and using the essential 20% and will increase the work of keeping our homes clean and tidy. Have you ever stayed at a furnished condo or VRBO home on vacation? Did you notice how those vacation homes are furnished with only the essentials and nothing extra? If you find yourself being more efficient and feeling calm in those environments, the 80/20 rule can help you streamline your home.
Begin by evaluating your possessions to determine which items you use most frequently. These are the items that you should keep front and center and this is where you invest organizing time and dollars. Once you've identified the essential 20%, it’s much easier to see the less essential items in our homes. How deeply we need to declutter into that remaining 80% depends on each unique client situation but here are some ways to put the 80/20 rule into decluttering action:
The 80 / 20 Rule in Action
We wear 20% of our clothing 80% of the time. Reversing coat hangers at the beginning of the season will provide a visual example of what we never wore and helps make it easy to edit at the end of the season.
Box up excess kitchen items - If you need an item from the box, pull it out and find a more permanent home for that item. After 6 months, review the contents of the box and donate what’s left.
80% of the paper in our homes is never looked at again. Instead of printing or saving paper, ask yourself if you can find that information online or if you will ever really look at it again. Reduce the overwhelm of existing paper by recycling this ‘might be nice to have this info’ paper first.
Only 20% of our digital photos are really worthy of keeping (we are all taking pics of shampoo to remind ourselves to buy more next time we are in Target). Use your phone app to ‘favorite’ the best 20%. By seeing these favorites visually on our phones, it becomes easier to delete the less desirable photos from the remaining ones.
The 80 / 20 rule provides a lot of comfort when dealing with the uncertainty and overwhelm that can slow us down when decluttering. When we identify the most important and most useful items in our homes (the 20%), we gain the confidence to let go of what is not as useful. Clients often tell me that by focusing their organizing efforts on the essentials, the things they use the most are easier to access and they feel less overwhelm in their homes. Clients also see changes to their purchasing behavior. They don’t feel as much pressure to make “just in case” purchases and save money in the long run. This also greatly reduces the work of keeping their home organized as they are not constantly processing these just in case items.
The 80/20 rule helps us maintain a tidy and functional home, making daily life easier. Focusing our organizing efforts on the essentials makes us more productive as we can enjoy our spaces without unnecessary distractions.