Clothes are strewn across the floor, and trash is piled precariously high on top of the bin. Dishes are stacked not only in the sink but also beside it. When your home is in disarray like this, it is easy for the mess to multiply. What difference does another t-shirt on the ground make when you cannot even see the floor beneath all the clutter?
That is where the ‘5 Things Tidying Method’ comes in. Developed by KC Davis, a licensed professional counsellor, author of How to Keep House While Drowning (2022), and Founder of the mental health platform Struggle Care, this method provides a proven way to find the motivation to tackle the growing clutter without draining your energy or affecting your mental well-being. In the following sections, you will learn all about the ins and outs of the ‘5 Things Tidying Method’ and how it can help you reclaim your space.
What is the ‘5 Things Tidying Method’?
The ‘5 Things Tidying Method’ is designed to assist anyone who feels overwhelmed by their messy home, particularly individuals with ADHD or mental health struggles. The concept is quite simple: focus solely on clearing up five specific categories of items and nothing else – trash, laundry, dishes, items that have a designated place, and items that don’t have a designated place.
Trash
To avoid becoming overwhelmed, tackle one category at a time throughout your entire house. First, go around collecting trash, and then dispose of it. Simply take a garbage bag and fill it with snack wrappers, juice boxes, kitchen towels, and so on.
Laundry
Next, gather any stray laundry and put it where it belongs: in the hamper. Do not pause to pick up anything other than laundry; you will get to that eventually but it is more efficient to have all the clothes cleared out before attending to other tasks – grabbing the clothes is already easier when there is no trash obstructing your path.
Dishes
After that, gather all dirty plates, cups, and silverware and place them in the sink. But don’t worry about washing them yet. The goal is to create a starting point that will help reduce stress and prevent decision fatigue.
Things That Have a Place
The next task is to put away items that have designated spots. Clean clothes should be put in the closet, pencils and pens on your desk, books on the shelf, and so on.
Things That Don’t Have a Place
Lastly, items that don’t have an assigned spot should be placed in a pile in a corner of a room. They can remain in the pile until you are ready to deal with them. Alternatively, you can try to find a place for them if you are prepared. Once this is done, you can start a load of laundry, wash the dishes, or call it a day.
According to Davis, you can break this process down over the course of days, too, if you feel like it’s too much to handle at once.
Why the ‘5 Things Tidying Method’ Works
Shame is not a productive motivator. Feeling ashamed of a messy space does not create a comfortable home for oneself. It sets up a cycle where unfinished tasks generate shame, which then diminishes motivation and energy, ultimately leading to avoidance of the task altogether.
The ‘5 Things Tidying Method’ aims to eliminate feelings of shame by breaking down overwhelming chores into manageable tasks. It is a method that is meant to be approachable and not exhaust you in the moment or over time.
Self-kindness is important when it comes to maintaining a clean home. Once you let go of the pursuit of perfection, you can practice compassion towards yourself.
“Much of our distress stems not from unfolded laundry but from the negative messages we tell ourselves. Lazy. Failure. Unlovable. You don’t need to excel at household tasks to develop a compassionate inner dialogue. You deserve kindness and love regardless of your proficiency in household tasks. Challenging these self-critical messages will greatly alleviate your distress,” Davis writes on the Struggle Care website.
The ‘5 Things Tidying Method’ provides a sustainable way to manage the never-ending small chores in life.