It may feel like there are a million different strategies out there for decluttering your house, from the "Move-Out Method" to the 80/20 Rule. And to be honest, I haven't quite found my magic wand for clearing the clutter in my house (if only there was a magic wand, am I right?)—so I decided to give the "One Tote, One Day" method a try.
The technique is pretty self-explanatory. You pick a room, grab a tote, and fill it fast with things that don't belong in there—whether it's stuff that you can trash or stuff that belongs in another room. Then, you dispose of the contents, and prep your bag for another go the next day.
So I grabbed a bag and headed into the clutteriest room that I allow guests to see: the entryway.
What I Loved About the One Tote, One Day Method
The best part about this method? It was an easy one to implement on a daily basis, since you barely had to think about it. But there was even more to love about it.
It didn't take long to fill the tote
It's probably not a good sign that I was able to fill a nicely sized tote with stuff that didn't belong in my entryway in about six minutes flat. But if I'm looking to make a daily habit stick, I need something that can be accomplished fast, and this definitely fit the bill.
It worked great for surface clutter
The one tote, one day method seemed custom-made for managing visible clutter. It helped me quickly corral papers, packages, trash, and other things that were just left out on the console (and, ahem, the floor!). There was a clear before-and-after difference that I was able to achieve in barely any time.
What I Didn't Love About the One Tote, One Day Method
This method will definitely work for a lot of people—but there were a few roadblocks I found that kept it from being a major decluttering success.
I failed at putting the stuff away
The trash was easy to manage, along with a few things that belonged in other rooms on our first floor. (Why was there a lone spoon in the entryway? No one knows!)
But the stuff that needed to go to the second floor, like papers and a few pieces of clothing? They sat in the bag at the bottom of the stairs for an embarrassingly long time—especially the items that were earmarked for my kids to take up to their rooms.
It didn't seem ideal for tackling serious trouble spots
It worked well in my entryway (and later, my living room). But when I tried the one tote, one day method a few days later to try to make sense of my pantry, it didn't seem to help as well as it did in the entryway. I found an expired spice or two, and was able to consolidate a few nearly-empty snacks into smaller containers. But big, clutterific projects like a pantry or closet really do call for a complete, take-everything-out kind of decluttering to shuffle everything back to its proper spot.
How I'd Use the "One Tote, One Day" Method
To me, this decluttering method is ideal for those "hurry and clean up before friends come over" moments, to help you look more organized and put together than you are. (Just make sure to set aside some time to put the stuff away—even if you can't do it right away!)
And it'd work really well to clear away visual mess when you just need a quick reset to make your home feel more serene—like a fast-track speed clean before the weekend or the start of the workweek, so you can start on a more relaxed note.
But for deeper dives, I'd resort to a different decluttering method that'll be more effective at really clearing out clutter and organizing what's left.
Source: Milbrand, L. (2025, September 13). People swear by the "One tote, one day" decluttering method, so of course I had to test it on my messy entryway. Real Simple. https://www.realsimple.com/one-tote-one-day-decluttering-method-11809390