13 Extreme Decluttering Tips: Transform Your Home and Life (2024)

If you’ve been decluttering for months and making no significant or visible progress, extreme decluttering might be just what you need to speed your way to the spacious, relaxed home you crave. Perhaps you are preparing to move or downsize and need to dramatically reduce the number of belongings you have.

Extreme decluttering is a process of rapidly removing unnecessary items from your home to create a more organized and simplified space. It’s a fantastic way to reduce stress, improve your mental health, and create a more enjoyable living environment. It is not for the faint of heart though, so if you prefer a slower pace, try these quick and easy clutter-clearing tips instead.

Before you begin, set your intention and create a vision board

Taking some time to make a visual image of what you want to achieve will keep you focused and motivated. You can cut out images from magazines or make a collage with Pinterest and print it out or tack them on a bulletin board or poster board or piece of cardboard. Include pictures of the type of home environment you want to create. This will help you stay motivated and focused on your decluttering goals. Make sure your vision board is somewhere visible like your bathroom mirror or fridge door so you plant the image in your brain, reinforcing your goal to declutter faster!

Set some written criteria for keeping or discarding things. For example, “If it is broken or needs repair it goes. If I haven’t worn it in a year, it goes. I will only keep one extra set of bed linens for each bed.” Consider stylistic criteria as well. For example, when we downsized from a large mock Tudor-style home to a much smaller terraced Victorian home in town, I couldn’t figure out which furniture to keep. Then a friend pointed out that the dark, heavy furniture that suits a Tudor-style home wouldn’t look right in a Victorian home. By determining in advance what style of furniture would be appropriate, it was then easy to let go of all the dark wood furniture and keep the lighter pine and painted furniture. This will save on moving costs as well given furniture is heavy and bulky.

Other criteria like setting numeric limits are helpful as well.

Here are 13 extreme decluttering strategies to experiment with (you can mix and match or try the ones that you think would suit your situation):

1. Play the 30-day minimalism game

Popularized by The Minimalists, this decluttering challenge starts off by getting rid of one item on day one, two items on day two, and so on until you reach 30 items on day 30. This may not sound extreme, but by the end of the month, you will have decluttered a total of 465 items! This approach can be a great way to jump-start your decluttering efforts and create significant change in a relatively short amount of time. If you have lots of stuff, try the extreme decluttering version of this challenge. Get rid of 30 items a day for 30 days for 900 items total.

2. The minimalist packing list

If you’re planning a move or simply want to reduce the amount of stuff you own, creating a minimalist packing list can be an extreme, but effective approach. Start by making a list of only the essential items you’ll need for your daily life, and then pack only those items. Anything that doesn’t fit on the list or isn’t absolutely necessary gets donated or sold. This approach can be a great way to see how little you really need to live comfortably. By focusing on what you want to keep or bring with you, you simplify the decision-making process and can then safely let all the other things go without having to give them much thought.

3. Take it one room at a time

Start decluttering one room and work your way through your home. This will help you avoid feeling overwhelmed and give you a sense of accomplishment as you complete each room. Divide each room into sections, like the closet, bookshelf, and drawers, and tackle them one at a time. This way, you’ll see progress quickly and feel more motivated to continue without making a huge mess. Or, if this doesn’t suit you, try an alternative approach…

4. The KonMari Method

Developed by Japanese organizing consultant Marie Kondo, the KonMari method involves decluttering by category, rather than by room. You start by gathering all items of a specific category (such as clothes) in one place, and then go through each item one by one, asking yourself if it “sparks joy.” If it doesn’t, you thank it for its service and let it go. This approach can be intense, but it can also be incredibly effective at helping you pare down your possessions quickly.

As Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Upsays, “The goal of decluttering is not just to get rid of things but to create a space that brings you joy.” See my blog on clearing books here.

5. Create a capsule wardrobe

When faced with a mountain of clothes on your bed, it is obvious that you have too much. Group each item of clothes into categories. Sort all the tops into a pile and then all the bottoms. Next, choose your favorites and then donate the rest. I like using a capsule wardrobe for simplicity and ease and find that setting a maximum numeric limit makes it easier. For example, a maximum limit of 5 pairs of jeans or 14 pairs of underwear.

6. Use the “one in, ten out” rule

For every new item that comes into your home, get rid of ten old items. While the “one in, one out” rule will help you maintain your decluttered space and prevent it from getting cluttered again, the “one in, ten out” rule is an extreme decluttering rule to help you declutter faster as well as discourage you from buying new stuff. If you are eyeing a new pair of shoes but then think, is this really worth getting rid of ten other things for? It will slow down your rate of consumption.

As your home becomes more spacious and you have learned to shop more mindfully, simply adjust this rule down to “one in, three out” until you eventually get to pure maintenance with “one in, one out.”

To make this easy, keep a donation bin by your door or in your closet, and immediately put something in it whenever you bring something new home. While this may sound extreme to some, it can be an effective way to prevent clutter from building up again and to maintain a minimalist or streamlined living space.

7. Capture the sentiment without the stuff

Sentimental items can be the hardest to part with, but do you really need to keep the entire set of dishes you inherited from your great aunt Pearl or just one cup and saucer? Before you donate or sell family heirlooms, check with family members and see if someone else would like to be the custodian of large items or sets of dishes. Be selective and keep only the most meaningful items. If you want to keep the memory, take a picture and create a digital scrapbook, or frame these images in a collage to display in your home. Consider digitizing all your photographs and putting them in tidy photo books or a digital photo frame. This way, you can regularly see the photos that had been hidden away.

8. Put a time limit on items

If you haven’t used an item in six months, it’s time to let it go. As Joshua Becker, author of The Minimalist Home says, “If it’s not adding value to your life, it’s taking it away.” For items you aren’t sure about, use the rule, “When in doubt, throw it out!” (By “throw it out”, I mean donate it if it is still in good condition.) If you really can’t part with stuff you aren’t sure about, box the items up and write today’s date on the box with a label of the contents. If you haven’t opened the box in six months, then take it straight to the donation center. To make it easy, set a reminder in your phone or calendar to review your boxes in six months.

9. Be ruthless with paper clutter

I like Marie Kondo’s strategy for papers: only keep the papers you are legally required to keep. This eliminates all paper clutter effortlessly because once you’ve pulled out the essential documents (deeds, mortgage documents, wills, etc.) you can safely discard everything else. I do keep one binder of artwork for each of my girls though! I also agree with her that if you took a course and are keeping the materials, consider retaking the course until you’ve truly mastered the content, then you won’t need the course materials.

Read more on clearing paper clutter quickly here and stay organized with this simple system here.

10. Digital decluttering

While most people focus on physical clutter, digital clutter can be just as overwhelming. An extreme approach to digital decluttering could involve deleting all unnecessary files, unsubscribing from unnecessary email lists, deleting unused apps and even taking a break from social media for a set amount of time. This approach can help you feel more focused and productive in your digital life.

11. Go minimalist

Becoming a minimalist involves significantly reducing the number of possessions you own, with the ultimate goal of living a more intentional and fulfilling life. This approach requires a significant shift in mindset and a commitment to a simpler, more streamlined lifestyle. While not everyone may be interested in becoming a minimalist, it is certainly an extreme form of decluttering!

12. The 100 Things Challenge

The 100 Things Challenge is an extreme decluttering challenge where you commit to owning only 100 things (or 500 things or some other number you prefer). This includes everything from clothes and shoes to kitchen items and personal belongings. This approach is definitely extreme, but it can be incredibly liberating to simplify your life to such a degree, given the average American home may contain some 300,000 items. I can assure you that owning just 100 things is too minimal for me now that I have a family. However, when I was a student, living in a small space, the 100 things rule would have been a great option.

13. Get help to speed up the process

While some people find decluttering fun, for others, (like me!) decluttering can be a difficult and emotional process. It’s okay to ask for help. Enlist a friend or family member or consider hiring a professional organizer from the National Association of Professional Organizers to assist you. I always get more done in less time with the help of an objective person, preferably someone who doesn’t live in the same house and who isn’t attached to your things!

By implementing these extreme decluttering tips, you can quickly transform your home into a simplified, organized space. Keep in mind that the goal of decluttering is not just to get rid of things, but to create a space that brings you joy and peace. There are no rules as to how much stuff you should keep as that is a personal decision, but I find that I tend to keep too much stuff if I don’t set myself some rules.

What may be considered “extreme” will vary from person to person. It’s important to find an approach that works for you and your lifestyle. I’m naturally a maximalist. So to end up in the middle, I focus on becoming a minimalist. (I have a long way to go to get there!) If you’re feeling stuck or overwhelmed by clutter, trying one of these more extreme methods could be just what you need to create lasting change in your home and life.

Ultimately, any approach to decluttering can be considered extreme if it involves a significant shift in mindset or lifestyle and a commitment to creating a more organized and simplified living space. The key is to find an approach that works for you and that you can realistically maintain over time.

Please note: any extreme decluttering technique should be approached with caution and with an eye toward sustainability. While it can be tempting to get rid of everything all at once, it’s important to make sure that the items you’re getting rid of are truly clutter. Make sure they are not things you’ll later regret discarding or donating. If you don’t feel comfortable with any of these extreme decluttering tips, here is a list of less radical suggestions to clear your clutter. Remember, it is perfectly acceptable to start small and work your way up to more extreme decluttering techniques as you feel more comfortable. These extreme clutter-clearing tips are to help you when you need to go faster.

Additional Sources Not Linked Above:

Talane Miedaner, Coach Yourself to Success