Get Your Home in Tip-Top Shape This Spring With the “Five Things” Method

Spring is upon us, and that means it’s time to get spring cleaning on the calendar.

While there are plenty of ways to declutter, organize, and clean your space, the “five things” method is becoming a popular strategy for addressing cluttered, disorganized spaces this season. It’s perfect for finally tackling areas like that closet or extra bedroom where you stash things you don’t have time or energy to deal with at the moment!

But what, exactly, is the “five things” method, and how can you use it to get your home in tip-top shape this spring?

A recent article from realtor.com answered common questions about the “five things” tidying method, including:

• What is the “five things” method? The “five things” method is an organizational concept that, no matter how cluttered a space, there are only five things that need to be picked up, cleaned, and/or organized at any given time: dishes (dirty or clean), trash, laundry (folded, unfolded, or on the floor), items that have a place, and items that do not.
• How does it work? With this method, you focus on one category at a time when cleaning and organizing a space. For example, you might deal with dishes on Monday, laundry on Tuesday, things with a place on Wednesday, things without a place on Thursday, and trash on Friday. Then—voila! Your entire home is clean and organized by the end of the week.
• How do you manage things without a place? Most of the things you use in your home have a clear place where they belong. For example, your pots and pans go in your cabinets, and your clothing goes in the closet. So, things that don’t have a place tend to be things you don’t need or use often, like a broken toy, stray socks, or furniture you no longer use. Go through your things that don’t have a place, and if it’s something you feel you need to keep, assign it a place. Then donate, recycle, or throw away the rest of the things you decide aren’t things you need to keep.