Right now, this feels like an Airbnb. You know the feeling. You pack in a hurry and hope you brought what you need. You cook breakfast with pans that aren't yours and they work fine.

Some of our cookware still isn't out, so I made rice in the only pan I had with a lid. Not my usual pan, but it worked. I've been wearing the same jeans all week because they're the pants I can find, and I've been moving boxes in my yoga pants anyway.

It doesn't bother me. Yet.

I know we own less than most people. Here's how I know. Yesterday morning, before my daughter left for school, she was looking for something. I went through every single box we own in about an hour. Every one. And we can still park in the garage.

It still felt overwhelming.

This isn't a comparison game. It never is. The question isn't how your stuff stacks up against anyone else's. It's how you feel in your own home.

When you move, you touch everything. Every item gets picked up, wrapped, packed, carried, and set down again. You feel the weight of it physically in your arms, mentally in your head, and emotionally in your heart.

I've been carrying most of that weight, and I have the bruises up and down my arms to prove it. My husband isn't supposed to be lifting right now, because the timing of his back surgery did us no favors. He hates not being able to help.

Somewhere in the middle of hauling box after box, we looked at each other and said the same thing. We're ready. Ready to pare down even more.

The Packing Party comes from Ryan Nicodemus of The Minimalists. He packed up everything he owned as if he were moving, then only unpacked things as he needed them. By the end, most of it was still in boxes.

Here's my version. Whatever is still in a box stays there until I need it. I've taken out some kitchen things, some clothes, my laptop, and my microphone. My pens, paper, office supplies, and the rest of my clothes are staying put until I reach for them.

I'm frugal by nature, and I hate being wasteful, so I hold onto things because they're useful. This method removes the emotion from that. My real life decides. If I reach for it, it earns its place. If I never reach for it, I have my answer.

It also makes me more creative with what I do have. See: the rice pan.

I'm not going full minimalist. Some things are staying for sentimental reasons, and that still counts as earning their place. My grandfather's carnival glass vase is already on the mantel. I have the piano stool I loved as a kid, which might become a plant stand. And I have my sentimental box.

This method is for you if you get stuck in decision mode. You pick up an item and your brain starts spinning. What if I need it? What if I regret it? You're not deciding anything. You're just living and paying attention.

There is a speed bump. You have to go dig things out of boxes, which is inconvenient. But a month of inconvenience beats a lifetime of it.

I'm running this for one month. And what happens to whatever is still packed? I'm honestly not sure yet. That's part of the experiment. I'll look through the boxes rather than donating blindly, because this move was a whirlwind and I don't want to be wondering in six months what happened to something. But after a month of not using it, I expect the emotional pull will be gone.

He's opening each box, looking at every single thing inside, and deciding right there. Keep it and put it away, or let it go. When a box is done, it's done.

His office is currently an explosion of sorted piles on the carpet with an empty bin in the middle. He can work like that. I cannot.

There's something genuinely satisfying about it. Open, decide, done. Step two is finding homes for everything he kept.

This method is for you if you like finishing one thing before starting the next, or if loose ends drive you crazy. It takes more energy up front, but when it's done, it's done. He's great at quick action, and he's more motivated than ever after this move.

She came up with this one herself. She unpacks what she loves right away, and anything she's on the fence about goes into a maybe box. You could call it a pause box.

She doesn't have to decide today. But she also isn't pretending to be sure when she's not. That's my favorite part. When we're forced to decide, we usually just keep the thing, because an extra item in your space feels easier than the regret of letting it go.

She's a teenager, and this gives her real buy-in. With her room holding only the things she loves, she gets to notice how the quieter space feels before deciding on the rest.

We're revisiting her maybe boxes at the end of November. That gives her a couple of months to live without those things, and it's a great time to donate or gift them through our Buy Nothing group, since people are looking for things around the holidays. If she wants something back before then, she can grab it.

It's a pause, not a goodbye just yet.

This method is for you if you want momentum but hate being forced into a decision. You get the quick wins now and time on the hard stuff.

All three work. The best decluttering method is the one that fits how you make decisions.

• If deciding is what stops you, try the Packing Party and let your life decide.

• If loose ends bother you, go traditional. Open, decide, done.

• If you want progress with grace built in, try the Pause.

You don't have to declutter the way your spouse does. Your kids don't have to do it your way. And you don't have to do it my way either.

Pick the method that sounds most like you and try it on one space. One drawer counts.

• Packing Party: Pick a category, like the junk drawer, the extra kitchen gadgets, or the bathroom cabinet. Box it up. For two weeks, only take out what you actually need. I'm giving myself a month because I have a whole house. Two weeks is plenty for one drawer.

• Traditional: Pick one drawer or shelf. Empty it, decide on every item, and only put back what you're keeping.

• The Pause: Pick one space and grab a maybe box. Put away what you love, box up the maybes, and write today's date on it. Let go of what you're already sure about.

Then come tell me which one you picked. I'm @wannabeclutterfree on Instagram.

In about a month, I'll be back with the results: which method worked best for each of us, what's still sitting in my boxes, and what I actually missed once vacation mode wore off.

Follow along in real time on Instagram at @WannabeClutterFree. I am documenting every single day of this.

New episodes every Wednesday. Find all the show notes at wannabeclutterfree.com.

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