How do you declutter your home without getting overwhelmed?

Work on one small area at a time. This Burst starts with ten minutes on the surfaces your eye lands on first, then fifteen minutes on a single drawer, shelf or corner where you hold each item and decide whether it stays, and finishes with a quiet sit and a slow tea in the space you've set.

How long does it take and what do you need?

About an hour, using only what is already in your home and a cup of tea. The aim is order rather than deep cleaning, so you can move at an easy pace.

Who inspired this Burst?

Marie Kondo, the Japanese tidying expert and author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up. The sequence is Bearmore's own, built from what she has shared publicly, and is not a record of her actual routine.

Set Your Space

Quality: Exceptional· 100%Effort: Manageable· 01h 1m

·Inspired by Marie Kondo

When the mess at home follows you around all day.

Set up your space before you get into the rest of the day. An hour of tidying, clearing out one drawer, a meditation, and a tea ritual.

The runsheet

1
Tidy up the visible areas
Tidying & cleaning (mindful)
Ten minutes at the visible surfaces, the bed, the kitchen counter, the table by the door, anywhere the eye lands first. The aim is order, not deep cleaning. Move at conversation pace.
10 min activitySetup 3 min · Reset 3 min · 16 min all-in
Bearmore’s thoughts on doing tidying & cleaning (mindful) before decluttering (mindful)
These go together equally well in this order because cleaning exposes what needs sorting and decluttering picks up and finishes the work tidying started.
2
One area to declutter
Decluttering (mindful)
Fifteen minutes on one small area you've been avoiding: a drawer, a shelf, a corner of the wardrobe. Hold each item, decide whether it stays. The lasting contribution from Kondo (who this Burst was inspired by) is the slow-attention-per-thing approach, not the speed.
15 min activitySetup 1 min · Reset 1 min · 17 min all-in
Bearmore’s thoughts on doing decluttering (mindful) before open awareness
This is one of the stronger pairings because the spaciousness of an organised environment mirrors what open awareness cultivates internally, with less background clutter pulling at your attention.
3
Meditate in the clean room
Open awareness
Ten minutes meditating in the space you've just set. No agenda. The point is to notice that the room feels different without telling yourself a whole story about it.
10 min activitySetup 1 min · Reset 1 min · 12 min all-in
Bearmore’s thoughts on doing open awareness before eating (mindful)
This works well because open awareness can naturally extend into attentive, present-moment eating without forcing focus.
4
Slow tea
Eating (mindful)
Make tea slowly, drink it sitting down without a screen. Ten minutes. You can finish the session once the cup is empty.
10 min activitySetup 3 min · Reset 3 min · 16 min all-in
Time well spent.
1h 1m spent doing something good for yourself.

The breakdown

Burst evaluation

QualityExceptional· 100%

Sequencing100%

Logistics100%

DifficultyManageable· 0

Total activity61m / 149mManageable

Physical activity25m / 29mGentle

Mental focus45m / 119mManageable

Introspection35m / 149mManageable

Creativity0m / 59mGentle

+ 4 more conditionsHow we assess →

Wellbeing focus

The relative wellbeing focus of this Burst.

HighEmotional

MedPhysical

HighSelf

MedSocial

HighIntellectual

About this Burst

This Burst frames tidying as a deliberate, attention-led practice rather than a chore: the home impacts how a person feels through the day.

At home Authors & thinkers Steady the stress Under 2 hours Anytime Bearmore picks

Common questions

Set Your Space1h 1m · free in the app1h 1m · free in the app