AMERICANS ARE moving at the lowest rate in decades. And the longer we stay put, the more our homes become glorified storage units. A key to decluttering is to act as if you’re getting ready to move, even when you’re not. Here are some tips to tackle this task.

1 Go room by room
“You can better evaluate completion,” says Nicole Gabai, author of The Art of Organizing. “You can look around that one room and double-check that you have gotten rid of everything you can.”

2 Make easy decisions first
“This is the ‘first pass,’ ” Gabai says, recommending clothes closets or kitchen drawers as a good place to start; they’re less emotionally charged than a box of photos.

3 Skip the ‘maybe’ pile
“All you’re doing is putting off a hard decision,” says Mary Kay Buysse, co-executive director of the National Association of Senior & Specialty Move Managers. Sort items into these groups: keep, discard, sell/donate.

4 Get your kids involved
Buysse notes that children and grandchildren often want things you don’t expect, such as a favorite holiday ornament or a certain knickknack. —Jodi Helmer