Inside: Here are 20 decluttering questions that will help you create space for what truly matters.

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Decluttering our homes can be extremely overwhelming and time-consuming.  One tool that has helped me declutter more efficiently is to ask myself the right questions.  Knowing the questions to ask myself and think about has really helped me hone in on why it is I am holding onto something.  The questions outlined in this post have helped me determine whether or not I am ready to let something go and start living with less.

I hope that these questions help you as much as they have helped me!

What should you do with this list of decluttering questions?

There are a lot of decluttering questions here and I don’t expect you to answer every single question for every single item in your home!

I would, however, recommend reading through the list and picking two or three that really resonate with you. If you answer those questions and you’re still not sure, then look at one or two more questions to help you narrow down your focus on the particular item.

As a great reference, I have put all the decluttering questions into a one-page pdf for you to download for free!

Grab your free download by clicking the button below!

Where is a good place to start decluttering?

Everyone is at a different stage in the simplicity and decluttering journey and there is no right or wrong place to be.

I would recommend starting super duper small if you are brand new to decluttering your stuff.  This will allow you to build up some momentum and success to carry you through decluttering the rest of your home.

Here are a couple of resources that are great for the beginner minimalist:

How to Declutter When You Are Overwhelmed (article)

Decluttering 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Quickly Declutter Your Home and Make Space For What Matters Most (FREE ebook!)

Now, let’s get into those questions that will help you declutter your home more effectively!

Questions to Help You Declutter Your Home

As I was researching different questions for this post and thinking about the questions that help me declutter, I realized most of the questions fall under two different main categories:

Do I NEED it?

and

Do I LOVE it? 

These broad questions may be all you need when you are decluttering.  But for most of us, it’s helpful to break it down a little bit further.  So, to help you in your decision-making process, I have grouped the various decluttering questions into one of these two main groups.

Do I NEED it?

This question is getting at the actual usage and practicalities of the item you are looking at decluttering or keeping.  The group of questions below gets into the nitty-gritty of when, where, and how you will use an item.  If you need help clarifying this aspect of the item, I encourage you to think through the questions that would apply.

• Do I use it regularly?

To help narrow this down I like to use the 90/90 rule from the minimalists.  They recommend asking yourself if you have you used the item in the last 90 days or if you plan to use the item in the next 90 days?

This 6-month window works well to cover multiple seasons and activities throughout the year. You could open up the window to a year (so 6 months in the past or 6 months in the future), the point it to actually think about when you have used the item.

• Am I holding onto it to use “someday”?

I used to fall prey to the “someday” trap with craft supplies all the time.  I would see all these cute images on Pinterest with people using old buttons and toilet paper rolls and think I should do that too!  But the stuff inevitably started to collect dust and was really just cluttering up my basement.

This question is also great for items that you plan to fix or repair.  I encourage you to really ask yourself if you want to take the time and energy to fix or repair the item.  If your honest answer is no, then get rid of the item!

• Do I need it for a specific reason or occasion?

To take it a step further, do I know when I will use it and for what purpose? This could be a special outfit for weddings or other fancy events.  No, you probably don’t wear it every week, but you keep one fancy dress you can wear to any wedding or party event.  You probably don’t need 10 dresses though!

• Do I have multiples of the same thing?

At one point I had about 10 spatulas.  What in the world?? There is no way I can use all 10 at once or even in between dishwashing cycles.  I decided to keep a few and declutter the rest.  What else in your home do you have multiples of that you could pare down to the essentials?

• Do I have multiple items that serve the same purpose?

An example of items that would serve the same purpose are cleaning supplies.  Do you have multiple cleaners that all basically disinfect?  You probably don’t need one for the bathroom, one for the kitchen and one for the bedrooms.  You could probably get just one all-purpose cleaner and cut down on items you are keeping track of!

• Am I holding onto something “just in case”? 

In other words, is the item easily replaceable?  Another rule from The Minimalists that I like to refer to in this situation is the 20/20 rule.  They recommend if you can replace something for less than $20 and in less than 20 minutes you probably don’t need to keep that item “just in case.”  This works great for things like office supplies or extras we are keeping because we ran out that one time.

• Is the item mine?

This question may seem a little silly, but if the item is not yours, then why do you have it?  Don’t store other people’s stuff! But don’t declutter their stuff either, return it to them. Include your family in the decision making process if it’s their stuff as well.

• Do I have space for it?

Or, could you use the space for something else? This especially applies to big things like furniture. But you could also think about it in terms of using space as a limiting factor.  For example, only keep as many books as will fit on one shelf.

• Do I have the time for it?

Whether we want to admit it or not, our stuff takes up our time!  Once the item is in our home, we have to maintain the stuff, clean it, pay for it, move it, etc.

“Whether we are making the money to buy them, researching and purchasing them, cleaning and organizing them, repairing them, replacing them, or selling them, our possessions consume our time and energy.” – Joshua Becker in The More of Less

• Where would I look for this item?

I really like this question because there are soooo many things in my basement that I would have NO IDEA where to look for it if I needed it.  And, I probably didn’t even know I had it to begin with!  This often leads to buying duplicates of something because you didn’t know you had it in the first place.  Trying to have a space for everything you do keep will help eliminate this issue.

Do I LOVE it?

While the previous group of questions looked at the practical usage of a particular item, this group of decluttering questions gets at the heart behind the item.

• Does it spark joy?

This question was made famous by Marie Kondo in her book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up.” I think another way to ask this question is, does it add value to your life?  There are definitely some things that don’t spark joy or necessarily add value to my life, and that is where the first set of questions comes into play.  Contrary to what Marie says in her book, I don’t think everything needs to spark joy in order for you to keep it in your home.

“Believe what your heart tells you when you ask, “Does this spark joy?”” -Marie Kondo

• Does it help me serve my purpose and help me reach my goals in life?

This is a heavy question, but I think it helps to think through.

• Does it fit my lifestyle and season of life RIGHT NOW?

Another quote that I love from Marie Kondo:

“The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.”  -Marie Kondo

I would also add, we should not keep stuff in our homes for the person we think we should be.  An example from my own life is my jewelry making supplies.  I used to love making jewelry before I had kids, but just don’t have the time or desire anymore.  I decided to donate my supplies to a friend that could use the items.

Another example would be to keep a kitchen appliance because you think it will make you an amazing gourmet chef.  But every time you look at the item you are reminded that you’re not that gourmet chef.  I think it is absolutely important to have goals that you are working towards, but if you are keeping something that is making you feel bad about yourself, get rid of that item!! You don’t need stuff that makes you feel bad!

• Do I feel obligated to keep it?

This is another way of asking if you feel guilty for letting it go? Perhaps it was a gift from someone? Or you feel guilty for spending money on it?  The truth is, the money was already spent the second you handed over the money.  The important thing is to learn from this purchasing mistake and try not to buy similar things in the future.

For gifts that you don’t need or want, remember that the purpose of the gift was when the person gave you the gift. It’s important to be grateful for the gift, but at that point, the item belongs to you, not the giver.  So you get to decide what to do with the item.

• Does the item have sentimental value?

If it does, could you display or otherwise use the item instead of packing it in a box?  For more detailed guidance on decluttering sentimental clutter, this is a great article from my friend Katie over at Katie’s Kottage:  Decluttering Sentimental Items: How to Let Go

• Would I buy the item again if you were to buy it new at the store again?

If you had to pay full price for this item again, would you?  Most of the time my answer is heck no!

• If I were moving would I want to pack it up, move it and unpack it?

We have moved twice in the past year and a half and have moved several boxes without even opening them!  We knew these moves were temporary, but looking back, I think I could have done a much better job paring down to the essentials and not drag several boxes across state lines.

To take this a step further, check out this packing party idea from The Minimalists!

• Could someone else benefit more from having this item?

Could you donate this item or gift it to a friend who could really use it more right now?  A good example from my life is all the baby stuff I was keeping – clothes, chairs, toys, etc.  I was keeping all of this stuff because we aren’t sure if any more kids are in our future.  But I realized that I could be keeping this stuff in a box for at least 3-5 years untouched.

I realized this stuff could be used NOW by friends or family or by simply taking it to a donation center.  So I ended up giving a lot of the baby stuff away.  If we ever need the stuff again I can always find it second hand or borrow from someone else.

Ultimately, I encourage you to ask yourself:

What would it look and feel like to live without this item and live with less?

Free Printable Checklist of Decluttering Questions

To help remember these questions I have put together a one-page checklist. Print it out or save it on your phone for easy reference while you are decluttering.

Do any of these decluttering questions resonate with you? Which one or two do you think will help you with your decluttering efforts?

Let us know in the comments below and then pin this post for later: