80-20 rule

Unclutterer ForumsWelcomeHello!

(21 posts) (18 voices)

Started 1 year ago by EraserGirl
Latest reply from djk
RSS feed for this topic

Overall Rating: votes

Tags:

No tags yet.

12 Next »

EraserGirl
Member

For the 1st time i heard the Pareto Principle applied to CLUTTER
from http://living.apartments.com/housekeeping/downsizing/
"the rule of 80/20 states that we use 20 percent of our things 80 percent of the time"
it doesn't actually SAY that, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pareto_principle, but one can see how it is statistically applicable.

I am now fascinated with looking at my stuff with this in mind. If something isn't being used 80% of the time, why am I giving it vital houseroom 100% of the time.

has anyone found this theory useful?

Posted 1 year ago #
happymonkey
Member

Good post! I hadn't thought about this principle in terms of general clutter, but it definitely applies to my clothes. The majority of my clothes don't get worn very often, and I really need to either change my wearing habits or get rid of more clothing -- one of my biggest clutter vices! I'm going to make a concerted effort to work through some of my clothes this weekend and see if I can get rid of more of the 80% that's rarely worn.

Posted 1 year ago #
SunshineR
Member

Excellent question! Now which one(s) of us will test out this new idea? And how? Shall I build on an empty room in my house just to see what necessities I put in? I've got a lot of things like kitchenware, books, music, DBF's art supplies. The colored dot method seems unwieldy for this new idea. I already got rid of most of my clothes because they were all too small.

A fascinating but risky question for me. I am not ready to downsize by 80%. Yet.

Posted 1 year ago #
inga
Member

I'd settle for any particular thing being used 20% of the time, or even 5%

My 80/20 rule would be 80% of my stuff must be used at least weekly and 20% can be things I just like to have around or are used less often.
It might be more 90/10, not sure

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

I've heard that about clothes frequently, so I can see why it would apply to all possessions. I have to wonder about how you want to define "use" though. I have lots of decorative objects that I like to have on display because they make my spaces homey and welcoming. So does the little glass frog on the handmade ceramic leaf sitting on my end table count as something I use if it pleases me every time I walk past it? What constitutes a "use" in that equation?

Posted 1 year ago #
Rosa
Member

I believe it, but that doesn't make the stuff you only use 20% of the time useless - I actually just decided that a whole bunch of things are really just used in July-October and I need to put them together on a shelf in the basement. I need to do it before I get mad and donate half of them, but it's really, really cold down there right now.

Posted 1 year ago #
Sophie
Member

I'm a great fan of the Pareto principle. If we take one category, e.g. clothes it quickly become obvious that it applies. For me, it's recipe books. I only regularly used about 20% of my recipe books. Definitely only use 20% of my clothing, even though I'm ruthless at getting rid of old unworn items.
What other categories of "things" in our homes can we apply this to...

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

i apply this rule to everything.
the best example in my life is when we were discussing buying a new car some years ago.
we could use a ute or small truck occasionally.
about fifteen trips per year.
so we decided we would buy a small hatchback that would cover 99.999% of our annual needs and the rest of the time we would pay someone else to use their truck/ute.
and we do and it works out perfectly.
he gets some cash towards his expenses, and we get the daily costs of running a very small, inexpensive car PLUS access to the truck whenever we need it.
i think we pay about $300 per year for it, and that is a drop in the bucket of what we'd have to pay to own the thing.

Posted 1 year ago #
susanintexas
Member

bandicoot: we use the same rationale when making purchases: can we rent it or borrow it? We also chose a small, fuel-efficient car instead of the big truck DH lusted after. We have enough friends with trucks (this is Texas, after all) that we can always borrow one when we need one and we usually have something that they need in return, like our pressure washer or mitre saw.

For me though, this isn't a great help in decluttering. If I already own something, have room to store it, and use it, if only occasionally, it doesn't make sense to me to get rid of it if I am going to have to rent or borrow one when the need arises.

At this stage in my decluttering I am still getting rid of the things I don't use at all

Posted 1 year ago #
Joless
Member

It would be interesting to know if this applied in ever decreasing circles. If you pare down your stuff to the 20% you use most, over time does one stop using 80% of that on a regular basis, or does it all continue to get used all of the time?

Posted 1 year ago #
morfydd
Member

@Joless: I suspect that there is a point at which one is using almost everything regularly. I'm getting there with my kitchen stuff.

@jbeany: The problem with decorative stuff is that it's very easy for it to blend into the background. Does the frog really please you every time you see it, or do you only notice it when you dust? (Of course, this doesn't mean you should get rid of it. I'm only thinking about my ability to forget about my decorative items...)

Posted 1 year ago #
jbeany
Member

@morfydd - I got rid of the "it's just there to look nice" objects already. The things I have on display are things with emotional memories attached, either ones associated with people in my life or with major milestones I've reached. So, yes, the frog really does make me smile every time I walk by him. So I guess my question really should be does emotional attachment constitute a use? Of course I realize the extreme end of that gets me a starring role on Hoarders, but at a normal range of "stuff", where does that fit in the 80/20 rule?

Posted 1 year ago #
mugwump
Member

I agree with SusaninTexas. If you use it even once in a while and you have room for it, why get rid of it? If you are moving to a smaller place, then make the decision.

And yes, emotional attachment is a use, as long as it doesn't get out of hand. If you want to test the emotional attachment, put it away for a while and see if you remember it.

Sometimes I get the feeling some of us are getting rid of stuff just to get rid of stuff. There is no gain in doing that. Let's all cut ourselves some slack. Emotional attachment is ok, a little extra is ok. The main thing is, are our spaces functional and aesthetically appealing? Are we and the people we live with happy with what we have? My husband is happy with an overstuffed garage, and that's fine with me, as long as our living space is uncluttered, and it is.

Posted 1 year ago #
irishbell
Member

*totally agrees with mugwump*
if something makes you happy every time you look at it, how cool is that? how many of us can say that about everything we have? not me- but i'm workin on it.

Posted 1 year ago #
chacha1
Member

I also agree that for an object to simply be a source of pleasure is sufficient. Either useful or beautiful, right?

I *like* having a layered home; I *like* having a surfeit of options. I have grown to love the process of gradually reducing my inventory of Stuff so that the things that remain are those I honestly find useful or beautiful (and I do find myself constantly raising the bar), but I have no intention of reducing my inventory to the point of only having the things I use 80% of the time! That would have me in one room with the famous 100 things. Not likely!

That said: bandicoot, I completely agree with your transportation solution. We have so many friends who bought big vehicles that are used for hauling big things (or many people) once or twice a year, and used for lengthy single-person commutes at 10 mpg the rest of the time. ... We have to have two vehicles right now, but we have two relatively efficient Hondas coupes - and if we need a truck, we rent one.

Posted 1 year ago #
576
Blocked

I think this applies to a lot of stuff.
I minimised a lot of stuff 13 months ago before moving overseas (probably not a permanent move).
I saved money by storing my personal stuff with family but didn't want to overburden them so I got rid of a lot of stuff.

- I had bookshelves full of books but when I really looked at them only 20% (or less)were books I could realistically see myself re-reading.
I got rid of all but my absolute favourites and some of those I now have in e-book form on my sony reader.

- I had a similar reaction to dvds & cds. Only a handful of the ones I had (& I didn't really have many) were the favourites that I would revisit over and over. Got rid of most & since I have been here I have been using blockbuster & when I go home will probably just rent - only a few movies will be re-watched again and again.

- I had mugs and mugs and mugs (many of them presents) but I lived alone and would re-use the same 2 mugs every day!

- I shipped several binders of teaching materials with me (after reducing my collection prior to the move) but I have used very few of them in the last year.
I've recently cut this down again but I need to be more ruthless.

- I had freeview TV and am sure that I only watched 20% (or less) of the channels 80% of the time.

Posted 1 year ago #
inga
Member

Sometimes I think some of us are hanging onto stuff just to have stuff. Doesnt make it any more useful, just some of us like more stuff. While its nice to have the right stuff for the job sometimes just making do with what you have is fine too.

Thats the good thing about this forum. From minimalist to hoarder (and everyone in between) we all have a common goal which is less stuff. Less means different things to everyone.

Posted 1 year ago #
FatStupidAmerican
Member

This rule does not help me at all.

I do a lot of cyclical activities.

All of my backpacking gear would get nixed with this rule.

My negatives would also get nixed.

Posted 1 year ago #
bandicoot
Member

inga said: Thats the good thing about this forum. From minimalist to hoarder (and everyone in between) we all have a common goal which is less stuff. Less means different things to everyone.

i couldn't agree more!

Posted 1 year ago #
Jude2004
Member

Librarians have applied the 80/20 rule for years to library collections. 80% of the use comes from 20% of the collection. For me, perhaps 80% of my joy comes from 20% of the movies I own, but I'm keeping the others for other reasons (one is to lend them to friends). So apply the 80/20 rule if it works for you, or works in a particular area.

Posted 1 year ago #

12 Next »

Reply »

You must log in to post. If you do not already have an account, you can register here.