Latest news with #27FlingBoogie
Tom's Guide
19-07-2025
- General
- Tom's Guide
I finally tried the "FhiFho" decluttering rule in my home — here's what happened
When it comes to keeping our homes neat and tidy, we all have our own methods of organizing. Trouble is, we don't often stick to them, and before you know it, our spaces quickly become cluttered again. I've been guilty of always picking things up, and dumping it in another (random) area where it doesn't belong. Be it my favorite cardigan hanging over a chair for days, or my hair styling products on a bookshelf, it's easy to accumulate mess. And while I've tried plenty of organizing tricks from KonMarie to the interesting 27 Fling Boogie technique, I'd still struggle to keep on top of the clutter. But that was when I finally decided to try the strange-sounding, 'FhiFho' decluttering rule to see if it would do the trick. While this isn't a new hack, the FhiFho method is a simple, no -fuss way of making sure everything is in its rightful place, and helps to reduce the amount of unsightly clutter. The FhiFho method is an abbreviation for 'full hands in, full hands out', and is essentially, a clever mantra experts say will make it easy to instantly relocate items. The idea is that you enter a room with a handful of items that belong in that area, and then take out a handful of items that don't belong in the space when you leave that room. The idea is that you enter a room with a handful of items that belong in that area, and then take out a handful of items that don't belong in the space when you leave that room. That way, you won't have any ad hoc items cluttering up a space that's not suitable for them. What's more, this is a great way to instantly deal with the mess head-on, without procrastinating or leaving tidying up for another day. The FhiFho decluttering method can be applied to organize many areas around the home, including the living room, bedroom and even children's rooms — where you'll often find the rogue toy or device lying around. With all that said, here's what happened when I put the FhiFho decluttering method to the test in my living room. If there's one room in our home that seems to be the dumping ground for my family's items, it's the TV wall shelf in our living room. From USB cables/chargers and old receipts taken out of bags, to cosmetics and hair styling products, these would often end up left on the shelves (usually forgotten about). Soon enough, my well-curated shelves were turning into a dumping ground for random items — creating an unsightly mess. Following the 'FhiFho' rules, I started collecting all the USB cables and chargers to put in their rightful place inside the TV wall cabinet. I put my son's game console accessories away, and grouped the endless, remote controls in a storage box to leave on the shelf. After focusing on the items that actually belonged in that space, I then took out what didn't belong there — and there were many! Random stuff including my laptop, hair brush, lipstick, letters, and my Bluetooth speaker had to go. I immediately returned them to their rightful place, and it only took a matter of minutes. It seems as though the FhiFho method made decluttering seem less of a chore — when forced to put things away. The result? A clutter-free shelf that looks tidy and minimal. What's more, I was able to use this method to declutter my kitchen cabinets by getting rid of all the non-essential items like plastic lids from takeout containers, to cookware that were either damaged, outdated or haven't been used in years. If you need extra storage, that won't take up much space, this folding ottoman bench is ideal. With a decent capacity of 15 x 30 x 15 inches, this is enough to fit light blankets, throws or even cushions. Designed with a linen-look fabric and fine stitching, this makes an attractive feature in the home. Although the FhiFho decluttering method sounds like common sense, it does force you to act quickly, especially if you are collecting a handful of items to relocate. In that sense, this makes it far more effective than just going through items one at a time, or on whatever day I feel like it! In addition, your newly-refreshed areas will look less of an eyesore — just don't get back into the habit of adding mess to it!
Tom's Guide
10-07-2025
- General
- Tom's Guide
Experts recommend the 'ifs and buts' rule to declutter your wardrobe this summer — here's how it works
Decluttering my wardrobe is one of those household chores I love to avoid. But, as summer hits, it becomes an inevitability that I'm going to have to face my clothes to find the ones I want to wear. It's really hard to ignore the clutter when I'm scooping clothes out of the way to try and find the pair of shorts that I hope still fit, or the sandals that have disappeared into the abyss of my very full wardrobe. And while I've tried a lot of decluttering methods over the years, most recently the 'poop rule' helped me sort out a lot of clutter throughout my home, it didn't quite work for my clothes. So, as I attempt to fold up and pack away winter clothing and unpack the summer clothes ready to see the light of day for another year, I've found an expert recommended rule that may save us all from clutter-filled woes. You may have heard of the classic idiom 'no ifs, no buts', which is a pretty common way of saying you don't want to hear any excuses to something you've said. And, when it comes to decluttering your clothes, Paul Gray, an expert at Chums, introduces the 'ifs and buts' rule, which means: "When you pick up an item, ask yourself why you don't want to keep it." If you find yourself making excuses for your clothing using either 'ifs and buts', then you shouldn't keep it. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. "Get rid of any 'ifs and buts' items and replace them with items that properly serve the purpose you need them to". For example, you pull a pair of shorts out of your wardrobe ready for summer and you find yourself saying: "I really love the way these shorts look on me, but I don't like the color". Or maybe there's a pair of heels you always look at and say: "I'd love to wear these shoes, if they were a bit lower in the heel". And when you use this clever 'ifs and buts' rule, you'll end up figuring out what is surplus in your wardrobe and what you're realistically never going to wear because the same excuse continues to arise. Paul then advises: "Get rid of any 'ifs and buts' items and replace them with items that properly serve the purpose you need them to". It's not just about decluttering, but about doing it with purpose. Then, you can streamline your wardrobe and fill it with items you can't find any excuse not to wear. As I briefly mentioned, the 'poop rule' is one of my favorite methods for decluttering my home, but it doesn't translate into tidying out my wardrobe. And while there's been other decluttering methods that I'm a big fan of, like KonMari, Swedish death cleaning or '27 Fling Boogie', when it comes to finding ways to tidy up, I don't think you can ever have enough helpful tools. Luckily, Paul also has some other rules you can follow. Take the '20/20 rule', for example. For this, he says: "If the item can be replaced within 20 minutes for less than £20, get rid of it". This one's specifically for small, everyday items that you might keep around your home 'just in case'. The idea is that if it's easily replaceable and you're not using it, it's not worth the clutter it's creating in your home waiting for that 'what if' moment. Or, there's the 'six-month trial', which Paul explains: "Put items you're not sure into a box or bag and store them away somewhere. If you haven't missed them in six months' time, there's no need to keep them". I'm a huge fan of this one in particular because it prompts you to be more mindful of the items you keep around you, as well as reducing those regretful thoughts you can have once something has been discarded or donated. If you know for a fact it's not something you use or miss when you place it into the six-month trial, you know it's not serving a purpose in your home. And then, you can enjoy a tidy house and a tidy mind.
Tom's Guide
09-06-2025
- General
- Tom's Guide
I just discovered the '27 Fling Boogie' technique, and it finally makes decluttering fun
Decluttering is one of those tasks you know you really need to do and the longer you put it off, the worse it gets. And since you have to live amongst the mess, you can't ever really avoid it. But, the process of decluttering can be incredibly hard. It's not just about ridding your home of clutter, it's about letting go of objects you've grown accustomed to having around. Usually that 'just in case' feeling can mean you hold onto things for a lot longer than you really should, because 'just in case' never happens. And this is how I found myself in a clutter rut. The items were building up and the urge to declutter was itself becoming a cluttered space in my mind. And then, I found myself down a cleaning rabbit hole on TikTok and came across this oddly-named trend, the '27 Fling Boogie'. And honestly, it's changed the way I think about decluttering forever. The '27 Fling Boogie' is a trend created by Maria Cilley aka. FlyLady, a "personal online coach" that strives to help you clean. And so, she came up with this unusually named method that tasks you with throwing away 27 items and giving away 27 items. I've tried many a decluttering method, from 'the poop rule' to the KonMari method to Swedish death cleaning. By now, she clearly needs help tidying: "She really needs helping decluttering" and you'd be right. Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. So, when I heard that the 27 Fling Boogie wanted me to run through my home gathering up items firstly with the idea of throwing them away and then to giving them away, it felt like a game I could finally get onboard with. My main problem with decluttering is how much of a chore it is and how overwhelming it can be. By gamifying the idea, the 27 Fling Boogie gave me an opportunity to stop thinking about it like a task and, really, stop thinking altogether. I quickly realized by using the 27 Fling Boogie technique, I had to focus myself onto one room or one particularly messy spot, like my wardrobe. And that's when it really started to work. Running around like a headless chicken was fun at first, but then I was struggling to find 27 items just strewn across my home and it was far too easy to ignore populated spots. And focusing my attention was the key. The 27 Fling Boogie gave me a straightforward look at what I had and less about sitting there endlessly staring at each item. It wasn't, "Should I keep it?" It was, "Throw or donate?" And, sure, it definitely did work, but I also came to the realisation that 27 was just a number that gave me a goal. Most of the time, I surpassed 27 in the throwing away pile, but came under the quota in donating – and that was totally fine. At the end of the day, I was focused on doing something with my clutter and slowly, but surely, my house became less messy without me feeling any kind of guilt – especially as I dropped off items to charity to find new homes.
