We all know and love the Marie Kondo test: Does it spark joy? This yes or no binary is beautiful in its simplicity, but sometimes that question can feel unanswerable.

Enter the Spectrum Test. We arrange each item of a category in a spectrum across a bed or a clear stretch of floor.

At one end, we put the item we love the most. At the opposite end, we put the item we’re most looking forward to getting rid of.

If we need some help to determine these anchor items, we can use this little thought experiment:

If there were a leak in my ceiling and I could only save one item from the impending waterfall, which cherished item would I save?

If there were a leak in my ceiling and I could save everything else by using one item to plug up the hole, which item would I sacrifice?

Once we’ve set the poles, we can arrange all the other sweaters, or books, or coffee mugs, in a line from most cherished to least.

It helps to make the spectrum quickly without analyzing, or even thinking, too much. Our subconscious knows how we really feel about an item, and it will tell us through our gut reactions.

Then, with our spectrum complete, we get to decide the cut-off point for keeping things. Is our closet/kitchen/vanity only open to those items in the top 50%? The top 25%? The cream-of-the-crop top 10%?

We get to be the bouncers at the door of our very exclusive house party.