What is the 80/20 Rule for Decluttering?

Otherwise known as Pareto’s Principle, the concept of the 80/20 rule was developed by the Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto in 1906 after he notice that eighty percent of Italian land was owned by twenty percent of the people. At its core as an economic principle, it’s all about identifying the best assets of something and using them efficiently to recap the maximum benefit.

The 80/20 rule applies to a lot of things, especially when it comes to what you own. 

For example, you wear twenty percent of your clothing eighty percent of the time. Think about it. I wear my black yoga pants almost every day. Although I have multiple pairs of these, I still tend to pick them out every single day. Tops? Same thing. I have a few that I love and wear them repeatedly. They’re easy to throw in the laundry and rehang in my closet. I have them in a few different colors. Since I work from home most days, no one notices except my husband and maybe my cat. I’m comfortable, and it keeps me focused on the things that really need my attention. This same concept applies to decluttering your home. In other words, the 80/20 rule, or Pareto’s Principle, is a reality check of what we really need to keep and what we can discard.

When applying this 80/20 rule to a home, it suggests that we use about twenty percent of what we own about eighty percent of the time. The remaining items in our home serve little purpose, taking up space and gathering dust. Go through your house with this concept in mind to see if this applies to you. If it does, then it’s time to declutter using this approach to home organization.

Whether embracing minimalism or not, you can live a fuller, less stressed life, if you live life with fewer things. The 80/20 decluttering rule is often touted by professional organizers who focus on minimalism. Again, the concept is, live a less stressful life by letting go of our excess.

Many people are jumping on the minimalism bandwagon, or at least trying to consume less.

Instead of filling their homes, they are trying to live a life with less. Less means less stress. Less means fewer things to take care of and increase experiences in place of accumulating things. Less means giving away these things, or donating, so that others can have what they need.

Can you let go of your excess things? 

We often ask our clients when we get started with them about their ability to let go. This tells us a lot about how focused our client is on discarding. What we often tell them to think about during the discarding process is whether you or someone else might need it more. For example, someone else who is perhaps struggling might find a good use for the item while it sits in our client’s pantry just collecting dust. Really, how many crock pots does one person need? How many items are just gathering dust, but we are afraid to let them go because of “what if” scenarios? If we can think of letting go of our items to help others, we are doing a good deed. We can feel good about giving away rather than hanging on to things that no longer serve us. If we can let go with this in mind, we are moving out of our fear-based, “what if” selves and into our loving, giving aspects of our being.

When faced with decluttering a room, it’s the first step that is always the hardest.

We recognize this each time we work with a new client. While many of us strive to live a more minimalistic lifestyle, letting go of all the things we’ve accumulated during our lives and think we need can be a daunting task. Sometimes following a simple rule can be all the direction we need and that’s why the 80/20 rule is so helpful. 

As it pertains to decluttering the home, our sentimental attachments to things often overrule our logical decision-making. Putting the 80/20 rule into effect helps us along. While not everyone feels comfortable letting go and putting minimalism to the test, it can make decision-making that much easier. When you look at the things you use and love and make them the centerpieces of your life and home, you will realize that life becomes more peaceful. And joyful. Surrounding ourselves with things that bring us joy increases our happiness and improves our outlook on life.

While very few of us are hoarders, we are all guilty of hanging onto things that we don’t use regularly or that don’t contribute to our peace, harmony, and overall lifestyle. As a result, we store them in boxes for years on end, unable to part with them “just in case” we might need them in the future. One day.

Analysis paralysis is real.

Inability to decide, or “analysis paralysis” is real, and having too many things and too many options can make it that much harder to decide what to keep and what to discard. At The Uncluttered Life® we encourage our clients to imagine a life where they are surrounded only by the things they truly use and like (or love) and then encourage them to imaging letting go of the rest. Or at least most things they don’t use. This rule applies best to spaces where people store a lot of things, such as the kitchen. Many times, these rooms or spaces have many items that no one uses yet are afraid to let go. That waffle iron (or two) that has been occupying space for years and is a “must have” or was on your wedding registry, may no longer serve a purpose. Maybe it is no longer practical. During our decluttering sessions, we encourage people to set a date by which they either use the item or donate it. Most often it ends up in the donation pile.

Donating helps other people, it does not detract from you.

By implementing the 80/20 rule you can reduce the number of items where you have many duplicates, while keeping the most treasured items you own. When approaching areas like the kitchen with the 80/20 rule in mind, clients can let go with confidence. Seeing duplicates and triplicates of the same item, and not even realizing this, can be eye-opening. Knowing that someone else may need an item that just sits and collects dust at home increases good feelings about ourselves. Donating helps other people, it does not detract from you. Keeping this in mind while implementing the 80/20 rule really brings this to life.