Most disorganized individuals find it difficult to determine whether to keep an item or let it go. That inability to make a decision inevitably will lead to clutter. For those who struggle, there are various techniques that you can learn from Professional Organizers to guide you towards effective decision-making.

One of the strategies I frequently employ when helping clients make decisions is the rating scale. I ask clients to rate how much they like (or want) an item on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being lowest and 10 being highest.

Then we create a rule that says:

• Rating of 9 or 10 is an automatic keep

• Rating of 1 to 4 is an automatic discard (donate or trash as appropriate)

• Rating of 5 to 7 is a maybe

When it comes to the maybes, we use multiple criteria to determine whether those items stay. Questions that are asked might include:

• How will they use it, and how often?

• Is there something else they already have that can be used instead?

• Does it fit with their current goals?

• Is there a place for it?

• Is it a hassle to keep?

If you’re struggling with decluttering and think guidelines might help, then try out this rating scale technique. Putting a number to items may make the decisions clearer and easier.