The 90/90 rule instructs that items not used or loved in the past 90 days and unlikely to be needed in the next 90 should be discarded. Applying the rule to sentimental clutter prompted decisions to donate an old running-club T-shirt, recycle long-unused diaries and notebooks, and part with stacks of birthday cards and newspaper clippings. The method works room by room by asking two questions about past and future use, placing double-'no' items into donate, recycle, or trash piles. The process initially felt daunting but became liberating, encouraged truthful choices, reduced procrastination, and eased physical overcrowding. Some objects provoked guilt.
I'm a sentimental collector - from trinkets passed down by my grandmother, to my first concert tickets at 13, I've always held onto memorable items. But over time, my home started to feel less like a sanctuary and more like a storage unit. Keepsakes filled every nook and cranny, and instead of bringing joy they made me feel tense. My small space felt even smaller, and the clutter became overwhelming.
the 90/90 rule is simple: If you haven't used or loved an item in the past 90 days, and don't see yourself needing it in the next 90 days, it's time to let it go. For me, that meant donating my old middle-school running club T-shirt, recycling diaries and notebooks I hadn't touched in years, and parting ways with stacks of birthday cards and newspaper clippings.
I took it room by room and asked myself two questions: Have I used or loved this item in the last 90 days? Will I in the next 90 days? If the answer was "no" twice, it went into a donate, recycle, or trash pile. This method kept me truthful about what I wanted to keep and what was just taking up space. Focusing on one room at a time also prevented me from procrastinating, as the overall task felt less overwhelming.
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