De-Clutter with a Six-Month “Maybe Box”

It’s easy to know where to put cups, socks, and books you find around the house—not so much with all the stuff that you only occasionally touch and don’t have a real home for. To cut down on these hard-to-get-rid-of clutter culprits, the Zen Habits blog suggests creating a “Maybe” box, stashing non-dire items in there, and …

Then store the box somewhere hidden, out of the way. Put a note on your calendar six months from now to look in the box. Then pull it out, six months later, and see if it’s anything you really needed. Usually, you can just dump the whole box, because you never needed that stuff.

I can vouch for the power of hidden non-necessities. My garage has served as a de facto “Maybe” space for most of this winter, leading my house toward a serious garage sale this spring. Hit the link for 17 more tips on clearing the clutter, both psychic and physical, out of your living space.