We all want to live in a nice, well-organized home. But sadly, our things don’t just magically organize themselves. Without any effort and maintenance, your home can easily turn into a jungle of mess. But with our busy schedules, it’s often difficult to find the time and energy to keep our homes organized. Somehow, there’s always something to clean up or organize. If only decluttering wasn’t as difficult as it is. Well, it turns out decluttering can be made easier and stress-free. What’s the secret? The 10 percent rule.
WHY HOME ORGANIZATION IS DIFFICULT FOR SOME
Before we get into the 10 percent rule, let’s first look at the source of the problem. Why is it exactly so hard to organize your home? While there can be many factors contributing to an unorganized home, the problem with the 10 percent rule is addressing the number of things you have to organize. The reason there seems to be always something to organize is the number of things you own. When you have so much stuff, your home will become more likely to turn into a mess. That’s because there are so many things you have to organize. On the other hand, if you don’t own that many things, your home can be easier to maintain. That’s why decluttering is a crucial part of home organization. It helps you reduce the number of things you need to organize. But sometimes, people are hesitant to declutter because they don’t like the idea of letting go of some of their stuff. This is where the 10 percent rule comes into play.
WHAT IS THE 10 PERCENT RULE?
Essentially, the 10 percent rule is all about reducing what you own by 10 percent. A 10 percent reduction may not seem that much, but it can actually make a big difference. Plus, it’ll be way easier for those who have trouble saying goodbye to their things when decluttering. For example, you have 10 pairs of jeans. Realistically, you only cycle through 5-7 pairs regularly. But there’s a reason you may have kept the remaining ones. Perhaps you feel guilty about throwing away a perfectly good pair of jeans, or maybe you’ve always convinced yourself you can still lose weight and fit into the ones you’ve outgrown. These reasons are probably making it difficult to let go of these unused jeans, even though it’s what’s practical. But to ease you into decluttering, you can decide to let go of one pair instead of 3-5 you don’t use. That way, it won’t feel like too much but will still make a difference. That’s how the 10 percent rule works.
HOW TO USE THE 10 PERCENT RULE TO DECLUTTER?
In the example above, you’re just letting go of one pair of jeans. So, how does that make a difference? The thing is, your jeans are just the start. Take a look at the rest of your closet. You have shirts, shorts, dresses, and other pieces of clothing. When you reduce each category by 10 percent, you’re actually making a difference in your closet. And once you’re done with the closet, you can proceed to other parts of your home. The 10 percent rule should also be done regularly. Instead of a huge decluttering session once a year, you can continuously reduce your possessions by 10 percent on a more regular basis. This could be once a month, every two weeks, or whatever timeline that’s more manageable and convenient for you. By slowly reducing your belongings throughout the year, you can see a big difference from when you started to where you are now. And the great thing about it is, at the time, it didn’t feel like such a difficult decision to make. And that’s because you only had to deal with a small portion of what you own.
Home organization can sometimes be difficult, especially when you have too many things to organize. That’s why decluttering is important. And to make decluttering easier and stress-free, one can follow the 10 percent rule. By reducing your belongings by 10 percent continually, you’re making it easier to keep your home organized.
Declutter your space with the help of Rescue My Space. We are a decluttering service in Houston that offers organizational solutions to homes and corporate spaces. On top of decluttering your space, we also offer interior enhancements. Contact us today to get started!