For many of us, September signals a fresh start. With that familiar 'back-to-school' feeling in the air, autumn can feel like the perfect opportunity to reset your home after a long, hot summer. And for those craving a clean slate, decluttering and organising is one of the simplest ways to start the season feeling happier, calmer and more productive.
However, sometimes one of the hardest tasks is knowing where to start. If you struggle with decluttering, let us introduce the 'one room, one hour' 4-step method that should make the process much more straightforward (and hopefully stress-free).
Max Wilson, co-founder of Pocket Storage, explained that his 'one room, one hour' September reset method is almost as simple as it sounds. Pick one room in your home, and declutter the area for one hour only. No more, no less.
Rather than getting overwhelmed, this decluttering method sets you up with an achievable target.
'We tend to imagine decluttering as this huge weekend project, and that's exactly why it's so easy to keep putting it off. The goal isn't to transform your entire home in a day,' Max explains. 'It's to make decluttering small enough that you actually start.
To make the most of the 'one room, one hour' method, he advises working systematically. First, set your one-hour timer and pick a room where clutter is affecting your everyday routine. Then, spend the first 15 minutes executing one of the tasks that takes the least brain power, for an easy start.
Take a look at the four simple tips to help you get started:
1. Get rid of rubbish
In step one, remove all obvious 'rubbish' first. Items to target include old junk mail, broken toys, food packaging if you're in the kitchen, or receipts you no longer need.
'Getting that out first also gives you an immediate visual difference,' Max says. 'Surfaces start clearing and suddenly the room feels much more manageable, which gives you momentum for the decisions that require a bit more thought.'
Spend 15 minutes on this task, or less time for rooms that have less rubbish in them.
2. Remove everything that's in the wrong room
Then, to keep things manageable, Max suggests spending the next 15 minutes clearing out anything that doesn't belong in the room you're working in. Don't get distracted by putting everything away as you go — simply collect misplaced items in a basket and return them to their rightful homes later.
'Collect everything first and only return the items to their proper rooms once the 15 minutes are up. You're trying to reset one room at a time. Don't let the rest of the house distract you,' Max says.
3. Decide which possessions stay and which should go
Max suggests sorting your belongings into three categories: keep, donate or sell. Having a 15-minute timer to hand will help you make quick decisions.
If you're stuck on a particular possession, set it aside and revisit it later. 'Spending 10 minutes agonising over one possession defeats the point of this snappy exercise,' Max says.
4. Organise simply and with practicality front of mind
By now, you should have a space that's largely free of clutter, and houses only items you really love or need - meaning the actual work of organising the room can begin.
'People often start here, and that's one of the biggest decluttering mistakes,' Max explains. 'There's very little point in beautifully organising a kitchen cupboard, for example, that's still full of things you don't need.'
With only 15 minutes to organise the room, keep things simple. Focus on the things you need, whether that's bathroom essentials or kitchen must-haves that make busy mornings a breeze.
Organise your surfaces and cupboards as much as possible in the remaining 15 minutes by placing things you need regularly front and centre. The biggest rule to remember with the 'one room, one hour method' is that once that hour-long timer goes off, stop what you're doing, no matter how difficult that may feel.
'The temptation is always to say, "I'll just finish this cupboard," and suddenly another hour has disappeared. But the whole point of this method is knowing exactly how much time you're committing before you start,' Max says.
'You might finish the hour with one drawer still to tackle or a donation bag that needs dropping off. That's fine. A room that's 80 per cent better after an hour is far more useful than waiting six months for the free weekend when you're finally going to make it 100 per cent perfect.'
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The Autumn Edit
