The Containers as Limits Method of decluttering has been gaining traction in the last few years. Popularized by Dana K. White, the Container Method also known as the Containers as Limits Decluttering Method is one of my favorite methods for decluttering an area. It’s one I’ve been using since long before I’d ever heard of Dana K. White. In this post we are going to dig into this method and help you understand how it works.
What is the Containers as Limits Method?
The Containers as Limits Method of decluttering centers around the use of physical container to set boundaries within specific spaces or categories. In its simplest form, this method defines the limits of a designated area using containers, and once the container is full, it serves as a visual signal to stop accumulating more items in that space.
Now with the container as limits method, this doesn’t mean that you are necessarily putting things in a physical container, but I’ll get more into that later.
The container method is made up of 5 core principles. Once you understand these, you can apply the container method to any aspect of your home. The five core principles of the container method are:
1. Setting Clear Boundaries
In essence, this is setting a boundary for your clutter within the containers themselves. As I mentioned earlier, a container doesn’t have to be a physical container like a storage tub, though there are a lot of instances where that might be the case. A container could be a shelf, or a drawer, or a section of a room. By setting clear boundaries, the container method states that once you have filled that container, you cannot put anything else in that space.
2. Assigning Containers to Categories
Each category or type of item should have its designated container. This could be a basket for accessories, a bin for toys, or a shelf for books. The idea is to have a specific place for every type of item, making it easier to maintain order and find things when you need them. Assigning containers to categories ensures that each item has its rightful place within the overall organization scheme.
3. Limiting the Space
The magic happens when you establish the size of the container. The container itself becomes a natural limit on the number of items you can keep within that space. If the container is full, it serves as a clear signal that it’s time to declutter or make decisions about what to keep and what to let go. This limitation encourages mindful choices and prevents unnecessary accumulation.
4. Prioritizing and Evaluating
The Containers as Limits method forces you to prioritize the items that truly matter to you. When faced with a limited space, you’re prompted to evaluate the significance and usefulness of each item. This process of prioritization is essential for cultivating a living environment that aligns with your values and brings you joy.
5. Avoiding Overflow
One of the key principles of this method is to resist the temptation to exceed the container’s capacity. Overflowing containers are visual cues that indicate a need to reassess and declutter. Instead of allowing clutter to build up over time, the Containers as Limits method encourages regular evaluation and maintenance.
Where Can I use the Containers as Limits method?
The great thing about this method is it can be used just about anywhere in your home. I’ve applied this in pretty much every room of my house. Let’s go over a few places that might be the most useful to you!
Kitchen Organization
The kitchen is one of those places that always seems to accumulate clutter. Whether it’s food, paper bags, mail, or kids toys. Everything always seems to land in the kitchen. The nice thing about the kitchen is it tends to have containers built into it in the form of drawers and cupboards.
Let’s take coffee cups for example. Everyone seems to love to give people coffee cups. If you’ve got a shelf in your cupboard and your coffee cups are stacked, you can use the container method to clear it out. Keep only the ones you like or need and then get rid of the rest.
That shelf is the limit of how many coffee cups you can actually keep. Let the size of the shelf be the container that limits your amount of coffee cups. Let the shelf be the enemy. If you have one that you like better than the rest but you don’t have a spot for it, choose which coffee mug you like the least and get rid of it. I’ve done this with glassware, plates, small appliances, food storage, even drawers of random utensils or knives.
The Pantry
Apply the Containers as Limits method to your pantry by using containers for different food categories. Assign containers for grains, snacks, spices, and canned goods. When a container is full, it’s time to reassess your pantry items and make intentional choices about what to keep and what to use or donate.
Bedroom Closets
The Containers as Limits method works great for closets. I use this method to contain and sort through things like socks and t-shirts. This keeps the amount of each of these items down to a reasonable amount, it keeps things more organized, and makes it easier to see what you have. It also reduces the dreaded “I have nothing to wear” dilemma.
Home Office and Paper Management
The Home Office is the perfect place to implement the Containers as Limits method. Paper clutter is a common challenge in many households. Using the Containers as Limits method, you can create a system for managing paperwork. Assign containers for bills, important documents, and miscellaneous papers. Personally I use a letter tray organizer with 5 slots.
When a container is full, it’s time to sift through the papers, discard what you no longer need, and organize the rest. This approach not only streamlines your home office but also ensures that important documents are easily accessible.
Children’s Toys and Play Areas
Nothings gets out of hand faster than children’s toys. For us, the children’s play room is a constant mess. The Containers as Limits method has helped a lot with wrangling that mess and reducing the clutter.
We have a bunch of containers to keep things separated out. Some examples of our containers are Stuffed Animals, Crafts, Trucks, and Blocks. We found that separating them out into containers has a few benefits.
First, the kids know exactly what goes where so cleanup becomes easier.
Second, there are less things overall to cleanup because the kids tend to not be dumping out all of the stuff as was the issue when everything was in one giant box. It’s so nice not having to pick up the jumbled mess of Potato Head parts, LEGO, Trucks, and blocks because they were all put together in one spot.
Third, with the container as limits method, we can limit what the kids have access to and they can focus on certain toys rather than being overstimulated and having more toys than they could possibly play with during the day. This allows them to be more creative and imaginative.
Digital Clutter
While this is a bit more abstract to think about, you can absolutely use containers as limits to manage your digital clutter on your computer or smartphone. Create folders for different categories of files and set limits on the amount of data you store. When a digital container is nearing its limit, take the time to declutter and organize your digital files.
Benefits of the Containers as Limits Method
Now that we’ve explored the principles and practical applications of the Containers as Limits method, let’s discuss the benefits of incorporating this approach into your lifestyle.
Visual Clarity
Visual Clarity is a huge benefit of the Containers as Limits method. As I mentioned earlier with the kids playroom, we used containers to separate various toys into their own spots. So LEGO had their own container, Mr. Potato Head had its own container, Play-Doh had its own container.
The result is that we can just look at the shelf and pull down the contained set of toys we are looking for. This also means when putting things away, the kids can easily identify what goes where.
This also works well for other things in the house. For clothing maybe you put all your socks in one container and plain colored t-shirts in another. In your cupboards you might organize things so all coffee mugs go on one shelf or all of your snacks go in a single container. In all cases, you can easily look and get visual clarity of where things should go.
Mindful Decision Making
Being more mindful about your decision making is a huge part of the Containers as Limits method. By limiting the available space for the various categories of things you own, you are forcing yourself to be more mindful. If you don’t have enough room in the container, you are forced to assess the value and importance of each item.
For example, lets say you got a brand new coffee mug. As you are putting it in the cupboard, which is the container for it, you realize you don’t have room for it. Using the container method, you have to decide, what coffee mug do you get rid of?
This forces you to be mindful, perhaps this new mug that was just gifted to you isn’t something you want to keep after all and you get rid of it. Or perhaps you might want to get rid of that one mug that never seems to get clean or that you never use. With the containers as limits method, you only keep the stuff you want and never the stuff you don’t care about.
Prevention of Clutter
The Prevention of Clutter is perhaps the biggest reason why I embraced the Containers as Limits method. If everything is contained, it’s a lot harder to have clutter. It also means that instead of waiting and getting overwhelmed by the clutter, as you are adding things you are forced to make a decision about whether or not you want to keep items.
You can do things in the moment. The Containers as Limits method prompts you to consistently maintain and organize the space and helps maintain a more organized environment.
Efficient Use of Space
This is a big one for me, especially in the pantry and with kids toys. With limited space to put things away, trying to keep everything organized when it all comes in a wide manner of shapes and sizes leads to a disorganized mess.
With the Containers as Limits method, you set the size and shape of the containers instead of the objects you are trying to contain setting the size and shape. I’ll take noodles for example. We all know noodles come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes.
Because we cook from a variety of different cultures, we end up with noodles in boxes, noodles in flimsy bags, noodles in jars, individually packaged noodles. It can be a mess. So, we put each of the noodle types in a new container. A container that fits neatly and efficiently into our pantry.
This means we always know how much of each type of noodle we have because we can easily look at it, the noodles aren’t strewn throughout the pantry in various spots that ‘Just fit’, and everything is efficiently organized in a way that uses less space.
Keep in mind, you can do this with just about anything, I do this to more efficiently organize things like Play-doh and LEGO or even socks!
Empowerment and Control
Decluttering can be a daunting task, but the Containers as Limits method empowers you to take control of your living spaces. The clear boundaries and visual cues provide a sense of control over your belongings, contributing to a more positive and empowered mindset.
Adaptability to Different Spaces
One of the strengths of this method is its adaptability to various spaces and categories. Whether you’re tackling a small drawer or an entire room, the Containers as Limits approach can be customized to suit your specific decluttering goals.
Overcoming Potential Challenges
I’d be lying if I said there aren’t potential challenges that come with this system. Being aware of them allows you to address them head-on.
Sentimental Items
Sentimental items can be especially hard to let go off. I know because I’ve got stuff I’ve held onto for years for sentimental reasons. Keep in mind, it is perfectly fine to keep sentimental items, but the key is to focus on the joy and purpose that the items bring into your life. If an item no longer serves any purpose in your life or doesn’t bring any joy to your life, consider letting it go.
Consistent Maintenance
Like all systems, maintaining it takes effort. The Containers as Limits method is no different. You should set aside time to regularly evaluate and declutter the designated containers to ensure that it doesn’t get overwhelming. If you are allowing the method to work as intended though and maintaining as you are hitting the limits of your containers, maintenance should be an easy task.
Initial Time Investment
This is the biggest hurdle most people have to overcome with the Containers as Limits method. Getting started on this method takes time. You have to go through and declutter items and choose what to keep and what to get rid of. This is generally not quick to do. Set aside time to do this. Even if it’s just 15 minutes per day to tackle a section. This will add up quickly and you will make progress. Every little bit of progress helps. The long term benefits will make this time investment worthwhile.
Final Thoughts
I’ve been using this method for years and it changed the way I organize and maintain my home. I don’t have it implemented everywhere, but where I do there is a huge difference in the ease or organization and a reduction of clutter in those areas.
As long as you are willing to put in the effort to start using this method and get over the initial hurdles of time and decluttering, the long term benefits of this will pay off and your home will be more simplified while still maintaining the feel of a home. This will help reduce time spent on cleaning and reduce your stress and anxiety, giving you time to focus on the more important things in your life.
