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There are numerous methods for decluttering your home. What is the best decluttering method? It is hard to say, but one strategy developed by an online decluttering expert named Ellen has become quite popular. It’s known as the Penicillin Method. It’s an odd name, but it comes from a metaphor for clutter. Imagine clutter as mold spores contaminating a Petri dish. A scientist drops penicillin into the dish. One tiny area clears at a time. Over time, this technique clears the entire dish. Eventually, the dish is completely free of mold.

The Penicillin Method for decluttering uses the same approach of tackling just one small area of your home at a time. It could be any area you choose—a countertop, the kitchen table, the coffee table in the living room, the media console, a desk drawer. Each area you declutter is a drop of spotlessness in the Petri dish of your home.

Whatever area you choose, your goal is to stop the clutter in that area permanently. No matter what you do or don’t do to tackle the clutter in the rest of your household, when you clear that one tiny spot, you make it your commitment to keep that area completely clear and free of clutter from that day forward. Say for example you declutter the kitchen counter. From then on, you never allow anything to clutter the counter again. You either refuse to put anything there which does not belong there, or if you do, you immediately remove it again when you are done using it.

Once you have that spot under control, it has been wiped clean of the disease of clutter, and you can proceed to a new spot in your home. Again, you can keep it as small as you like. After you have the kitchen drawer officially clean, you can take on the tabletop or the pantry or some other area. Once again, make a total commitment to keeping the new spot clutter free.

Maintenance is critical. One reason so many decluttering tactics ultimately fail is because they help you wipe out clutter quickly, but they do not help you to keep your house clutter-free after that initial sweep. So the problem simply accumulates all over again, and you end up having to start over every year.

This method will not declutter your home fast, but it has the advantage of teaching you good habits. At least each area you tackle will be permanently clutter-free thanks to your ongoing efforts. As you go, you will become more and more efficient at keeping things tidy, and you will be able to tackle new spots throughout the house. Keep doing this, and gradually your home will become clutter-free, like the Petri dish that has been cleared of mold. This method takes time and patience, but at least it isn’t overwhelming. It is a great choice if you have limited time and energy for cleaning and organizing tasks, but want to make a lasting difference.