The instinct-based Toddler Decluttering Method will reduce clutter by half in seconds – and it's not for children

If you're looking for a fast way to streamline your chaotic closet or cull your cluttered cabinets, the Toddler Decluttering Method will do the trick with ease.

It's especially useful if you find it hard to make decisions or know where to start when looking to edit down your possessions. Experts say this simple-to-execute method is a great decluttering tip for instant results. Just pick up two items of the same category, decide which one you like best, and let the other one go.

Here, a professional organizer reveals exactly how to carry out the Toddler Decluttering Method, and I share my experience of giving it a go.

What is the Toddler Decluttering Method?

The Toddler Decluttering Method, coined by minimalist and author of Simply + Fiercely, Jennifer Burger, was one of the decluttering methods inspired by her life living with a toddler. Toddlers can be indecisive and easily overwhelmed, two things people often feel when they approach decluttering.

Jennifer found when breaking decluttering down into a simple choice between two similar items, it's much easier to make a quick choice without getting overwhelmed by everything else.

Kimberly Corey, certified professional organizer, certified virtual organizing professional, and owner of Finely Sorted Organizing, explains, 'Think about the Toddler Decluttering Method from the perspective of attempting to declutter a toddler's room.

'When you are trying to declutter a toddler's room and organize clothes, if she or he can’t decide on what to keep, you may try just picking up two items of one category (that’s important) and deciding together which is better to keep. Doing this is far easier than trying to grasp the number of decisions that have to be made when you are looking at all of the room's stuff at once.'

The Toddler Decluttering Method can easily work for adults as it breaks decision making down into a "this or that" of like items, in turn limiting the potential for having to declutter when overwhelmed, and it's simple to carry out.

I decided to try this out for myself to see if it's as simple and effective as it sounds in the hope of better closet organization.

I tried it

Overall, I really liked how simple the toddler decluttering method was to embark on. It doesn't take much preparation aside from deciding where you want to declutter, and the goal of halving your items is made to feel more achievable when you also get to focus on finding the items you love alongside what you're discarding.

I wouldn't recommend this method to people who mostly love what they own or to people who are minimalist already, as then you'll be letting go of items you like instead of reducing clutter without throwing everything away. But if you have a lot of extra clothing, kitchenware, toiletries or anything where duplicates can arise, I see this method working well.

When setting out to try the Toddler Decluttering Method myself, I tackled my closet. I'm a sucker for a sale and accumulate surplus clothing fast. This meant I had a lot of like items for editing down.

It's worth reiterating that it works best on areas of the home where there are like items, for example, multiple cutlery sets. If there aren't many like-items in the area you're decluttering, it'll be hard to proceed with the method, for instance, when getting rid of things from a junk drawer.

When trying the Toddler method, I took everything out of my closet and from my seasonal storage and sorted into piles of like-items on my bed: cardigans, sweaters, long-sleeves, and so on. This didn't take much time to do at all, and I found it helpful to see how many of each item I had in my categories in comparison to one another.

From there, in all honesty, I struggled a bit to know where to start. Was I supposed to pick any two items from the same category and instantly discard the one I least prefer? What if I picked up two of my favorite pieces but would much prefer to give away another clothing item in the pile?

Kimberly suggested switching items out if you're comparing favorites against each other. I found this helpful.

Overall, I would give this method an 8/10, and advise others trying this to remain flexible in your pairings. If you find two items are equally favored, there's no rule that you have to get rid of both. Instead, chose between a favorite and a not-so-loved items. This flexibility and elimination of intensive decision-making is what makes the Toddler Decluttering Method so easy to do.

Organizing essentials

Meet the experts

Kimberly Corey

Kimberly Corey of Finely Sorted Organizing is a Certified Professional Organizer® and a Certified Virtual Organizing Professional. She has been in business since 2000 and has helped hundreds of clients bring peace and productivity to their home and office spaces. Whether this is through finding the best decluttering methods to help downsize their home, or by introducing organizing techniques, Kimberly has a wealth of experience.

If you're looking for another easy decluttering method, the 'Didn't Know' decluttering method can clear whole sections of your home in minutes if you're willing to be ruthless, and it's so easy to do. If you didn't know you had something, or had forgotten it was in your house, it's time to get rid of it.