Every few months, the closet under my stairs gets packed with stuff, drawers won’t close properly and my closet becomes a hot mess. Despite the need, I have found decluttering overwhelming and am guilty of putting it off.
That's why when one of our professional organizers told me about the ‘Didn’t Know‘ cluttering method, where you get rid of anything you didn’t know, or forgot you had, I felt confident to give it a go – and it didn't disappoint.
I gave this method a whirl in my home over the course of two weeks, and it was so effective, I will never declutter any other way. It's the best decluttering tip I’ve ever had, and it’s seriously changed how I deal with clutter in my home.
Testing the ‘Didn’t Know’ decluttering method at home
The Didn‘t Know decluttering method does very much what it says on the tin. Pick an area, start declutterring and if you didn’t know you had an item, or forgot you had it, get rid of it by donating, selling, or recycling, using the pile decluttering method to sort items accordingly.
I decided to tackle four spaces that were high-traffic areas of my home, meaning I use them daily or often enough for it to impact my life when it's disorganized.
Here's where I tested the Didn't Know method and how it went.
1. My nail polish drawer
I wear nail polish every day, and will do for the rest of my life. It’s an obsession that began in high school and it’s the hill I’m willing to grow old and die on. And after trying gels, acrylics, stick-ons and professional mani-pedis, I've realized nothing lasts as long as my own polish process in the comfort of my home.
Over the years my collection has waxed and waned and usually I put off decluttering until I want to scream every Saturday morning when I sit down to do my nails for the week ahead.
And then, I get overwhelmed when I have to declutter it, dithering on what to get rid of in case I fancy the color or regret it next season, even though I am firmly a creature of habit, usually sticking to shades of pink, red or blue.
So this was the space I tackled first with the Didn't Know decluttering method. I timed how long it took me to sort through the drawer and it was a grand total of three minutes, 35 seconds.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was to get rid of things when decluttering was distilled down into one simple parameter: if I didn’t know I had it, I got rid of it! Now my collection is streamlined with plenty of space for new additions when I next take a dip into new nail polish colors I love. Decluttering was definitely worth it, and this would work just as well for decluttering a makeup collection, too.
Verdict for drawers: 10/10 for ease and optimizing this space.
All prices correct at time of writing.
Use clear, small plastic trays like this set to organize small drawers – or bigger drawers for that matter. Grouping your items together into categories helps keep your initial tidying efforts easier to maintain in the longer term.
2. My closet
I generally take good care of my clothes and belongings meaning they last years. I have seasonal collections of clothes I rotate in my custom-built closet, which is a good closet decluttering tip. But I purposefully had my closet made to only have 20 inches of hanging space for our small primary bedroom.
I didn’t want to be excessive with my possessions and knew keeping my hanging space compact would make me declutter, donate or sell my clothes on regularly, as well as curb my desire to buy too many new clothes.
But when I worked hard to lose 30 lbs last year, it incited a flurry of gleeful shopping.
Organizing clothes was a must, so one Sunday morning, I bit the bullet and tried the Didn't Know decluttering method in this space. It took just 10 minutes and I removed 17 hangers of clothing from my rail, which I will either sell on Vinted or donate to charity.
There were brand new items with labels on that I bought 12 months earlier and had ever worn, and were well and truly forgotten about, as well as a black dress I truly didn’t know I had. I also separated 10 summer items for seasonal storage and 6 items that were only fit for the trash.
I usually carry a lot of guilt about the money I spent on clothes so that has got in my way when decluttering before – something professional organizers say is a decluttering mistake. This time, I let it go and decluttered my small closet so easily, without worrying about if I’d one day where it again, or feeling bruised about the cost of my purchase.
Verdict: 10/10 for ease, impact and speed.
I use velvet hangers like these because they are non-slip and help to reduce visual clutter, especially in small closets like mine. They last a long time – I've had my set for more than a decade – and they still look lovely.
3. Our ‘junk’ drawer
A tidy deVOL kitchen drawer with hidden pull out section
Every house has one, if not more of the infamous ‘junk’ drawer. Stuffed with rogue wires, batteries, DIY items and in my case, old vacuum attachments for appliances I owned four house moves and three vacuums ago. This one was deeply satisfying to bin things from and was completed in just a few mins.
Lucky for me, my husband loves getting rid of ‘stuff’ so he got stuck it to the next two drawers in our storage sideboard, and we gleefully had a trash bag full of stuff at the end of it.
Verdict: 8/10. This one took a bit longer and we also couldn't immediately bin wires we didn't recognize as we had to make sure we didn't actually need it! It still worked smoothly, we just needed more time than the other areas.
Use adjustable drawer dividers to dedicate drawer space to particular categories. This works across the household from bathroom to kitchen and studies.
4. My nightstand
When I downgraded my nightstand to a modern, navy, matte petite one, it was with the good intention of cutting down how much ‘stuff’ I keep in there. But here I was again with it crammed to the hilt with random things including wires, trinket trays, remote controls and medicine.
I set a timer and set to work. It took me just two minutes and 23 seconds to declutter my nightstand, as shown above. Another winner for the Didn’t Know decluttering method!
I reused old plastic containers from my kitchen, ones I had previously placed in this drawer to make sure things stay tidy. I was also pleasantly surprised to see that following my declutter, there was room to store the four books in my reading pile so they don’t have to take up valuable surface space on my nightstand.
Verdict: 10/10
The conclusion for me is the Didn't Know decluttering trend is a 10/10 overall, especially for those who, like me, feel guilt about the money they’ve spent on things and worry it’s a waste to get rid of stuff – even if it is not being used.
I love how quick and effortless the didn’t know decluttering method is, both physically and emotionally, with the simple rule of letting go of stuff you didn’t know or forgot you had a being a parameter for decluttering that is a real game changer.
I honestly don’t think I’ll ever need another decluttering method again and urge you to give it a go. Next, see how the 90/90 decluttering rule changed the mindset of our writer and why the Chaos Decluttering Method is great for small spaces.
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