The 12-12-12 Decluttering Method
What is the 12-12-12 Decluttering Method?
Created by Joshua Becker, it’s a decluttering technique where, in short bursts, you are advised to:
Find 12 things to throw away
Find 12 things to donate
Find 12 things to put back in their home
Although I can see a benefit of this technique for busy individuals who are time poor, as a KonMari Consultant, from my experience I’ve identified a few issues of how this strategy may prove problematic.
Key Issues:
The ‘throw away’ part - In a more environmentally conscious 2024, I believe we can no longer get away with the term ‘throw away’ or do this in practice as it’s extremely wasteful. Using 12-12-12, although we may not need the first 12 items any more, it’s worth considering whether the items may prove valuable to someone else. The term throw away is too restrictive - we must also assess whether the item can be recycled, or correctly disposed of.
The donation part - The 12-12-12 Method fosters a sense of urgency in decluttering (making quick decisions equates to quick progress) which suits those who have decluttered before and are skilled in making decisions. But what happens when it comes to people who find it hard to let go of things? Or people whom are sentimentally attached to their items? Gratitude is completely absent in the process, along with the appreciation for what these items may have brought to our life. With the fast paced implementation and no mention of gratitude, the 12-12-12 Method is a stark contrast to the KonMari Method. In 12-12-12 you are essentially forced to make decisions - so what happens if you experience tidying regret when you let go of something prematurely without due consideration? Never force yourself to let go of something, because if you experience tidying regret early on, this could prevent you from making rational decisions in the future.
The 12-12-12 Method encourages you to make decisions using a negative mindset - Using 12-12-12, you focus on getting rid of items, instead of focusing of keeping things that are useful and spark joy - which is a key feature of the KonMari Method, and allows one to embrace a positive mindset in decluttering. If you only focus on getting rid of things, it’s easy to enter a negative, dismissive mindset - therefore, 12-12-12 deprives an individual of the opportunity to experience key lessons about conscious consumerism and their previous lack of boundaries. Conversely, through actively deciding what to keep through positive joy checking in the KonMari Method, one resets their relationship with their things, embraces a positive mindset and can open themselves up to a growth mindset. This means they can learn from the purchasing mistakes of their past and welcome the opportunity to re-establish boundaries for the future, to prevent clutter from building up again.
The ‘put things back’ part - What does put things back in their home mean? Items you own that have been misplaced? Or items that belong to others and need to be returned to them? The latter is going to be difficult if you’re holding on to your brother’s old microwave and he now lives in Australia! I feel more clarity is required on this point.
The method is too restrictive - Why 12 items? What happens if you’re on a decluttering roll? Do you need to stop when you get to 12? Any keen declutterer knows: when you’re on a roll, it’s best to follow that tidying motivation!
12-12-12 encourages multitasking - If you think decluttering is one task, you’re sadly mistaken. Decluttering encompasses a variety of skills (decision making, sorting, getting things out of the house). I love the KonMari Method because you tidy by category instead of location - you focus your decision making on one category of items at one time. There’s an effective structure to follow using categorisation - starting with clothing, before moving on to books, paperwork, komono (miscellaneous items) and finally, sentimental items. Decision making is easier if you’re focusing your brain on one category at a time (mono-tasking if you will). If you’re joy checking clothes, then you make decisions about clothes only, and as you go along, you come up with a good criteria of items you wish to keep, as well as a set of useful questions to guide your decision making.
Contrast this approach to looking at 12 items from a range of categories:
A Halloween costume
A pencil case from your childhood
Mini shampoo from your trip to Bali last year
A 4kg bag of rice still present from lockdown
Your child’s first bike (they’re now 15)
A book recommended by a friend
A broken picture frame you said you’d mend 4 years ago
Last year’s tax return papers
An old iPhone you need to wipe data from
Socks without friends
A jumper you need to mend
A candle that was a gift from a friend
With such an eclectic mix of items, is the process of decluttering them a quick and easy one?! Tackling items from different categories sends our heads in a spin! In KonMari, we look at the volume of items in the context of their category. Bringing all items together allows our brain to focus on one stream of thought, for example how many clothes do I want to keep? We get into clothing joy checking mode and although the questions surrounding whether to keep clothing items may be extensive, at least they’re all questions about clothes. In this situation, your brain isn’t constantly switching tasks. If you make decisions across a range of categories (first a clothing item, then a book, then old paperwork, then a bathroom item etc.) it’s easy to feel overwhelmed! If you try to decide on too many categories at one time, you’ll be exhausted. In KonMari, each category demands a certain criteria of thinking, and allows one to get into a flow state of decision making, ensuring good progress.
Due to it’s ad hoc nature surrounding decision making, I believe using 12-12-12 may lead to individuals giving up too soon. This leads to an increased likelihood of rebound, meaning a home will be cluttered up again.
Those are my thoughts! But I’d love to hear from you - have you heard of the 12-12-12 Method before? Has it worked for you?