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Use This 100-Year-Old Productivity Method to Get More Done

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

When you want to be more productive, you should look to someone who has productivity down pat. Financial blogs are forever interviewing contemporary CEOs about their work habits, but those aren’t that inspirational; they’re always claiming that meditation and not answering emails are the keys to success, which isn’t really helpful to the average person who doesn’t have the time or resources to meditate or the luxury of an assistant to open the unanswered emails. For real inspo, you might want to try looking back in time: Ivy Lee, the founder of modern public relations, came up with a productivity method so good that it’s lived on for 100 years—and it still bears his name. Here’s how to try it.

What is the Ivy Lee method?

My dream in life is to do something so unique and awesome that my name gets attached to it for all eternity but my more short-term goals involve just getting my basic tasks done every day. Good old Ivy Lee somehow managed to do both. He came up with his productivity method in an effort to help big businesses in the 1920s get more done. It’s all about creating manageable, prioritized to-do lists and sticking with them until they’re complete. 

How do you use the Ivy Lee method?

The method itself is simple. At the end of every work day, write down six tasks you have to complete tomorrow. (If it’s Friday, write down what you need to do Monday. Don’t forget that taking breaks over the weekend is important for productivity, too.) Do not write down more than six. The goal here is for the list to be manageable, not never-ending, so use your immediate judgement to determine which six things are most important for the next day. Next, prioritize them. You can do this however you see fit, but consider using a method like the Eisenhower Matrix to figure out which tasks are the timeliest and most urgent. 

Hand-writing the to-do list is beneficial. You can do this in a digital note or doc, but writing by hand really sticks it in your brain, so you might consider using an old-fashioned planner, like this one:

The next day, it’s time to start on the list. Begin with the first task in the morning and see it all the way through before jumping to the second one. Keep going until the end of the workday, tapping into your capacity for doing deep work by focusing on just one task or project at a time. When your day is over, anything that is incomplete should be moved to tomorrow’s list and new tasks should be added to it until you reach six. 

By rolling the tasks over, you ensure they’ll get done, but by being aware that you have the option to roll them over at all, you won’t feel overwhelmed. Do try to keep the tasks as granular as possible, though. Instead of writing “end-of-quarter report” as one list item, break it down. If pulling and analyzing the data is a step to writing the report, make it one task. If inputting it into a presentation is another, that’s one task, too. 

As mentioned, you can do this in a planner, a digital note, or even your calendar, but the most important elements are maintaining that low number of tasks, prioritizing them, and not abandoning them if they are unfinished. Be sure to prioritize whatever you roll over to the next day above any new tasks, so everything gets done. 

Prioritize Your To-Do List By Imagining Rocks in a Jar

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

Sometimes, it's not the tasks on your to-do list that overwhelm you, but simply the act of sorting them out and figuring out where to start. Before you can prioritize your responsibilities and setting out a schedule for getting everything done (using strategies like "eating the frog" or creating a 1-3-5 to-do list), you have to identify what those big tasks are and what capacity you have to take them on. If you are the type of person that finds it helpful to visualize these things, I like to refer to a pair of strategies that both involve imagining tasks as rocks: The "pickle jar theory" and the "big rocks theory."

What is the pickle jar theory?

The pickle jar theory is an excellent mental exercise for anyone who thinks or processes things visually. It was conceptualized by Jeremy Wright in 2002, based on the idea that a pickle jar holds a finite amount of content. So, too, does your day. There is only so much you can do in a day, as there is only so much you can stuff into a pickle jar. 

When thinking of your day as a pickle jar, imagine it full of three things: Rocks, pebbles, and sand. These represent your daily responsibilities, but as you can see, they’re different sizes. You can fit more of the smaller stuff, like sand and pebbles, than you can rocks, but rocks can still take up half the jar. 

How does the pickle jar theory work?

To use this kind of thinking, you need to categorize your day’s tasks. Start by writing them all down, then prioritizing them using the Eisenhower Matrix, which is useful for figuring out which tasks are urgent and important, urgent and not important, not urgent but important, and not urgent and not important. 

Then, assign each task to a rock, pebble, or sand, like this: 

  • Rocks are the big tasks that are important, necessary to get on right away, and/or will take up a major chunk of time. Studying for a test, finalizing a major project at work, or cleaning the house can be rock-sized tasks, for instance. 

  • Pebbles are the things that are important to do, but not immediately necessary or massively time-consuming. You can fit quite a few of them in the jar, depending on how many rocks you have in there. 

  • Sand represents the small things that you need to do to keep your day moving along or just want to do. It enters the jar last and fills up the gaps between the bigger items. Sand can be anything from answering emails, going to meetings, calling your mom, or relaxing. These aren’t necessarily urgent or time-consuming, but they’re still important to your work or mental wellbeing. 

Visualize yourself putting one to three rocks in the jar, three to five pebbles, and as much sand as can fit. Understanding that not every single thing you need to do can always fit in there, you can make decisions about which rocks, pebbles, and sand pieces to hold over for the next day’s jar. 

This works because it gives you a tangible example of your own capacity, but also reminds you that even when your day is full of “rocks” and “pebbles,” you still have room for “sand.” Don’t forget to let some of the sand be enjoyable, because breaks are integral to productivity. Don’t over-stuff your jar with rocks and pebbles to the point that you have no room for sand at all, and don’t forget that other people have their own jars that might not be as full. Consider delegating some “pebble” tasks to a teammate, whether it’s a coworker or your spouse, or eliminating the unnecessary tasks altogether. (On your Eisenhower Matrix, these will be the ones that are neither urgent nor important.)

What is the big rocks theory?

There is a simplified version of the idea above that can work for you, too, if you don't want to categorize your tasks into rocks, pebbles, and sand, but want something a little more streamlined.

You might be familiar with the concept of "big rocks" if you've read Stephen Covey's popular book, The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People. Essentially, as with the pickle-jar mindset, you should think of your time, energy, and resources like a big container and the things you need to do as rocks or gravel. You can't fit very many big rocks in there, but you can fit a few and still have room for the smaller tasks. The big ones take away from the space—your resources and time—so you have to be intentional about how many you really try to fit in.

Visualizing is important, but you still have to use that to make a plan and get things done. First, write down everything you need to do on one page, whether in a digital word processor or a physical notebook. Then, consider how much time, energy, and other resources each thing will take and mark it as either a rock or gravel. Unlike other task prioritization methods, like the Eisenhower matrix mentioned above, this can be pretty loose. Just put down your best guess about how much each task will drain you. (When you're short on time, opt for this big rocks approach over the pickle jar approach because of its relative simplicity.)

Once you have everything designated as a rock or gravel, schedule the rocks first. Here's where you can use timeboxing to clearly carve out dedicated time for each thing you have to do. Keep in mind that if you schedule and work on gravel activities—emails, phone calls, doing the dishes, whatever—without taking on the big rocks first, you'll never get around to the big rocks; the smaller tasks are usually pretty endless, so you need to prioritize the big ones. Go back to your visualization: If you put all the gravel into your vessel before the big rocks, you'd fill it up and leave no room, but if you put in the big rocks first, then add the gravel, the gravel will fall between the rocks and settle in where it can.

Identifying the resource-heavy, demanding tasks and prioritizing those ahead of the more menial stuff will allow you to actually make time to tackle it so you can fit the rest in where you can. But be a little judicious with that scheduling: Don't load a full day of big rocks into your schedule. You'll burn yourself out. Instead, choose only one or two per day, then allocate the rest of your time to those maintenance tasks.

Make a Better To-Do List With the 1-3-5 Method

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

No matter what kind of productivity goals you have and which techniques you plan to use to get it all done, you still probably start with a to-do list. Learning to formulate a solid to-do list is the key first step to being productive, since you need it to move on to other planning stages, like using the Eisenhower matrix to prioritize tasks or Kanban to organize them. Try using the 1-3-5 rule for a while and see how this to-do list system works for you. 

What is the 1-3-5 rule of productiity?

The 1-3-5 rule acknowledges that in a typical day, you just don’t have time to do it all. What you do reasonably have time for is one major task, three medium-sized tasks, and five little ones. 

These can be related or they can be separate. For instance, a big task might be going to your tax appointment, which is unrelated to your three mid-sized tasks: grocery shopping, preparing for a meeting at work, and picking up a gift for a friend’s birthday. Small tasks can be anything from answering emails to laying out your clothes for the week, depending on what you consider large, medium, and small. 

Conversely, the rule can also apply to major tasks and involve batching them into smaller groups. Say you’re planning a vacation. The 1-3-5 rule can help you break up everything you need to do. The big task can be booking flights and hotel accommodations. Three medium tasks might be getting tickets to whatever you’ll be doing while you’re at the destination, shopping for what you’ll need, and securing a pet sitter. Little tasks can be anything from setting an OOO to emailing your travel partners the itinerary. 

How to use the 1-3-5 rule to be productive

Start each day by making a to-do list, then go through and pull out anything especially timely. (Here’s where a knowledge of that Eisenhower matrix, which helps you prioritize responsibilities by urgency and importance, is going to be useful.) From that group, identify one big task, three medium ones, and five little ones. That’s your to-do list for the day. Acknowledging upfront that you can’t and won’t get it all done in a single day helps you stay focused on what you can and will do, rather than stressing about the remainder that you’re saving for tomorrow. It's helpful to see everything written out or represented visually, so try using a physical planner, like this one:

Next, block out time in your calendar for each task, whether you do it in that planner or on a digital calendar. Use timeboxing, or the technique of giving every single thing you need to do in a day a designated time on your calendar, and consider giving yourself just a smidge less time than you think you need for everything, to defeat Parkinson’s law, which is the idea that you’ll waste time if you give yourself too long to do anything. Once you’ve laid out your day, start with that big task. Known as “eating the frog,” the big-task-first approach will give you a sense of accomplishment on completion, propelling you forward into those mid- and smaller-sized tasks. Plus, it stands to reason that the major responsibility will take the most time and resources, so knocking it out first ensures you have the time and resources to give it. 

Finally, be flexible. Unexpected assignments or duties crop up all the time and may not be easily categorized into the 1-3-5 boxes. You may also not finish one of your tasks for the day. The goal here isn’t to beat yourself up or be super strict. Rather, it’s to help you feel less overwhelmed by the sheer volume of things you need to do, prioritize them, and get a good amount done every day. If something doesn’t get taken care of, make sure to stick it back on the list the next day and keep going. 

These Are Some of the Best Furniture and Decor Items With Hidden Storage

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

If you live in a small space or simply have a lot of stuff, storage can be a nightmare. To stay organized and tidy, you absolutely must utilize storage boxes and spaces, but as someone who lives in a little apartment, I’ll be the first to admit it’s difficult to find places to keep bins, let alone keep all my stuff organized within them. That’s why I’m a big proponent of "storage as decoration"—items that double as both storage and furniture. 

Best hidden storage furniture

We’re going to start off with my current favorite thing: A full-length storage mirror. I have this one from Vlsrka ($139.99), which is a lighted mirror that swings open to reveal another lighted mirror, plus earring, necklace, and bracelet hooks, bins for makeup brushes, pockets, shelves, and a ring holder. This one can be hung on the wall, but there are others that are free-standing, like this one from Songmics ($179.98) that hides not only internal storage, but a few external shelves in the back. I love mine because the inner and outer mirror are so handy and my jewelry and makeup are out of the way until I need them. 

By far one of the most convenient and inconspicuous hidden storage solutions is the faithful hollow ottoman. This one from Storagebud ($39.97) can fold flat when not in use, plus has smaller storage bins inside so you can keep everything you toss in there a little more organized. There are also small “foot rest” versions for much cheaper, like the Songmics cube ($23.79). 

The bench by your front door isn’t pulling its weight if you can’t stash stuff inside it. The Hoobro shoe storage bench ($73.14) hinges open at the top to allow you to store things under the seat, plus has exterior shelving that you can face toward the wall, so no one will ever know you have anything in there. 

You know what else isn't pulling its weight as much as it could be? Your lamp. Sure, it provides light, but it could also provide shelving:

Shelves in any form are great for extra storage, but shelves with hidden compartments inside are double great—and stop the top part from getting too cluttered. The Ikoppoi hidden storage wall shelf ($29.98) allows you to display some decorations while hiding other items away within its secret drawer. For example, think about displaying candles on the visible shelf, then hiding matches or a lighter inside.

Store larger items right in your living room with the Cozy Castle coffee table ($149.99), which not only has LED lighting and a high-gloss finish, but two big storage drawers hidden on the sides. It’s great for big blankets, the kids’ toys, or whatever else is cluttering up your space. 

If you feel like doing a little DIY around the house, try the Fox Hollow Furnishings recessed medicine cabinet ($399.99), which looks like a regular picture frame on the outside, but contains four rows of shelving on the inside. You do have to install it inside your wall, so it’s not as convenient as the other options here, but if you have anything sensitive or valuable to store, an innocuous “picture frame” is the perfect thing to put it all behind. Check out this video demo to see how it looks.

Decoration storage swaps

Furniture is one thing, but even the stuff you use to spruce up your space aesthetically or sentimentally can help provide some storage if you do it right.

When you're decorating on a flat space, you should use the rule of threes, meaning you have clusters of three items all over the place. This is why when you're in a home goods store and see those useless wicker balls that are meant to sit on your coffee table, they usually come in packs of three. But like I said, those are useless. Why not toss a few vases or canisters into the mix? You can still intersperse some statuettes or tchotchkes, but each cluster of three decorations should include some kind of vessel that can obscure your loose coins, writing utensils, receipts, or other unsightly items that don't have a designated home. Consider something like this:

Look at your shelves, too. Maybe you have some little decorations on your bookcase, like bookends or something. Why not swap them for some decorative baskets instead? You can get three for $25.99 and no one has to know what's in them.

Moving on, consider your picture frames. You can't really justify getting rid of the photos and memories that adorn your shelves and side tables, but what if you made the frames a little more useful? Pick up some shadow boxes and stick your photos to the front pane, using the back area for storage of things like documents, remotes, or whatever else you need access to in that room.

If you have a green thumb and a small place, you don’t have to choose between plants and storage. Sdstone makes a flower pot with a hidden safe in the bottom ($14.99). It’s meant for valuables, but you can toss whatever small items you want in there. As a bonus, it comes with a fireproof pouch for money and extra-important items. 

Finally, go old-school with a two pack of decorative “book” boxes ($23.95). On the outside, these look like classic old books and will blend in on your bookshelf easily. Inside, you’ll find storage space big enough for small items. 

Other sneaky storage ideas

One hack I’ve developed over years of living in small apartments is to store my winter coats in my luggage. When I travel, I just take them out and lay them on the couch. It doesn’t matter; I’m not home to see the mess anyway. This saves a bunch of space in my closet, which is dominated by the suitcases as it is. 

I also have shelving units all along my walls to make up for a lack of closet space. (I do have closets, but I just really like clothes.) The clothes I put on these can look kind of sloppy, so I use fabric storage cubes to create “drawers” on the shelves. When not in use, they fold up flat, but when they’re popped open, they give the illusion that the shelves are much more organized than they really are. Try a six pack from Amazon Basics ($19.68). 

Finally, I swapped out my hamper for a rolling cart last year. The cart is still bulky and ugly, so I keep it in the closet, but it’s less cumbersome than the hamper I had and it makes laundry day much easier, as I can just wheel the dirty laundry straight out the door and into the laundromat. Unfortunately for me, I have some tacky, fruit-patterned abomination from the dollar store, but fortunately for you, there’s a much prettier version from Songmics on Amazon for $50.83.

The Best Items (and Strategies) for Organizing a Storage Room

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

A lot of the storage and organizing hacks I write about are geared toward those living in a small space, but before I moved to New York City and began inhabiting miniature apartments, I was living comfortably in the Midwest, where houses are cheap and big—but hard to declutter and organize in their own way.

My parents' house had a room called the storage room, which I never realized I would one day consider a nostalgic luxury. That room held seasonal decorations, old furniture, mementos, and a big freezer full of extra food in case we got snowed in. (That's part of the reason it's so cheap to live out there, by the way.) My parents kept this thing in tip-top organizational shape, making it a super-useful space, but if it had fallen into disorder it would have become a major burden instead.

Whether you have a dedicated storage room, an attic, a space in the garage, or a storage unit, you need to keep it organized so when you do have occasion to use the things within it, you actually know where they are.

Shelves and bins

First, you need shelves. You need a lot of shelves and, ideally, they should be big. When you're organizing, it's important to remember that everything you own needs to have a designated spot for storage, so shelves on their own aren't ideal, since they can get cluttered themselves. However, they are perfect for holding containers, which is what you'll need after you get the shelves situated. My storage room had shelves built into the walls all the way around the perimeter, but more importantly, they were all uniformly and evenly spaced. Fill a wall with sturdy shelving and try to make sure all the units are the same so it's relatively seamless.

As mentioned, you're going to need storage boxes. I recommend using sturdy, plastic bins instead of cardboard, since basements, attics, garages, and unfinished rooms can get a little damp. Again, these should be uniform so all the boxes can stack nicely on the shelves and on top of each other. You can get a six pack of 54-quart clear bins for $89.99, but avoid getting the kind with wheels if you're going to put them on the shelf. That's just asking for a catastrophe.

On the other hand, wheels are handy for things like Christmas decorations, so you can easily take the entire bin out into your home when you're decorating for the season. A solid option in situations like that is this set of three stacking bins where the bottom one has wheels.

How to actually organize the storage room

My recommendations for what kinds of shelves and bins you need will only take you so far. You also need to declutter and organize the space. If you need some motivation, consider the concept of Swedish death cleaning: Imagine what a burden this room is going to be for your descendants when you die. It's macabre, but it works.

As for the best cleaning and decluttering technique to follow in a room overflowing with old stuff, I recommend pro organizer Andrew Mellen's Organizational Triangle, which follows three basic principles: Every item needs a home, keep like with like, and use a something-in, something-out approach. Start by removing everything from the space. You can do this when you're ready to start using your new shelving and bins. Sort through all the stuff, categorizing it into piles based on similarities, but also being judicious about throwing away anything you don't need to hold onto anymore. For example, Thanksgiving decorations go in one pile, barbecue tools go in another, bike accessories in another, etc. If you have any duplicates, get rid of all but one right away. Then, put every distinct pile into its own bin. Again, everything needs a home—a bin—and everything should be stored with similar items, so you know exactly where to look for whatever you need when you need it.

Finally, you're going to need a labeling system. Even if you're using clear bins, it can be hard to figure out what's in there. Grab a big label maker, like the Brother QL-600 ($79.99), which supports labels up to 2.4 inches in size, and use it to clearly define what's in each box.

For an extra decluttering boost, any time you open one of the bins, go through it using the decluttering method of your choice, gradually paring down the amount of stuff you actually keep in there so you can stay on top of your organization even more.

Use Productivity 'Sprints' When Your Attention Span Is Low

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

When you have a lot of work to do, a short attention span can be disastrous to your productivity. But instead of fighting it, you can use it to your advantage by working in “sprints” rather than trying for a marathon session. Like the Pomodoro technique, the sprints method has you work in a series of shorter bursts, so you can get your tasks done without your attention or productivity lagging.

What is the sprints method?

When using the sprints method, you’ll be doing short bursts of work with breaks in between. That’s really all it is, but since taking breaks is fundamental to being truly productive, it’s effective.

Though, as noted, the sprints method has some elements in common with the popular Pomodoro method—which sees you work in tightly timed bursts interspersed with breaks that are also tightly timed—this one is a little more fluid. With the Pomodoro method, you work for 25 minutes, then take a five-minute break. After four cycles, you take a longer break. When you’re doing sprints, however, you determine beforehand how long you need to (or are able to) focus, and set your timer based on that.

The trick to using sprints rather than the more rigid Pomodoro method is goal-setting: You should set a longer-term goal, like completing a big work project by the end of the week, and sprint to get there, using however many sprints that takes you. Each sprint should get you to a smaller goal, like finishing a chunk of the project, and you should time it to encompass exactly the amount of time that smaller goal will likely take. By modifying the timing instead of relying on the 25-minute rule, you won’t be interrupted by your timer before you’re done with the mini task. You’ll stay in focus mode until the task is complete, while remaining fully aware that a break is coming.

If you’ve having a hard time figuring out how much time will be necessary for each task chunk, consider forgoing the timer altogether and instead committing to just working in a sprint until the task is complete. One of the most important elements of this approach is staying in deep focus for the amount of time it’ll take you to get the task done—so keep your phone away from you and shut out any other distractions. Then buckle down and concentrate, whether the task takes you 10 minutes or 30.

Things to keep in mind when using productivity sprints

Since your goal isn’t just to work for a predefined amount of time, but to get a specific task accomplished, you can (and should) work as hard as you can without focusing too much on how long it's taking you or if you're getting everything right. If you’re writing a paper, for instance, one sprint can be dedicated to getting the words you need down. After your break, the second sprint can be about editing for clarity.

Getting full tasks done during your sprints will give you a feeling of accomplishment that you might miss if you rely more on the timing than the output. Besides, getting interrupted by a timer in the middle of a major focus is a drag, while sprints allow you to be more task-focused.

Breaks should be half as long as sprints

Don’t skimp on the breaks—however long a mini task takes you, give yourself about half that time to recover before moving on to the next one. If it takes 30 minutes to get the words on the page, pause for 15 before editing. These are sprints, not a marathon, so prioritize the bursts and the recovery periods.

How to Get Rid of Sentimental Items While Still Feeling Your Feelings

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

When it comes to decluttering and getting rid of meaningful items, there are two schools of thought: You can acknowledge you're not using them and that they have no purpose, then chuck them; or you can get pretty emotional and make excuses for holding onto them. I'm a big proponent of getting rid of stuff, but I get that it can be hard. Here are a few ways to let go of meaningful stuff while giving yourself space to get in your feelings.

Cull your sentimental items respectfully

I like this advice from Be More With Less, since these three ideas give you room to cherish, respect, and say goodbye to the mementos you want to part with.

First, build up to the big stuff. I've been on a major decluttering mission for a few months now and I didn't start on day one by tossing out my stack of old birthday cards. It's easier to throw out receipts, garbage, broken items, and junk—so do that. You can follow a technique like the calendar method, giving yourself a certain amount of items to throw out every day, working up to throwing away anything with emotional value. In this case, think of your brain as a muscle; it needs to be trained to get rid of things. You have to work up to this, not dive in right away.

Next—and I really like this one—express how the items make you feel. Take pictures of them. Write about them. Invite a friend over to help you and tell that friend the story of the item, why you held onto it, and what it's meant to you. Holding space for the item (and maybe even making new memories in the process) is a good way to honor it, even if you know it needs to go. When I'm getting rid of old photographs, I snap quick pics of ones that mean a lot to me but I know I'll never really go digging through a physical album to see again. Let the item live on through a story or photo, so you can let go of the real thing.

Finally, for anything you're really having a hard time letting go of, use it one final time. If it's cookware from your grandmother or a nice necklace your ex gave you, use it. But do it intentionally. Enjoy the item, be mindful while you use it, and recognize this will be the last time you do so, so you'd better make it count. Give it a little sendoff and be grateful for all you got out of it.

Of course, if any of these items are in good condition, you can donate them, too. There can be a sense of joy that comes with knowing that even if you can't use or store something, it can live on with someone else who might really love it.

Why taking time to throw sentimental items works

There are a lot of techniques out there that suggest you make snap decisions about throwing things away when you're decluttering and I tend to agree with them. The longer you deliberate over something and the more meaning you drag out to attach to it, the less likely you are to get rid of it—and since you can't live in the past and that doesn't help you in the present, you're not doing yourself any favors.

Still, that can be hard. It's not fun to let go of old macaroni drawings, not because you want to display them, but because it means accepting your children have grown up, you know? Giving each thing a sendoff and an intentional goodbye could be the answer you're looking for when "just get rid of it" doesn't cut it.

The Best Items for Storing Jewelry

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

Organizing your accessories, like shoes, bags, and belts, is an important part of keeping your home manageable and your appearance on point, but the way you keep your jewelry stored might be most important of all. Whether you need access to a certain piece you only wear on special occasions or you have a ton of interchangeable pieces you mix and match daily, you need it all to be somewhere accessible and safe. Here are my favorite storage solutions for all kinds of jewelry.

The best jewelry storage solutions

First: A storage mirror. I've recommended these things at least twice before and I'll keep recommending them because they're just that good. A few months ago, I got this lighted mirror that opens up to reveal shelving, pockets, hooks, and more—and I really am obsessed with it. There are designated spaces for stud earrings, dangling earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and rings, plus other shelves and pockets that I use for hair products and accessories. I also use one of the clear pockets for body piercing jewelry, since I haven't found a jewelry box or storage container that has a convenient solution for those.

I love this and am thrilled with the purchase, even though I found it a little spendy. The lights can be made cooler, warmer, dimmer, and brighter, so it's the perfect multi-function tool for getting ready. Before I got this, I had a hanging rack for my earrings. I still use it for overflow from the storage mirror. What I like about this one is that, unlike some earring holders, I don't have to remove the backs of my earrings and reattach them behind the rack to make them stay; there are large holes with grooves that allow me to set the earring in with its back on. The one I got six years ago isn't available anymore, but it's like this:

When looking for storage solutions, keep those little annoyances in mind. I know myself and if I got one that required me to fiddle around attaching the earring and its back, I wouldn't use it often. I'd just set my earrings down on a table and probably lose them. Convenience is important with storage. For other options, try these:

  • This storage tool ($19.98) hangs in your closet, keeping it out of sight, but still has space for earrings and dangling jewelry, like bracelets and necklaces, so they don't get tangled.

  • I'm not a big proponent of stacking your jewelry in boxes or drawers, since it could get tangled, but if space is a concern for you, this acrylic jewelry box ($26.99) has five drawers and is still compact.

  • For a bit more, you could get a taller jewelry box ($39.99) that has not only vertically stacked drawers, but wings on the side that open to reveal hanging storage. These can keep your necklaces in order without compromising space on your shelves.

  • Finally, if you're traveling, your jewelry should still be as safe as possible, so a hard-sided box like this ($9.99) with space for hanging pieces, rings, and earrings, is perfect.

No matter where you place your storage tools, make sure the jewelry is in a cool and dry place with little exposure to sunlight. Stuff a few silica gel packets alongside anything that is in a pocket to make sure extra moisture is pulled out.

The Best Ways to Clean Dirty Grout

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

Cleaning grout is a chore few enjoy, but if you’ve got tile in your home, you know it’s got to be done. Depending on the tools and cleaners you’ve got on hand, there are a few effective methods to try. Here are three of the best ways to clean grout, plus what you need to do it.

How to clean grout

  • Scrub it with bleach: One of the easiest methods for cleaning grout is to scrub it away with bleach and a regular old sponge. This is especially useful when you’re dealing with mold, but is good for disinfecting no matter what. Mix one part of bleach with 10 parts of water, put that in a spray bottle, and soak the area. After it has sat for about five minutes, you can scrub at it with a sponge or an old toothbrush. What you want is something a little sturdy and abrasive, so anything rougher than a cloth will do. If the smell of bleach makes your stomach turn, try a lightly scented one like this:

  • Use a melamine sponge: If you’re dealing with regular old scum or dirt and don’t think you need the disinfecting power of bleach, a Magic Eraser (or melamine sponge) will whiten it up nicely without compromising the integrity of the material. Just dampen it slightly and scrub over the grout for some near-instant freshening. If you want some real power behind the scrub, I recommend my favorite, the Mr. Clean Magic Eraser Ultra Foamy.

  • Use hydrogen peroxide and baking soda: Another great method is a simple DIY: Mix two parts baking soda with one part hydrogen peroxide to form a paste, slather it on your grout, give it five minutes to sit, and then get after it with your sponge or old toothbrush.

Don’t use toilet bowl cleaner to clean grout

There is a hack floating around that involves using toilet bowl cleaner on dirty grout—but that’s actually not a great idea. Ceramics and tiles are safe from the harshness of these chemicals, but the sealant on the tiles and the grout itself are susceptible to degradation, so avoid this and stick with the tips above instead.

The Right Way to Roll up and Store Your Belts

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

Slowly but surely, I'm going to revolutionize your closet. From shoes to bags, there are so many accessories to collect and flaunt, but they really do take up a ton of space, so finding solutions for storing every kind of adornment should be a priority for anyone living a fashion forward lifestyle.

But even if you're not, and you don't have a closet overflowing with purses and footwear, you almost certainly have a small (or not so small) collection of belts. Here's a good way to organize it.

How to roll your belts for storage so they won't come undone

Until I saw the following technique floating around TikTok, I was storing my belts by hanging them over the handle on my closet door. This is wrong. They were always falling off, dragged down by the weight of the buckle on one end—and the weight of said buckle can actually stretch and damage more delicate belts over time. You could get some hooks and hang all your belts up somewhere by the buckle, but that takes up wall space. Instead,you should be rolling your belts to help them maintain their shape.

But it's hard to keep belts rolled up, right? They just keep coming undone, right? Not if you try this method that's been trending on social media:

Using the buckle for stability, you thread the belt backward through it and pull it almost all the way through, creating a small hole. Then, start rolling up the belt from the other side, and stuff the resulting spiral into the hole you made. I tried this method out and found it to be easy to execute and effective at keeping my belts all wound up in an easy-to-stack shape. But why stop there?

Belts hanging and belts folded up
Before (bad) vs. after (good) Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

How to store all your belts

You can tuck your newly-miniaturized belts in a stack on a shelf, in a drawer, or in a box—I recommend a small one that will help keep them organized and secure, like this one:

But I prefer another method I recently encountered, because I think there's value in making it easy to see all your options when you're picking out what to wear. So instead, stack your belts on a paper towel holder, like this one:

The little arm that's supposed to secure the paper towels to the roll will hold the belts in place and keep them rolled up, and stacking them this way will give you a better sense of what you've got, and save you from digging through a box looking for that one specific belt.

Apply Marie Kondo’s Method to Your To-Do Lists

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

For as much energy as you put into creating the perfect to-do list and being productive, it’s just a fact that you also need to prioritize downtime and joy. You can schedule breaks using the Pomodoro technique and prioritize your tasks based on how long they’ll take and how many results they’ll yield, but you know what? Some of those tasks can just be eliminated, not based on data, calculations, or how many you can get done in your allotted time—but based on you just not wanting to do them. Hear me out: You should try to KonMari your to-do list just like you do when you declutter your home.

How does Marie Kondo's approach apply to to-do lists?

Everyone knows about organizational guru Marie Kondo, whether from her books or her popular show, which focus on “tidying up” your living space—but her KonMari methodology can be adapted and applied to other areas of your life, too. She even has a book on tidying up your workspace, but we need to think bigger. You should tidy up your work, period. 

At their most basic, Kondo’s cleaning recommendations call on you to chuck out any items that don’t “spark joy.” Why limit this thinking to physical clutter? Your to-do list is cluttered, too, with unnecessary and unfulfilling tasks. 

How to KonMari your to-do list

To apply this organizational method to your responsibilities and tasks, familiarize yourself with Kondo’s six main principles:

  1. Envision your ideal home and lifestyle

  2. Commit to tidying up completely

  3. Let go and organize

  4. Tidy up by category

  5. Follow the correct order

  6. Only keep what sparks joy

To start, write down everything you have to do. Don’t leave a single task or responsibility out. Now, work on step one, envisioning your ideal lifestyle, or, in this case, work day. What would you do and focus on in your ideal day? It probably wouldn’t be menial tasks, other people’s responsibilities, or things outside of the scope of your job; it probably would include your core responsibilities and interests.

Next, commit to “tidying up” completely, or eliminating the tasks that get in the way of that ideal work day.

The third step is letting go and then moving onto organizing. Assess that exhaustive to-do list you wrote down. Do you see anything that you could just completely eliminate, like a wasteful call or a task that could be handled by someone else in your organization? You’ve already committed to tidying up. Now, all you need to do is cross those out, either forgetting them completely or delegating them to someone more appropriate. 

Now you’re left with tasks and functions that align more with the scope of your job description and the things you are interested in doing. Categorize them. The categories won’t be as clear-cut as they are when using KonMari for cleaning, when you sort your items into clothes, books, papers, etc. Instead, they’ll be subjective, related to your daily activities. Try sorting by job responsibilities, like sales, communication, and data collection and analysis. Or, try sorting by office tasks, household tasks, and personal tasks.

Whatever your to-do list is, you should see the patterns emerging that enable you to categorize the things you need to do. Once you’ve got them all sorted, rank them by importance. Maybe work tasks are more important than household tasks, which are more important than personal ones. Maybe sales are more important than data collection, but you need the data to effectively communicate with your team or clients, so you arrange those categories in that order. Tackle each category in order, working through the most important things first before moving on to less important ones. 

That’s how you’ll ultimately break through step six, which is keeping the things that “spark joy.” When you use the KonMari method to clean, you’re not focusing on what you want to get rid of; you’re focusing on what you really want to keep. By doing this with your to-do list, you clear space for the most important tasks, but you also keep the less-important, joy-sparking ones on the list. Don't forget, joy can be sparked by producing results and being productive, but also by engaging in activities you just really like. Make sure you schedule time to do those fulfilling activities, because the point here is that you should be making time for happiness. Productivity requires breaks, but even fulfilling responsibilities—like grabbing coffee with a friend or helping your kid with homework—can be productive and spark joy. By tossing out the truly unnecessary garbage in your to-do list, you’ll have time for all of it.  

The Best Ways to Digitize Your Old Photo Collection

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

I come from a family that collects old photographs, which means my mom's basement is full of huge plastic containers of pictures—and that collection is only increasing with time. Some pictures are a century old and feature people we've never even met before. Most are a few decades old and show distant relatives eating cake or accidentally blinking when the flash went off.

We almost never look at any of these, but they take up so much space—and that's why my mom decided last year she'd had enough. She wanted them out of the house and enlisted me to help her. We decided to go through them once, looking for anything genuinely important, throw out the vast majority, and digitize anything decent. Here is what we learned along the way.

Decide what photographs to keep

Whether you decide to ship your pics off to a digitizing company or upload them all yourself, it helps to work with the smallest volume possible. The same way I recommend holding a remembrance night to go through old stuff before you chuck it out, I recommend going through your physical pictures before you digitize them. From a practical standpoint, this will help you pare down duplicates, toss out anything useless, and only keep what actually deserves to be kept. From a nicer perspective, you can have a lot of fun and make some nice memories by reliving the past for a night—which was the point of holding onto these to begin with.

When I sort through photos, I categorize them into two piles: Throw away and digitize. Here and there, though, I snap a quick pic of one on my phone, just so I have it right away if I need it. It's easy to get sentimental and start making excuses about how every photo should be kept for some reason or another, but do your best to be pragmatic. You're not going to look at these often in the future. There's no reason to have five photos of your grandpa watching a football game or your toddler self visiting an aquarium you don't even remember. Select only the most important things to keep, reminisce a little about the stuff you're tossing, and keep going. My personal rule is that I pick one picture from each event—birthday parties, vacations, ceremonies, whatever—and make sure it's the best one. The rest have to go.

My best advice is to do this on a totally random night. Don't do it on a day you're feeling sentimental or nostalgic and especially don't do it around the date of something important that happened in the past, like the birth or death date of someone who's going to come up in the pictures a lot.

Digitizing photos on your own

If you want to tackle this on your own, you have two options: A photo scanner or an app on your phone. If you opt to get a scanner, get something that gets through the stacks quickly. PC Mag recommends the Epson FastFoto FF-680W, but keep in mind this thing is $599.99.

It's also a solid document scanner that can create searchable PDFs, so if you're looking to upgrade your scanner and you're in the market for something to digitize your pics, this could be the one for you. Others on the market are cheaper, like the Plustek Photo Scanner ePhoto Z300 ($199), but you'll have to manually feed the photos in one by one, which might not work if you have a whole family history's worth of memories to upload.

No matter what kind of scanner you're using, I recommend setting up a Google Photos account to keep all the pictures in one place. If you want to make the pics accessible to a wide group of people, setting up a separate account, like [yourlastname]familyphotos@gmail.com might be the way to go. I love Google Photos because it's searchable and easy to customize. It recognizes faces (making it easy to highlight or hide certain people), you can make folders and add details, and it's free and easy to access across multiple devices.

Naturally, then, the app I recommend for digitizing pics with your phone is Google PhotoScan, since it uploads your scans straight into your Google Photos library. However, this one is time-consuming: You may have to take a few pictures, which will then be put together to create the best digitization, so you have to go through every photo one by one. If you want an app that will scan multiple photos at once, your best bet is Photomyne, but you'll have to pay $199.99 upfront for a 10-year plan. You can then save all the photos individually and upload them to whatever cloud service or device you want.

Photo digitizing services

I didn't say this was a cheap endeavor; I only said it was an important step in decluttering your home and modernizing your record-keeping. Scanners and apps cost money and so does shipping your photos to a service that will digitize them for you—but the lack of hassle might be worth it.

iMemories is a service that charges $.99 per photo (but is frequently running specials, so you could pay as little as $.49). You can then pay $7.99 per month or $49.99 per year to access the iMemories Cloud full of your media, $39.99 for an 8GB USB drive, or $19.99 for a DVD or Blu-ray disk of the pics. Downloading them after the scan is free.

You could also try ScanMyPhotos, which also frequently offers specials but usually charges $229.98 per box of pics you send in. They estimate each box holds about 1,800 photos. Higher quality results will run you another $150 and you'll pay more the longer you want your download link to work before it expires.

Obviously, none of that is cheap either, which is why it's important to sort through your photo stack before you send it all in. But it's better than having stacks of pictures collecting dust and being far from useful in your attic.

Use the ‘Calendar Method’ to Finally Declutter Your House

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

While being surrounded by clutter in your home can feel chaotic and overwhelming, much of it can probably simply be discarded. How much of your kid’s old artwork really needs to be kept forever? There’s nothing of value in that stack of junk mail. And what do all the cords in that drawer even do? I’m not saying it’s easy to part with all of it, but you can make it easier. All of that junk is overwhelming in volume, but when you break it down, it can be totally manageable. You didn't accumulate it all at once, so don't try to get rid of it that way. Just use a calendar.

How the "calendar method" of decluttering works

The calendar method is pretty simple, when you get down to it: On the first day of the month, set out to declutter your house—but with the intention of it taking the full month. You start slow: On the first day, you find one item to throw away (or donate). On the second day, you throw away or donate two. Add another item each day, so you’re slowly building your decluttering muscle over the course of the month.

On a day with 31 months, you’ll end up parting with nearly 500 pieces of junk—and yet, you'll still be pacing yourself. On the first few days, don’t throw away anything too hard to part with. You’ll have plenty of time to get rid of every receipt, every unused appliance, and every expired container of food. Try to focus on one room at a time and make sure you stay on track with the numbering system. In fact, consider dedicating a month to one room, the next month to another, and so on, so you wind your way through the whole house at a pace that doesn't feel burdensome.

The best way to do this is by getting a big day planner and using that as your calendar, since it will tell you not only the numerical day of the month, but give you some space to write. At the end of each day, jot down everything you tossed out or donated. Try one like this, with big pages for each day:

If there is a day when you feel like tossing more pieces of junk than the date's number dictates, go for it, but use some caution. You know that toward the end of the month, you'll be getting rid of a bunch, so don't burn out. That's exactly what this technique is trying to avoid. In the event you work through this method for a while and find it's a little too slow, there are other decluttering techniques that take a stricter and more intense approach, so once you've gotten used to the feeling of getting rid of what you don't need, consider switching to one of those.

Why the calendar method is so effective

This method helps you get in the habit of tossing out a predetermined number of things, so that by the time you’re up to the teens and 20s, it’s much easier to part with stuff. (That's why I suggest saving more sentimental items until later in the month, when you've built up the mental muscle and are more used to tossing things out.) You see the progress and gain momentum along the way, especially if you take time to write down what you parted with every day. Getting rid of hundreds of pieces of clutter at once is an overwhelming task but chunking it up so you get a little thrill of accomplishment every day is much more sustainable. Plus, you'll see the progress through the month. By the third week or so, the space will look different—and that's motivating, too.

And at the end of the month, if you still have a bunch of clutter around, start back over at one.

This TikTok Hack to Make Your Home Smell Great Actually Works

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

I'm always trying to find new ways to make my home (and everything else) smell great, with varying levels of success. TikTok and other platforms are full of hacks that are supposed to give you long-lasting scents, but they usually fall apart for me. Here's one, however, that works.

Use household cleaner to enhance your home's smell

I came across this TikTok that showed a woman simply filling her sink with hot water and adding a cup of household cleaner, insisting it makes the whole place smell great.

I've been burned before by household cleaner-related scent hacks, but this one didn't have any of the red flags from those. It seemed almost too easy. I decided to give it a shot. I grabbed my trusty Fabuloso and ran to my sink—only to remember I lost the plug after switching to a pink debris catcher that matches my decor and prevents crumbs from entering my plumbing, but is totally ineffective at stopping up the drain entirely. I decided to fill a big bowl with hot water and half a cup of Fabuloso to really test the hack. Could a smaller vessel produce a permeating smell?

The answer was yes. It was like an instant yes. After I filled my bowl, I left the kitchen. I went back five minutes later and noticed the whole area smelled great. I returned to my living room and 10 minutes later, the smell hit me there, too. Her advice is to leave the cleaner-infused hot water alone for an hour, then dump it for all-day scent. It works. It really works. I can't wait to try it with other scents and kinds of cleaners.

A bowl of Fabuloso in a sink
Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

The scent is much stronger than when I simply mop with Fabuloso and I think that's because it's more concentrated, plus the very-hot water gives it a boost into the air.

Smell hacks that don't work

There are other hacks out there that suggest boiling old air freshener wicks or household cleaners to get this result, but you really shouldn't because that can be dangerous. What I like about this plain hot water method is that it doesn't involve boiling at all, so you're not at risk of accidentally heating anything to a dangerous point or putting something potentially poisonous in the tools you use to cook your food.

That said, I never had any luck with the more natural methods, either. Another popular social media tip revolves around boiling lemons to make your place smell citrusy. I've tried it and it simply doesn't work. It just wastes your lemons. Best to avoid.

The old tried-and-true

Although my home still smells of Fabuloso and I am confident it will for a very long time, I do have to add that I recently conceded that the best residential scent trick is probably the most boring. I've tried all kinds of air fresheners in my day and they all basically worked, although the smells dissipated quickly. Last month I tried a new one that is so powerful that the smell lingers for days even after I unplug the beast. It's called a Wallflower and I was so impressed that I got one for my mom and boyfriend, too, and they both reported the same thing: The scent sticks around long after it's been unplugged. To me, that's glorious, but if that's a little too much for you, I get it. Stick to the hack above. Here's the freshener I got, which I will never go without again:

Use the ‘Five-Minute Snowball’ to Find Cleaning Motivation

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

I’m always looking for new ways to motivate myself to do things I don’t want to do. Sometimes I try to trick myself by just getting up and jumping into a task for a few minutes to get it over with—and it works! I find myself getting into the work, getting carried away, and doing more than I intended to. But I didn’t really have a name for it. Then I saw this blog post from the Everyday Organiser that gives a name to the practice: the Five-Minute Snowball. If you have a hard time getting yourself to do tedious tasks—especially cleaning and organizing—I recommend you try it.

What is the five-minute snowball?

This is a simple twist on other time-management and motivational techniques: You can start a timer or just glance at your phone, but decide right then and there that you’re going to get to work for five minutes. That’s all you need to vow to do. It’s just five minutes. Then, when the timer goes off or you check your phone, you’ll likely realize time flew by. 

Personally, I recommend not setting a timer at all. Strict time limits can feel harsh and if you’re stressed out already, that might not be helpful for you. I’ve found that if I just get to work, I’m always shocked by how much time has actually gone by when I check the time again, so a timer letting me know that my five minutes is up wouldn’t be too beneficial. 

The goal here is to commit yourself to a manageable time goal. Five minutes really isn’t that bad, but you’re liable to discover you blow past that because it’s such a small amount of time, especially once you get into your groove. If, however, you don’t, it’s not demoralizing; you only set out to do five minutes and as long as you meet that goal, you accomplished what you set out to do. 

Why this works

I like this less-structured approach compared to, say, the Pomodoro technique, which asks you to work in longer, more defined chunks, adding small breaks in between. The nice thing about launching a five-minute snowball is that it’s completely manageable and doable, so instead of feeling bad if you don’t grind for 15 or 20 minutes straight, you feel satisfied when you meet your goal. Setting attainable goals is important, especially when you’re working on a task you don’t like, because you have to prioritize those positive feelings and avoid the negative ones that can keep you from moving forward. 

The general lack of structure here is great because you won’t be counting down minutes while you’re working. You know it’s a small amount of time and it’ll pass quickly, so you can focus on the task instead of the time. Overall, when you operate this way, you're spending less time plotting out what you need to do (or making excuses for why you can't or won't do it) and jumping straight into doing, which is much more engaging.

Cleaning techniques that can work with a five-minute snowball

A little structure isn’t so bad, though, so try incorporating a decluttering or cleaning method into your snowballing. There are a bunch out there, but these work well in small bursts:

  • You can do the ski-slope method, or the practice of organizing small sections of a room in a random order, in five-minute bursts, dedicating each snowball to one little area.

  • The 12-12-12 method involves finding 12 things to throw away, 12 to donate, and 12 to put away every day. You can break that down into three unique, five-minute bouts to make it less overwhelming.

  • Using the Decluttering at the Speed of Life method, you work through five steps—starting with tossing trash and ending with organizing everything you keep—but you don’t have to do it all at once and can instead move through the steps in bursts using the snowball technique.

The Right Way to Clean Every Part of Your Peloton

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

I teach a handful of cycling classes every week, and after each one, I grab a spray bottle of cleaner and a paper towel from the back of the studio and give my spin bike a wipe down. It only makes sense: The whole point of being on it is to get all sweaty and gross, and it's inevitable some of that sweat will wind up on the bike and the screen.

I have no idea what's in the bottle of cleaner, as I trust the gym to provide me with the right tools to keep the equipment in good shape. But when it comes to my Peloton at home, I am the cleaning team, which means I have to be much more on top of things. Here's what I've learned about how to clean every part of the machine after three years of ownership.

Clean your Peloton after every ride

First, keep a microfiber cloth or roll of Clorox wipes nearby so as soon as you dismount, you can wipe down your seat and handlebars. There isn't a ton of space on the bike itself to hang a cloth, and it's my duty as a spin teacher to gently suggest you not hang it off your handlebar when you ride, lest you go to grab the bar, accidentally yank the towel off, and lose your grip. (I don't let people in my classes cover their handlebars with sweat towels for this reason.)

If you own a Peloton, you're probably already tired of spending extra money to buy accessories for it, but consider picking up a hook for a nearby wall or even a shoe hanger designed to dangle off the bike itself and stashing your microfiber cloth there for easy post-ride access.

Personally, I use Clorox wipes after my rides, and keep the little container on the shelf near my bike. Either way, as long as you're wiping it down after each session, you're doing enough to keep it from getting too grimy between more serious cleanings.

Do an occasional deeper clean

About once a month. I dampen a rag and use a dot of dish soap and wipe down the whole bike, minus any of the electrical components, including the outlet cord powering the bike and the wires connected to the screen (those I just wipe down with a dry microfiber cloth). Scrub the base, wheels, various adjuster handles, and everything else, then go back over it with a dry cloth. Peloton's website suggests using baby wipes for this, but a damp towel works just as well.

Take care with the screen

To clean the screen, Peloton recommends first holding down the red button on top until it powers down, then using an ammonia-free cleaner designed for use on LCD, plasma, or other flatscreen, and wiping with a microfiber cloth.

Windex is a suitable option, and that's what I use once a month, or when the screen is visibly covered in dried sweat. When powered off, the screen is incredibly reflective and difficult to photograph, so forgive me, but in the photo below you can see the improvement made with just one pass of Windex.

Before and after cleaning Peloton screen
A little before-and-after action with the Windex Credit: Lindsey Ellefson

Other Peloton cleaning recommendations

If you're feeling uneasy about using your existing cleaning products on the bike, consider investing in some designed for use on workout equipment.

Wipex comes recommended by users on Reddit and is an affordable option that can ease your worries about what you're slopping all over your $1,500 device.

During your monthly-or-so deeper clean, don't forget about the mat you have probably placed under the machine—wipe that down with a damp rag and a dab of dish soap or the Wipex cloths too.

The Best Workbooks for Decluttering and Organizing

✇Lifehacker
Lindsey Ellefson

When it comes time to declutter and organize your home, you may be someone who just dives in or someone who follows a more structured routine (which is, frankly, recommended). Maybe watching some TikToks about cleaning or reading up on the best approach works for you. Maybe scheduling time into your calendar every night to tidy up is your thing. For some, though, a more intense, step-by-step process might be necessary. Have you considered workbooks? They function kind of like planners, giving you tasks, instructions, motivation, and space to record how you're doing. Here are some you can try if you're having a hard time sticking to the task of decluttering.

Great decluttering workbooks

The Home Edit Workbook: Prompts, Activities, and Gold Stars to Help You Contain the Chaos

If you're familiar with the Netflix show of the same name, you know The Home Edit is popular, but this book by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin is special for a few reasons of its own: First, it has 52 challenges inside for every room of your home, so you can go at your own pace, but if you even just did one a week, you'd have improvements in a year. Second, it comes with some gold-star stickers, which might seem silly, but if you're motivated by seeing progress or earning rewards, it's an easy way to stay hyped up on your task.

Declutter Made Easy Workbook: Step by Step Checklist to Declutter Your Home

In this workbook, Katherine Hay sets out to make the process of decluttering as easy as possible by providing weekly checklists and planners, plus check-in and progress report pages. It's set up so you can do as little as 10 minutes of cleaning per day and still see results, all without feeling demoralized. In fact, the book encourages you to only spend 10 minutes on each task and gives you enough variety that you don't get stuck on something repetitive. Once you finish this one, check out the My Purged Home workbook ($12.99) from Chaos Cleared, which uses the same 10-minutes-only structure.

The Declutter Challenge: A Guided Journal for Getting your Home Organized in 30 Quick Steps

If you're a fan of Cassandra Aarssen's "clutterbug" methodology, try her workbook to take it to another level. With a focus on mindfulness, it takes you through 30 steps toward decluttering, using open-ended questions throughout to make you think more about why your home is cluttered, why you want to change it, and what you can do to make it happen. Knowing yourself is at the heart of Aarssen's technique, so the book helps you get there first.

Swedish Death Cleaning Workbook: The 30 Days Challenge to Organize and Simplify Your Life, Declutter Your Home and Keep It Clean

Kelsie Zaria's workbook guides you through the Swedish death cleaning technique, forcing you to both reckon with your mortality and clean your house. Every day for 30, it asks you to do one 10-minute task, all with the goal of preparing your home for when you're gone and someone else has to go through your stuff—even if that is a long, long way off. Like Aarssen's work, it makes you think not only about the task at hand, but the bigger picture of why it's important to tidy up and adopt a more decluttered lifestyle overall, making this a perfect journal if you have a hard time getting motivated to clean or see it as pointless.

Cleaning Sucks: An Unf*ck Your Habitat Guided Journal for Less Mess, Less Stress, and a Home You Don't Hate

This workbook from Rachel Hoffman is consistently popular and highly rated—and for good reason. It goes along with her book of the same name, providing a full-color, guided journal meant to help you get to the bottom of why, exactly, you don't like to clean. Once you figure that out, you can determine what's stopping you from doing it, then get to work. It's a pretty reflective workbook, not necessarily one that takes you through any cleaning processes step by step, so pick this one up if you're stuck in a rut and can't force yourself to tidy up.

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