With the weather finally warming up, it’s the perfect time to spring clean your house.

But unfortunately, not everyone finds it easy to let With the weather finally warming up, it’s the perfect time to spring clean your house.things go – even if they’ve spent years gathering dust in the bottom of a cupboard.

Luckily, author and philanthropist Jandra Sutton has spoken to Metro and revealed her unique tips and tricks to make life that little bit easier for you.

She notes that over the years, she’s tried various decluttering technique – including Marie Kondo’s “KonMari” method, which is based on one simple principle – if it doesn’t “spark joy”, ditch it.

But Jandra warns that while the concept may seem simple enough, it’s not always quite as straightforward.

She goes on to note that Marie Kondo’s world-famous system of tidying and organizing succeeded in helping her throw away sentimental objects which no longer brought her joy.

However, she still struggled to clear her house of things she thought she might use or wear one day.

That’s when she came up with a genius solution.

“Instead of forcing myself to get rid of those things, however, someone recommended adding a third category into my closet cleanout: items I wanted to keep, items I would donate or discard, and items I would hide,” she explained.

“…If there are certain items you aren’t ready to throw out – because you might need them someday, you feel guilty about getting rid of something you don’t use, or you just don’t know if you like it or not – give yourself a ‘middle step’ between keeping and discarding them.”

She went on to note the benefits of her technique and claimed it helps to create a mental space between items you’re unsure about getting rid of.

Speaking from personal experience, Jandra claims this makes it easier to let go of them when the time finally arrives.

She concludes that if she hasn’t worn or used the item before the next decluttering session, then she’ll find it easier to throw it away.

This story originally appeared on The Sun and has been reproduced here with permission.