I tried the '5-Day Clutter Shakedown' decluttering method to refresh my home for spring – it made the process surprisingly manageable

If the idea of decluttering your home from top to bottom fills you with dread, you're not alone. That's exactly why I was intrigued to try a softer approach with the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method I stumbled across.

It's a simple but practical decluttering method, created by professional organising guru Dana K. White and widely praised for its no-fuss approach. Unlike all-or-nothing clear-outs that can feel more overwhelming than rewarding, it helps you make progress in smaller, more manageable steps. It's one of those tidying techniques that actually feels achievable, even on a busy schedule.

Rather than turning your house upside down, this approach encourages you to tackle one simple action at a time. Quick wins – like tossing obvious rubbish, returning items to their proper place, and setting aside donations – quickly add up. Before long, your home starts to feel calmer, more organised and ready for the new season.

Curious to see whether this step-by-step method could actually work in practice, I decided to give it a go myself. Read on to find out if a slower, more practical approach to decluttering your home can really deliver a spring reset – without the usual stress.

What is the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method?

At first glance, I assumed the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method involved blitzing your home over five long (and pretty exhausting) days. In reality, it doesn't mean doing everything in a single week – it's about following five simple steps that can be spread out over as much or as little time as you like.

The five steps are:

1. Start with trash: remove obvious rubbish or recyclables
2. Easy stuff: Put away anything that already has a home
3. Obvious donations: identify items in good condition that you no longer need and set them aside for charity
4. Ask yourself: 'If I needed this, where would I look for it?'
5. Apply the container concept: only keep as many items as your shelves, drawers, or boxes can comfortably hold

Decluttering expert Rebecca Crayford explains why this approach works so well for people like me, who lack the time and often feel daunted by the idea of a full-scale tidy.

"The idea is simple: instead of emptying a whole space at once, you focus on one simple action at a time," Rebecca says. "You start with the obvious stuff – rubbish, things that already have a home, or items you know you don’t need – so you can make progress without creating a bigger mess."

Rebecca Crayford

Rebecca Crayford is the founder of RCLM, a lifestyle management business helping busy, midlife women reclaim their time by decluttering, getting organised, and putting simple systems in place to make daily life run more smoothly. With a background in marketing and advertising, Rebecca understands the pressures of modern life and offers a friendly, practical approach to creating space – both physically and mentally.

Hester Van Hien, home decluttering and organising consultant and founder of Tidylicious, who trained with Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo, echoes this.

"People often don't know where to start and how to tackle decluttering their home," she says. "Breaking the decluttering process down into smaller steps can make it feel more manageable, because you're not tackling the whole project in one go.

"A multi-step approach doesn't just show you how and where to start, but also how to continue, which keeps the momentum going."

Hester Van Hien

Hester Van Hien from Tidylicious is a Home Decluttering and Organising Consultant based in London. She uses a methodical approach to transform homes into calm, clutter-free spaces. Hester did her training with Japanese tidying expert Marie Kondo, who developed the KonMari Method®. Besides working 1:1 with clients in their homes and online.

Trying the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method

Armed with the experts' advice, I decided to test the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method in one room first, which felt more realistic (not to mention less overwhelming) than sorting through the whole house at once. I set aside a couple of uninterrupted hours to see how much progress I could make in a single session.

Organising my kitchen has always felt like a constant battle, so I knew starting here would be a good test, and would hopefully motivate me to declutter other areas of my home if I tackled this first. I won't lie, it had become a jumble of utensils, appliances, stray papers and random odds and ends.

Hester recommends sorting everything into categories first, such as utensils, gadgets, paperwork, and recycling. "During the categorising, if you can make any quick and easy decisions about items that can go in the bin or to charity, action this straight away," she told me.

Following that guidance, I used clear storage boxes to group my kitchen clutter into categories, immediately throwing out anything that was broken or expired. Seeing that first pile disappear felt surprisingly satisfying, and what's more, it didn't take nearly as long as I'd expected.

And as Rebecca points out, removing obvious donations can feel surprisingly freeing – passing on items I no longer use helped clear space quickly, without any guilt.

Even tackling one room like this made me feel like I was building daily habits to keep my house tidy – small actions that made the space feel calmer straight away.

Next, I focused on returning anything that already had a home. Deciding where things belonged before putting them away helped me stay focused on the kitchen, rather than getting distracted in other rooms. Stray utensils went back into drawers, and appliances were returned to the correct cupboards, and I used drawer dividers to help keep smaller items neatly separated and easier to find.

For everything left without a designated spot, I asked myself "If I needed this, where would I look for it?" It's such a simple question, but it genuinely shifted how I organised things – and it made far more sense than the haphazard system I'd used before.

And finally, I applied the container concept, making sure the shelves, drawers and boxes I keep above my units, weren't overfilled. It forced me to be more decisive about what I actually needed. A set of old scales, and a couple of cookbooks I never used went into the donation pile.

By the end, the space felt so much calmer and easier to use. Focusing on a single room, with a step-by-step approach made the decluttering process feel manageable rather than overwhelming. It proved that even a short, focused session can make a real difference.

Verdict: Is the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown worth trying?

After putting the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method to the test, my home (and my head!) feels noticeably calmer and lighter. Stripping decluttering back to basics, and focusing on small, practical actions rather than major clear-outs made it much easier to stick with.

What stood out most was how quickly the small wins add up. Simply clearing out rubbish, putting items back in their proper place, and setting aside things for charity felt surprisingly motivating.

That said, it's not a one-and-done solution. If you're hoping for a full home transformation in one weekend, this probably isn't the method for you. More structured approaches, like the 1-3-5 decluttering method or the one-category-at-a-time concept, may be better suited if you prefer a clearer plan or a more intensive reset.

For me, the next rooms I'll tackle are the bathroom and my bedroom, as they're both spaces which need more focus and careful decision-making. But knowing I can work through them in small bursts feels realistic and manageable.

Pro tip: Once you've sorted all items from the areas you're working on into categories, home decluttering expert Hester Van Hien advises putting all items that already have a home back where it belongs.

"I would only start doing this once you've categorised all items from the area that you're working on," she says. "Otherwise you might be making multiple trips up and down the stairs – it's better to preserve your energy and only make one trip up the stairs at the end."

Overall, this simple, flexible step-by-step approach is perfect for anyone looking for a low-pressure, practical way to keep clutter under control – especially if you're short on time or easily overwhelmed.

FAQs

What mistakes do people make with this method?

One common decluttering mistake with this method is letting container size dictate decisions. Professional organiser Hester Van Hien warns that this can lead to holding on to more than is necessary or letting go of more than you really want.

"You might keep those jumpers that you’re not particularly keen on, simply because there is still space in your wardrobe – which is a common mistake when it comes to wardrobe decluttering. Or you might end up parting with mugs you genuinely enjoy drinking from, simply because your kitchen cabinets are full," she says.

Who is the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown decluttering method best suited to?

"Methods that break decluttering down into small steps, like the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown, work really well for people who easily feel overwhelmed or only have small pockets of time," says professional organiser Rebecca Crayford.

It's flexible too – you can spread the steps out over days or weeks, making it easier to fit into a busy schedule while still achieving a noticeable reset.

Will you be giving the 5-Day Clutter Shakedown a try to reset your home this spring? Or do you have another go-to seasonal decluttering method?