When clutter makes your home feel chaotic, the instinct is often to “get organized.”
Should you buy drawer dividers? Add a new cabinet? Fill baskets with things to hide away?
A post I wrote years ago still offers the simplest answer: before you start organizing, start removing. That advice remains true.
What we usually need to do first when we are overwhelmed isn’t to “organize” anything, it’s to pare down and declutter.
Fewer things make daily life easier in many practical ways:
- The less you own, the easier it is to find what you need.
- The less you own, the less overwhelmed you feel in your space.
- Fewer possessions mean less time spent maintaining and cleaning.
- Owning less reduces the urge to buy more items that will only add to the clutter.
- With fewer items, you’ll appreciate and use what you keep more often.
- And ultimately, the less you have, the less organizing you actually need to do.
Decluttering may be the least glamorous part of getting organized, but it’s the essential first step—often the most rewarding and the one that makes lasting change possible.
+ + + + + + + + + + + + + +
For inspiration and practical strategies that guided my own journey to simplify, see my book Make Room for What You Love.
If you’re looking for more organizing ideas, consider these titles by the same author: Simple Organizing and Love the Home You Have, both full of approachable tips and encouragement for creating a calmer, more useful home.
