Decluttering methods are all about re-shaping the way you look at and approach your items, giving you a new angle to evaluate what each individual piece brings (or doesn’t bring) to your daily life. And this is none so true, or so effective, than with the ‘move out’ method.
Rather than addressing how often you use an item, how much space it takes up or even necessarily how much value it holds – this method instead looks at how you feel about an item.
I tested out the ‘move out’ method to see if it could help me finally comb through my eclectic collection of general stuff accumulating in my living room. The results? Satisfying to say the least. Here’s how the ‘move out’ method cleared my living room clutter in under an hour – and why it works.
What is the ‘move out’ method?
The ‘move out’ method follows one simple principle. Imagine you are moving house. Look around your home. Make note of what you’re packing – and what you’re chucking. The idea is to look at your possessions with a fresh set of eyes, assessing what’s worth the hassle of bubbling wrapping and lugging to your next property (even if you have no intention of moving) and what would be inevitably leave behind. If you wouldn’t pack it, you shouldn’t keep it.
The idea, credited to Katie Holdefehr, author of Embrace Your Space, begs the question – if you don’t love it enough to move with it to this hypothetical new home, then it probably doesn’t deserve the space it’s taking up in your current one. The method works best when assigned to one specific area, and/or in tandem with other decluttering methods like the 90/90 rule, to ensure you aren’t overwhelmed or plagued by decisions.
To further the role-play of moving homes, it’s a good idea to use bags or boxes – like you would if you were actually packing – to categorise your keep, donate and chuck items. When you approach it like this, with a clear goal, mindset and strategy in place – it really should take you no time at all before you start to see results.
How did I use the ‘move out’ method?
As always, I decided to try it out myself. Seeing as my living room in recent weeks has become far from the peaceful, comfort-first space it’s meant to be, I knew exactly where to start. I grabbed a couple of bin bags and got straight to it.
I began with my chest of drawers. I suspected most of what was lurking inside would be goners – and I wasn’t wrong. There were bags of decorations that, while I’m sure I would use again if I were staying in one place forever, I wasn’t emotionally (or let’s be honest, financially) invested in them enough to pack up and carry to a new home. Looking at them through that lens made the decision surprisingly easy. And in the process of properly evaluating them, I realised how many were ripped, broken or missing pieces, meaning I probably wouldn’t use them again anyway.
That’s where the method really clicked for me. It gave me an excuse (or perhaps more accurately, the push) to look at things properly. Not just shoving them back into drawers but actually seeing their flaws or their value.
The tech drawer was next: fairy lights, projectors, speakers, a tangle of mysterious cables. These, I knew immediately, would be ‘packed’ for my hypothetical move. They’re useful, valuable and expensive enough to warrant the bubble-wrap treatment. But that realisation came with a follow-up thought: ‘If they’re important enough to take to a new home, why am I storing them like this?’ I ended up untangling cords, matching remotes to the right devices and placing everything back neatly. The method didn’t just help me declutter, it made me treat the things I was keeping with more care, too.
I also have an alarming number of art supplies in my living room, ready for crafty Sunday afternoons. The ‘move out’ mindset finally gave me the motivation to sort through the pens and pencils I’ve accumulated over time. An incredibly tedious job I’d been avoiding for… ever, essentially. Testing dried-out markers and throwing away stubby, unusable pencils wasn’t glamorous, but the effect was immediate. The drawer closed properly and I could see what I actually owned. Small win, big satisfaction.
Then I moved on to the drinks cabinet, which sounds far more glamorous than it is. It’s mostly dinner party accessories, random ‘nice’ glasses and the occasional bottle of booze. This is where I realised the method doesn’t work perfectly for everything. If I were genuinely moving house, I probably wouldn’t pack a half-empty bottle of Cointreau. But in my current home, its value remains the same. Throwing it away would feel wasteful. So perhaps the ‘move out’ method isn’t quite designed for perishables like food and drink.
That said, I did uncover several long-expired liqueurs, which freed up a surprising amount of space and brought a fair amount of shame upon me and my flatmates. Yes, a coffee liqueur that expired in 2019 was discovered. And no, we won’t be discussing it further.
Within an hour, I’d finished the drawers and cabinets. The visible difference was immediate and deeply satisfying. The room felt lighter, calmer, less chaotic and, crucially, nothing I’d removed felt like a loss.
My verdict
Overall, the ‘move out’ method is surprisingly effective because it cuts through the overthinking. Instead of agonising over whether you might use something one day, it asks a far more instinctive question: would you bother taking it with you? That shift in mindset made decisions quicker, clearer and – dare I say – easier. It won’t work perfectly for everything (my half-drunk booze collection remains), but for general household, clutter it’s a fast, satisfying reset that forces you to see your belongings with fresh eyes. I’d recommend pairing it with another decluttering method just to really make it seamless and stress-free. One hour in, my living room felt noticeably calmer and I didn’t miss a single thing that left.
As the Household Advice Writer, Ella covers all things home – from clever cleaning tips to the organisation tricks that really do make life easier. Before joining Good Housekeeping, she was a full-time freelance writer and production journalist at The Independent’s IndyBest reviews section, where she covered reviews, roundups, and product-related news articles, focusing on areas such as homeware and lifestyle products. With a keen eye for what actually works, she’s passionate about sharing practical, well-tested advice you can rely on. You can reach her at her email address: Ella.duggan@hearst.co.uk
