This is part of my series on Decluttering Mental Models.

We’re roughly five months away from 2022—which is weird because it feels like 2021 just barely started! And as we approach this year’s midpoint, we should start putting together our discard box for the next year.

Here’s how it works: Take a box of any size and write the date 6-7 months from now. If I were doing this right now, I’d write “Discard by Feb. 2022” with a bold marker.

Next, fill the box with stuff you think you want to get rid of but aren’t quite ready to let go of. Maybe it’s a nice whisk with a polished wooden handle or a bestselling novel that your friends won’t shut up about. Look through your kitchen gadgets, small appliances, office supplies, unread books, and old clothes.

When the box is full, tape it shut and put it in storage. Mark your calendar with the discard date.

The next six months will be a trial run of having this clutter gone. It’ll be out of sight and out of mind. If there’s anything in particular that you miss, you can always pull it out of the box. But there’s an excellent chance you’ll completely forget about what’s inside.

After six months, pull the box out—and this is important!—do not open the box. Instead, discard it.

You have a couple of options for discarding this box:

  1. Drop it straight in the trash and be done with it
  2. Give it to a friend and ask them to donate/recycle what they can

If you’re really worried about giving your items a second home, I recommend having two boxes. One labeled “Charity shop by Feb. 2022” and the other labeled “Trash by Feb. 2022.” This way, you can easily donate worthwhile items without asking friends to sort through your clutter.

Just remember: Everything ends up in a landfill eventually anyway. So don’t stress about recycling and donating every last thing.

More Decluttering Mental Models:

Top 10 Favorites

  1. How I answer the question: “What if I need this later?”
  2. “The Container strategy” will simplify your decluttering
  3. Selling clothes is for suckers (unless you earn $15/hour)
  4. Wait 48 hours before buying stuff
  5. 21 questions to ask before you buy
  6. The radical way to measure wealth, part 1 and part 2
  7. We’re trained to be dissatisfied with what we have (and how to fix this)
  8. Clear clutter by zoning your home
  9. How screen time kills your motivation to declutter
  10. Dear car dealers: I don't want a "free" T-shirt with your logo

Get started

  1. Clear clutter by zoning your home
  2. How I answer the question: “What if I need this later?”
  3. “The Container strategy” will simplify your decluttering
  4. Hold each item and ask, “Does this spark joy?”
  5. When the “Does this Spark Joy?” fails you, ask these 6 questions
  6. Create your “Discard by Feb. 2022” box
  7. Decluttering yearbooks? Ask these 8 questions first

Shopping

  1. 21 questions to ask before you buy
  2. Wait 48 hours before buying stuff - version 1 and version 2
  3. How a grocery shopping list saves me time, money, and pounds

Manage your clothes

  1. Selling clothes is for suckers (unless you can earn $15/hour)
  2. Dear Dude with too many T-shirts: no one wants to buy them—just recycle/trash them
  3. Don't be like my friend Giorgio with his 400 Hawaiian shirts
  4. None of my clothes "spark joy"—so what do i get rid of?

Happiness & satisfaction

  1. Limit pleasurable things so they don’t lose their novelty
  2. We’re trained to be dissatisfied with what we have (and how to fix this)
  3. Craving never stops and my potato chip addiction
  4. Reminder: happiness levels stay consistent

Get motivated

  1. Want to boost your motivation to declutter? Immerse yourself in decluttering videos, podcasts, & books!
  2. How screen time kills your motivation to declutter
  3. Imagine your ideal home… Imagine all the clutter is gone…
  4. Feeling unmotivated? Declutter with a 5-minute time box

Manage your money

  1. The radical way to measure wealth, part 1 and part 2
  2. Save money by controlling aspirational identities
  3. I wasted so much money starting projects (and how I fixed it)

Manage consumption spirals

  1. How consumption spirals work
  2. Buying a house led to an enormous consumption spiral
  3. How craving completeness drives my consumption

Shift your Paradigm

  1. Change your environment, change your consumption
  2. 3 thought experiments to adopt a decluttering mindset
  3. Your home is not a storage unit for other people's crap!
  4. Before you buy stuff, do this little mental exercise
  5. Less space, less stuff
  6. That’s right, you and I pay for the privilege of seeing viagra ads
  7. Your home is an expensive container for your stuff. What’s your cost per sqft?

Manage your emotions

  1. Can you tolerate boredom?
  2. Fill the void with a long term goal

Control the Clutter

  1. Dear car dealers: I don't want a "free" T-shirt with your logo