Every time I’ve moved, the same age-old question pops up: Since when do we have so much stuff?! It’s followed quickly by another one: Do I actually need this? For many little things I’ve randomly accrued, the answer is typically no.
With the new year in mind, I decided to adopt this same mentality, specifically with my pantry — arguably the one of my home’s worst clutter offenders — even without a big move looming. Enter: the “Move-Out Method,” a decluttering method coined by Katie Holdefehr, author of Embrace Your Space. This popular practice encourages you to pack up your things as if you were moving, placing everything into boxes, then only taking out or putting back what you actually intend to keep. This allows you not only to declutter, but to take the opportunity to rearrange your space. It’s that simple!
What Happened When I Tried the “Move-Out Method” on My Pantry
When I decided to apply this method to my pantry, I wanted to make it less overwhelming and modified the process just a bit. Instead of taking down my entire pantry at once, I thought it would save space and make the process less messy to go shelf by shelf and just use one box. Essentially, I took everything off one shelf at a time, put back everything I planned to keep, and placed whatever I didn’t want anymore back into the box for donations. This made the process less chaotic and removed the need to waste multiple boxes.
My pantry prior to decluttering was a bit of a wreck, and staying organized amid the holiday bustle was a challenge, to put it lightly. But that’s why we’re here: new year, new pantry!
I started with the bottom row, taking everything out and placing it into my designated box. Before I looked through everything I wanted to keep versus what I wanted to discard, I took the opportunity to give a good deep clean to the shelf, knocking out two birds with one stone.
After deliberating on what I realistically should give away (like the 3-year-old muffin mix I told myself I’d need for a rainy day or an assortment of bowls that simply collected dust), I also reconsidered other ways to arrange the shelf, as if I was moving into my apartment all over again. I continued this row by row until my pantry was decluttered, reorganized, and thoroughly cleaned! I couldn’t believe how well it worked.
This modified “Move-Out Method” was perfect for giving my pantry a refresh for the new year, especially as someone who generally struggles with bigger reorganizing and cleaning projects. I got to give myself the same organizing ultimatums I would during a move, while also breaking the tasks up into smaller parts so that it didn’t feel like such a monumental project. See you here next January — I can’t wait to see how much (or hopefully, how little) I have to declutter and rearrange next year!
Would you try the “Move-Out Method” in your kitchen? Let us know in the comments below!
