Rethinking Seasonal Decluttering: A Smarter Approach to Home Organization

As autumn leaves fall and temperatures drop, many of us face the familiar ritual of swapping summer clothes for cozy sweaters and reorganizing our living spaces. This seasonal transition presents the perfect opportunity to declutter our homes, yet it’s a task most of us reluctantly postpone until we’re practically drowning in unnecessary items. Fortunately, home organization expert Robin Antill from 1st Choice Leisure Buildings has introduced an ingeniously simple technique that takes the guesswork out of deciding what to keep and what to discard. Rather than relying on emotional attachments or the questionable “spark joy” method, Antill’s approach uses everyday behavior patterns to reveal which items truly serve a purpose in our lives.

The brilliance of Antill’s method lies in its simplicity and objectivity. “For one day, flip everyday items upside down, such as books, shoes, mugs, and even picture frames,” Antill explained to Vice. “The following day, flip them back as and when you use them. Here, you will instantly see what you use the most and what just seems to be there, cluttering the space.” This unobtrusive experiment requires minimal effort yet provides concrete evidence about which possessions are functional parts of your daily life versus those that merely occupy space. Without the psychological pressure of making immediate decisions about sentimental items, this technique allows your natural habits to reveal what’s truly essential. The physical act of turning items upside down also creates a visual disruption that makes us more conscious of our surroundings, encouraging mindful interaction with our belongings.

This same practical wisdom extends perfectly to tackling the often overwhelming task of closet organization. Antill recommends a variation of the upside-down technique specifically designed for clothing: “Flip every hanger in your wardrobe backward. Every time you wear something, place it back the right way round.” Unlike the household item test, which can yield results in just a couple of days, Antill suggests giving this clothing assessment a longer timeframe—ideally a few months—to account for seasonal wear patterns and special occasion outfits. At the end of this period, any garments still hanging on backward hangers represent items you consistently overlook, making them prime candidates for donation or recycling. This method eliminates the common decluttering pitfall of keeping clothes based on hypothetical future scenarios (“I might wear this to a beach wedding someday”) and instead grounds decisions in your actual dressing habits.

While organizing your living spaces and implementing these clever decluttering strategies, it’s worth noting that certain popular cleaning shortcuts might be causing more harm than good, particularly in the bathroom. A trending cleaning method that involves pouring the all-purpose cleaner Fabuloso directly into toilet tanks to create a lingering fresh scent has drawn criticism from professional plumbers. Experts at Benjamin Franklin Plumbing have explicitly warned against this practice: “We don’t recommend placing Fabuloso or any other all-purpose cleaner in the back of the toilet tank. Such cleaners can be corrosive and may degrade the rubber gasket and seal in your tank.” What might seem like a convenient way to maintain bathroom freshness could actually lead to costly plumbing issues, including leaks and continuously running toilets that significantly increase water bills.

The toilet tank cleaning controversy highlights a broader principle relevant to home organization: sometimes seemingly helpful shortcuts can create larger problems down the line. This parallels the issues with quick-fix decluttering methods that don’t address underlying habits or consider long-term functionality. Some plumbing professionals have taken to social media platforms like TikTok to comment on the Fabuloso trend, with one plumber jokingly encouraging homeowners to continue the practice: “As a plumber I ask that everyone does this so that I have work for the rest of my life.” Another pointed out the irony in the popular search phrase “do not put fabuloso in toilet,” suggesting many people are learning about this mistake only after making it. These humorous takes on a serious home maintenance issue underscore the importance of researching best practices rather than following viral cleaning trends.

Ultimately, effective home organization isn’t about creating picture-perfect spaces that look like they belong in a magazine spread, but rather about crafting functional environments that support your actual lifestyle. Antill’s upside-down method offers a refreshingly practical approach to decluttering that aligns with this philosophy. By allowing your natural behavior patterns to guide decisions about what to keep, donate, or discard, you’re more likely to create a living space that genuinely works for you rather than one that adheres to arbitrary organizational standards. As we embrace the seasonal shift and the reorganization opportunities it presents, perhaps it’s time to turn conventional decluttering wisdom upside down—quite literally—and discover which possessions truly deserve a place in our homes. This mindful approach to organization not only creates more spacious and functional living environments but also fosters a healthier relationship with our material belongings.