Over the years, I’ve been trying out countless declutter methods to find the best. You name it, I’ve probably tried it: Swedish death cleaning, the ski slope method, the reverse hanger method, and the minimalism game, to name a few. I’ve even founded my own method: declutter by degrees, which I think ticks every box.
But still, new methods come along that I want to try. Clutter always rears its ugly head, no matter how committed you are, so I have the playing field ready to go—namely, my bedroom. This week, I’ve given the 50% rule a try; here’s what happened.
What is the 50% rule?
The 50% rule is as simple as it sounds; you have to take everything out of a small, cluttered space and only return roughly 50% of the items, which should be your most essential possessions. That’s it! In doing this, you have better visuals and access to the space, and you can better organize what remains, too, whether by categorizing or ordering by use.
What’s been deemed nonessential then needs to be removed in one way or another, whether by donating, selling, throwing away, or moving it to where it should be in the home.
This rule is designed for small, manageable spaces where you will find clutter that’s ‘easy’ to make decisions on, such as desk drawers, your chest of drawers, or cupboard shelves. It’s simple but brutal and works towards a goal of getting rid of 50% of what you’ve stored, rather than considering how much you can keep.
Here’s what happened when I tried the 50% rule
As I worked around my bedroom, I started with my nightstand, then moved on to my chest of drawers and finally, my shoes. Because of the nature of the method, you can’t tackle a large space all at once, such as the wardrobe, so you do need to break everything down.
Nightstand
I set the timer and got to work. Pulling everything out of the top drawer took seconds and I could immediately see things that needed to go. For instance, I had three pots of vitamin D supplements, two of which belonged in my medicine cabinet rather than my nightstand. I also had five pens in there, for some reason. Four of these made their way to my desk. So I was already up on my numbers. As I foraged through, things were categorized to stay or to go, and the decisions were easy (why did I have two eye masks and three hand creams all stored here?). I found my first pair of earplugs that hurt too much to wear; and a spare lanyard, which I’d offer back to the office. I could have removed more, but I did all this in five minutes and in total cleared 19 things, with 15 remaining.
Then came the larger drawer beneath. More difficult here because there were lots of receipts, which took longer to go through. But I did find three empty boxes of medicine that were good for recycling—one actually had a wrapper in it but I swear that wasn’t me! A rogue cashmere comb and loose unmarked cables were also found, which will be donated or recycled (if I can’t identify them). This drawer needed 10 minutes with 16 things removed and 12 remaining.
Dresser
My dresser has slowly started to overflow in recent months and now I have to “cram and slam” each drawer, but not for long. The timer continued. For my sock drawer, rogue socks that have lost their partner went on the declutter pile as did holey socks, plus winter socks, too, were set aside to be moved to storage. As for the second drawer, my winter sweaters were immediately removed for long-term storage, followed by thick pajamas and a few sets of compression socks that I no longer wear. Most of the winter clothes will be put in storage but a few sweaters I noted hadn’t been worn in some time, so they will be donated.
On opening the final drawer, my scarves and gloves were immediately out. Then after combing through a stack of gym gear, I found some items to be well-worn and starting to thin, so these were good for recycling, too. There were also several pairs of tights in here, which I never wear, but I was hanging on to “just in case.” I couldn’t think of when I might ever need them again, and they were a good few years old, so I set them aside to repurpose as dust-grabbers (you cut off the foot and slide it over your hand as a duster). The chest of drawers took about 10 minutes in total to whip through with 35 things removed and 39 stored. Yes, it wasn’t the full 50%, but I felt it was close enough!
Shoes
Finally, I worked my way through my shoes. A couple of quick wins included two empty shoe boxes and some items that had been abandoned here, including leather gloves and my yoga blocks! Then when I looked at the shoes themselves, there were a couple of obvious candidates for removal: a pair of leather boots that, even though they look pretty, hurt to walk in, and a couple of pairs of well-worn, grubby trainers. There’s nothing physically wrong with them, but I’m unlikely to wear them again. I’ve even washed them to no avail! So I would donate or recycle these at a recycling center. In the end, 13 pairs of shoes remained, while nine items (including shoe boxes and general clutter) had been removed. This area took minutes to sort as I focused solely on the easy decisions.
Verdict
In total, I spent about 30 minutes decluttering my bedroom with the 50% rule, and the results are undeniable. My drawers, both in my nightstand and my dresser, are now organized to a military standard and everything in there is essential and accounted for. I couldn’t fault the focus this method gave me (it’s why it was so quick) and there wasn’t any decision fatigue because I didn’t dwell; I just aimed for the 50%. But I did notice a couple of flaws with this rule.
By the final drawer of my dresser, I realized you do find yourself trying to move things around rather than declutter, a.k.a. “churning,” so you need to watch this habit. I also noted that I would have really struggled to meet the 50% target if I wasn’t switching from winter to summer clothing; so you need to make sure there’s enough potential clutter in the first place. Finally, this rule would not work with sentimental items or items that take real thought, or you risk decluttering regrets. It’s for “easy” decisions in small, manageable spaces.
I also queried the fraction: what if removing 50% isn’t enough, or you can do more, as I did? You do need to take this rule with a pinch of salt and remember that the goal is to feel happy and in control of the space, with only essential items remaining. Overall, I think it’s a handy rule to keep in mind if you want quick results with minimal decision fatigue. With the goal of removing 50%, you’re driven by a target, rather than by considering the minimum amount you need to declutter.
As the Household Advice Editor, Katie looks after all things cleaning and decluttering. She started out as a Junior Tester in the Good Housekeeping Institute 10 years ago, so she’s tested plenty of appliances in her time too, including dishwashers and washing machines. Nowadays, she focuses on keeping our cleaning content up to date and accurate, testing relevant products and learning about the latest methods and trends along the way.
