Despite our best efforts, it can often feel like we are constantly accumulating “stuff.” Sometimes it’s easy to trace where it all comes from: a well-intentioned but unwanted gift, an impulse buy at the checkout, the purchase that represented the person you could become if you just made this one change. Other times, it just amasses, until your cabinets are fit to bursting and you’re not even sure what’s inside.
At the extreme end of the spectrum, you have hoarding, which is a serious behavior that needs careful treatment. But for most of us, having too much stuff is simply impractical. A poor use of space, an inefficient way to find what you need, when you need it. Maybe a source of guilt, when we think about the environmental impact and the money wasted. This is such a common phenomenon that we’ve created an activity purely to address this accumulation: decluttering. But sometimes, we need a little extra help.
Very self-disciplined types may have no issue with regularly going through their possessions, removing what no longer serves them. The rest of us can find it hard to carve out the time, to tell what deserves keeping, to follow through with recycling, donating or taking it to the dump. This is when it pays to have a little trick up your sleeve, one that will convince you that you’re actually doing something fun and not checking off an overdue item on your to-do list.
This is when it pays to have a packing party.
What is a “packing party?”
A “packing party” is an idea coined by the Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus, and T.K. Coleman, as part of their “21 Day Journey into Minimalism”.
It involves packing up everything you own — seriously, everything — as if you were moving to a new home, then only unpacking each item as you actively need to use it. For furniture, they recommend throwing a sheet or something over it so you can even see which large-scale purchases are adding value to your daily life.
What stays in boxes is naturally revealed as unnecessary, making the decluttering process less overwhelming,” explained Victoria Greene, professional organizer and founder of Meet Your Neat.
The “party” element of the packing party is the hook to get you to actually follow through on the packing. If you’ve ever moved home before, then you’re familiar with how frustrating and time-consuming it can be to get every possession into a box for transport, so the Minimalists recommend inviting some friends over to make the process quicker and more entertaining.
Once everything is packed, the full process takes anywhere from a week to a month, as you reintroduce items to your space as needed.
Why is it effective?
There’s no question that putting your entire life into boxes is a fairly drastic approach to decluttering, but its supporters see it as more than just an organizational hack.
“Packing Parties aren’t just about getting rid of things, they’re about creating a mindset shift,” said Greene. “People often realize they need less than they thought to feel happy and functional.”
Many decluttering techniques are more about creating consistent routines around organization and storage than changing someone’s perspective on consumerism. This can be useful for small-scale change, but still requires you to actively make time on a regular basis to go through your items — lest the possessions start to pile up again. Traditional decluttering also mostly leaves it up to the individual to decide whether something is a keep, toss, or maybe, without giving clear guidelines on what makes something worth keeping. This can lead people to be too conservative, undermining efforts to cut down on items dramatically.
With a packing party, you only unpack items as you use them, which provides revealing insights in a clear, objective way. If you find that you’re only using a fraction of what you own on a regular basis, this may encourage you to confront how you make purchases and change your overall approach.
You may still decide to keep some specific things that you didn’t use in the initial unpacking timeframe, such as seasonal clothing you can’t wear right now or a suitcase that hasn’t been needed this month.
“Instead of endless “maybe piles,” you gain a real-world test of what’s truly essential.”
Victoria Greene, professional organizer and founder of Meet Your Neat.
“[Packing parties] create clarity by forcing decisions in a fun, structured way,” said Greene. “Instead of endless 'maybe piles,' you gain a real-world test of what’s truly essential.”
Lastly, the social element of packing up items together with friends and family should not be underestimated. It is common to feel shame over having too much stuff, or to feel emotional attachment to your belongings – both of which can make it difficult to follow through on decluttering.
By inviting people over to share in the experience, you not only commit to packing but you also invite their support.
“Doing this with others provides encouragement, motivation, and often laughter,” said Greene. “It turns what could feel like a lonely, stressful project into a supportive event. It helps reframe decluttering as an exciting reset, instead of a punishment or loss.”
A step-by-step guide to packing parties
Although the process is quite straightforward, it can be helpful to have the steps laid out so you don’t miss anything.
- Allocate a full day to packing so you won’t be rushed, or even block off a full weekend if you live in a larger home or have any physical limitations.
- Invite a few close friends or family members who you can trust to (a) actually help and (b) provide good company
- Pick up any necessary packing materials, such as boxes, labels, and bubble wrap. Although the boxes won’t be leaving the premises, you want to make sure items are safe and secure if they end up being left in the box for several days or weeks.
- Set yourself up for success with unpacking:
- Clearly label every box with what’s inside
- Use packing cubes or organizers to make it easier to retrieve items as needed
- Have some snacks and music ready for the packing day itself, to make it feel more like a party. If you want to take photos or reminisce as you work through each room, do it!
- Move all boxes into one concentrated area, with labels facing outwards so you can keep track of everything.
- Decide how long you want the testing period to be: The Minimalists recommend up to 3 weeks to give a more accurate view of what gets used on different days.
- Unpack as you need!
- Once the time limit is up, go through the remaining items that are still boxed up to determine if any exceptions need to be made, e.g.:
- Off-season items that do get used frequently in their months
- Important documents
- Family heirlooms or particularly sentimental pieces
- Decide how to dispose of the rest: donation, giving to friends, recycling, selling or throwing out. Where possible, try to rehome or recycle your possessions!
Expert tips
If you’ve decided to follow through with a packing party, then chances are that you are someone who has struggled with decluttering in the past. This more comprehensive plan could therefore be really useful — as long as you commit to the process.
I spoke to a couple of different organization experts about how to make a packing party run more smoothly. They all emphasized the importance of leaning on your community and letting them support you, especially when it comes to making decisions around what to keep and what to let go of.
“I’m no psychologist, but as a fellow human, I can say it’s much less of an isolating experience packing with friends or family, since you’re getting outside opinions on things that can be even a little emotionally loaded,” said Angelique Kreller, an interior designer at Yabby. “Decisions are much easier to push through when you aren’t constantly left considering things on your own, which can be much more of a productive and positive experience.”
“Last but not least, don’t forget to celebrate afterwards”
Angelique Kreller, interior designer at Yabby.
On a more practical level, everyone agreed that it’s critical to get all packing materials sorted before you begin. This helps to maintain the flow of packing during the day itself, but also makes it a lot easier for you to navigate the boxes once you’re in the unpacking stage. Nick Friedman, co-founder of College Hunks Hauling Junk & Moving, recommends keeping all supplies in a central zone so that everyone can access them throughout the day. He also suggests labelling boxes as soon as they are full, to make sure you don’t forget and miss something.
“Last but not least, don’t forget to celebrate afterwards,” said Kreller. “Have a movie night or share a meal to make the entire day feel worthwhile.”
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