Decluttering and fun don’t exactly go hand-in-hand. I should know – over the years, I’ve been trying all kinds of methods ranging from Swedish Death Cleaning to the Reverse Hanger technique. Every time, you breathe a heavy sigh before you pick up the bin bag and start to make a mess (an inevitable part of decluttering). You just know things are going to get worse before they get better.
When I read about the Easter egg method, I was hopeful I’d found something that could finally break this trend. It looks to be quick, simple and (hopefully) non-messy. But is it as good as it sounds? I put it to the test in my living room to see the results for myself.
What is the Easter egg method?
I stumbled upon the Easter egg method on the Clutterbug website, headed by Cassandra Aarssen, an organising expert. This technique is one of the easiest I’ve seen; it involves grabbing a box or bag (or Easter basket!) and ‘hunting’ for clutter (rather than Easter eggs) in your home. That’s it, there’s no organising required and no deep thought needed. Although the following three questions can help you to make quick decisions:
1. Have I used it over the last year?
2. Do I love it?
3. Would I buy it again now?
If the answer is yes to any of these, it’s a keeper, but if not, it’s one for the ‘basket’. You then only worry about sorting through your basket once it’s full. The key thing to remember with this method is you’re actively looking for hidden clutter, so you should be pulling open every drawer and inspecting every shelf for obvious items. You’re not pulling everything out, then sorting through it all and finally reorganising it as you put it back again. You’re making obvious decisions on things that shouldn’t be where they are. Because of this, the method can come in handy for moving things around, too.
What happened when I tried the Easter egg method?
My chosen ‘basket’ was the empty box from a recent air fryer I’d purchased. I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to fill it, as I thought my living room was already fairly decluttered, thanks to Swedish Death Cleaning – how wrong I was…
I started with my bookcase, trying to keep in mind I needed to make quick and painless decisions for an effective sweep. My first decision surprised me; I found quite a few hardback cookbooks lined up here, and I don’t think any have ever been opened. While I’ve kept these up until now for aesthetics more than anything, as I asked myself the three questions above, it was a resounding no across the board. So I decided these could go in the box (quite a lot of weight to begin with, as there were four of them!).
I then found a bunch of empty notebooks, which I keep for my work and admin. While I do use them, I have far too many – I went through one book last year, and I currently have 23… So nine were immediately thrown into the box – and later offered to my niece and nephew; the others had decorative covers and sentimental value so I can’t let them go just yet. Other books I removed included specialist books (if I do ever get around to learning the violin, I’ll probably use online sites anyway) and books I’d read that needed returning to their owners. I found the technique a good introduction on how to declutter your books.
I also removed a couple of soft toys while I was here; one I’d bought on the premise of it being amazing value, which I’m a little embarrassed to admit now, and I definitely wouldn’t buy it again, so into the box it went. Another was a small beanie toy I got with a toilet roll purchase; as cute as it is, I don’t love it now and wouldn’t buy it again! These were destined for the charity shop.
I then moved under the TV cabinet. First, there were a couple of empty Nintendo Switch game cases I could declutter and recycle (the actual games were stored in the console case, and I wasn’t intending to sell them). I also found a slightly broken picture frame had somehow got tucked under here; not valuable enough to fix, but broken enough that it was annoying to use, so that went in the box.
I then came across a couple of items with sentimental value. Some old photographs had wound up under here and made me hesitate. I looked back at them fondly and decided I absolutely could not let go of them. So I pulled myself out of memory lane, put them aside and continued with my clutter hunt.
I then started pulling open drawers in the cabinets. Here was where I’d find lots of quick-decision clutter. First off, there was a stack of greeting cards on top. I quickly flicked through, kept those with sentimental value and the remaining 14 were good to go. There were also a couple of packs of new batteries in here that needed moving. Plus, packs of Christmas card games that we never played. I removed all five packs and decided to offer them to my brother-in-law, who is the king of trivia games at Christmas.
I also found a couple of photograph calendars and club membership packs from previous years. These had all gradually amassed and needed to go. The photo calendars were a little sentimental, but I could always print those images properly!
By this point the box was overfilled with books piling up alongside – and the whole process took just 17 minutes.
Verdict
I was amazed by how effective it was to ‘hunt for clutter’ rather than sorting and organising a whole space. Suddenly, the activity was focused on easy wins and removing the bulk of clutter in the shortest amount of time. For me, it made a huge difference in under 20 minutes, and when I did pause, those three questions quickly guided me back on track.
Of course, this method is not without its drawbacks. For one, you need to be careful where you make quick decisions in case you later face decluttering regrets, so I’d avoid areas where you know there’s sentimental items and stick to drawers filled with everyday clutter. And for two, you still need to sort through all the items at the end, which you could technically do during the process to save a bit of time.
However, this method is one that requires very little motivation and can make a big difference in a short amount of time. My bookcase looks revitalised and my cabinet drawers no longer need to be crammed as a result. I recommend giving it a try for yourself and seeing how much clutter you have hidden away.
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