Declutter Before You Organize
Remove what lacks value before buying systems to store what remains.
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Time to result
- ~days to results
- Steps
- 4
- Confidence
- 98%
Declutter Before You Organize is a sequencing rule: reduce the inventory first, then decide whether any organizing system is still necessary. Buying containers, special hangers, shelf extenders, or spice racks before editing possessions lets decision fatigue survive in a tidier-looking form. Rubin recommends removing everything not needed, used, or loved, then reevaluating the space. Frequently, ordinary shelves, drawers, and closets become sufficient once excess clothes, unmatched socks, or accumulated junk disappear. The method prevents spending money to preserve the root problem and reserves organization for the smaller set of objects that actually merit keeping.
Origin
Rubin observed that attempts to get organized often begin with a shopping trip for containers that merely jam more possessions into place.
Core principles
- 01Storage products can postpone necessary decisions.
- 02Removing excess changes the amount of organization required.
- 03Existing space may be sufficient once low-value items leave.
- 04Organize only the possessions that survive evaluation.
How to run it
- 1
Stop adding storage
Delay buying containers, hangers, racks, and other systems until the contents have been evaluated.
Pro tip Treat the urge to shop for organizers as a signal to inspect the inventory.
Watch out A new container can hide clutter without reducing it.
- 2
Edit the inventory
Remove possessions that you do not need, use, or love before changing how the space is arranged.
- 3
Reassess existing capacity
Place the remaining objects in the existing space and identify any real access or capacity problem.
Pro tip A lightly filled shelf may need no system at all.
- 4
Organize the residue
Purchase or build an organizer only when a specific problem remains after decluttering.
In the wild
A man used an upstairs closet because the downstairs coat closet and family mudroom were packed. Rubin proposed clearing both spaces before adding another storage device.
→ Removing accumulated junk could restore the intended coat space without any new organizer.
A crowded sock drawer appears to require a contraption until itchy, ill-fitting, unmatched, oddly colored, and damaged socks are removed.
→ The remaining socks may fit normally with no special folding or storage product.
Common mistakes
Buying more stuff for your stuff
Purchasing storage before editing inventory spends money while preserving the decisions and excess causing the problem.
Is it for you?
Best for
Crowded closets, kitchens, offices, and storage areas that seem to need more containers.
Not ideal for
Already-edited collections with a proven accessibility or storage problem.
From the transcript
“you probably don't need more stuff for your stuff just go through and if you get rid of everything you don't need don't use don't…”
“get rid of everything and then evaluate what's left over”
From the episode
Gretchen Rubin: The Dirty Secret of Happiness
Gretchen Rubin