I Tried the “Close Your Eyes and Pick” Decluttering Method—It Helped Me Clear Out Clothes I Didn’t Even Realize I Hated

The "close your eyes and pick" decluttering method involves randomly selecting items from your closet and deciding whether to keep or discard them based on your initial reaction.

This technique is similar to the Marie Kondo method, where items that don't spark joy are gradually eliminated over time through a fun game of chance.

By using this method, individuals can quickly and easily declutter their belongings, leading to a more organized space and potentially discovering new outfit combinations.

If there's one thing we love at REAL SIMPLE, it's a new decluttering technique that might help us deal with the daily onslaught of clutter in our homes. So we're always on the hunt for fresh tactics, whether it's a method that can clear a lot of clutter quickly, or a technique that works a little bit at a time and can be worked into your day.

So when we stumbled upon the "close your eyes and pick" decluttering method, we knew we had to give it a whirl.

What Is the Close Your Eyes and Pick Decluttering Method?

We found this clever decluttering method on Reddit's decluttering thread, where Redditor NorthChicago_girl shared how this helped her clear more clothes from a closet she already thought was fully decluttered. When she had to get dressed quickly, she decided to close her eyes and just pick something. "The first thing I grabbed I thought, 'I hate the way this material feels when I wear it.' I threw it on anyway...By the time I got back to my apartment, I knew I was getting rid of that shirt. I've been closing my eyes and picking something all week. I've gotten rid of two items already."

Basically, this decluttering method feels kind of like a lazy Marie Kondo method, where the items that don't spark joy when you grab them are culled over days, with a little fun game of chance thrown into the mix. (You never know what you're going to pick out with your eyes closed!)

What We Thought About the Close Your Eyes and Pick Method

This seems to be a technique that works best with larger collections of things, such as a set of clothing of the same type (i.e., your sweaters or t-shirts), books, board games, shoes, or coffee mugs.

I tried the original poster's method over the course of a week: I stashed a to-go bag in my closet, and every day, I closed my eyes and pulled out a top and bottom to wear. If I loved them both, I got dressed.

And if I felt bad about what I pulled at random, I thought hard about it. Was it just that the pairing didn't work too well together? (Emerald green leggings and a bright orange t-shirt was one unfortunate eyes-closed pick that went back into the drawer.) Or was it that I didn't love or need one or both of the picked items? If that was the case, into the bag it went.

For this project, I tried closing my eyes and reaching deep into my drawers and the back of my closet, as that's where I know the stuff that isn't in heavy rotation tends to reside. And it felt like every day I found something to give away. I cut my ratty "deep clean and painting" shirt stash to two, and ditched a few pairs of pants that no longer fit me well. A pilled sweater that made me sad didn't end up in the to-go bag, but I did pull out the clothes shaver to spruce it up.

In the end, after a week of very low effort, I had filled a tote with a bunch of items that no longer suited me—and had a little more space in my drawers and closet. It also led me to take more action to get items mended—like that pilled sweater, which probably would have just sat in the drawer all season without a little fabric shaver action.

And to be honest, it was kind of fun leaving my clothing selections to chance. I ended up wearing some things that I hadn't in a while, and tried some outfits that I never would have put together, but that totally worked—so it helped get me out of a wardrobe rut.

While I used this method the low-and-slow way, you could also use this for a much quicker destash. I'm thinking it would be perfect during the change of seasons, as you close your eyes and pick out a sweater or bathing suit and decide whether it's still something you're excited to wear. Turns out, you don't need to put in a lot of effort or time to declutter—you just need to close your eyes and pick something.

Read the original article on Real Simple