How to Sort When You Declutter

When you are decluttering, you need a plan for how to sort through items. There are four main categories most people use. Before you start, you’ll want to make sure you have a clear area to put each category in (and make sure they are far enough apart that something you want to keep doesn’t end up in your donate pile).

The Four Categories for Sorting:

• Keep: this one is pretty self-explanatory—the stuff you aren’t letting go of.
• Donate: Just because you can’t use something anymore doesn’t mean someone else can’t! Donating is a great option to give your items a second life.

• Sell: You might come across a few things that are worth selling while you declutter. Keep in mind that selling takes your time, which is valuable, and that the money you spent is already gone. But there are some great options out there for reselling your items, and I have a post dedicated to that coming soon.
• Store: These are things that you don’t need in your daily life, but you’ve decided are worth using up some storage space. Things like Christmas decorations, camping equipment, seasonal sports equipment or toys. Just remember The Container Rule when you are deciding how much to keep!

Plan Ahead:

Think ahead when you choose a spot for each of these categories while you are decluttering. If you are taking everything out of your closet, but you won’t have time to finish the whole process before you need to go to sleep, on top of your bed is probably not the best choice for sorting. Chances are, you aren’t going to have uninterrupted hours of time to go through and get everything done at once. Choose spots where you can come back to each category, one at a time, and tackle what’s needed.

Go In Order:

If you take everything out of your closet and get it sorted out into four categories, start by putting back the things you are keeping so you have a functional closet to use. Next, go ahead and put away the off-season items you are storing to get them out of the way (and make sure you truly have enough storage space for what you’ve decided to keep). After you’ve done those two things, go ahead and donate anything you are planning to give away. Now you just have one category left to tackle: things to sell, but you already have a newly functional closet, and have opened up space by getting your donations out of your house.

Read more in my decluttering series here:

I Spent Good Money On That · What if I Need it Someday? · Getting Rid of Stuff: Emotional Attachments · 32 Days of Decluttering Kickoff · Clutter is a Thief · Clutter Makes it Hard to Find What You Need · The Container Rule · Decide Before You Start · The Pareto Principle