3 Steps to Using Organizing's Secret Weapon: Rules
- Jill Katz
- Jul 2
- 4 min read
The Story
Most of my clients call me after they have tried to organize on their own. Despite their best efforts they describe feeling:
Overwhelmed & Anxious
Defeated & Fatigued
Unmotivated
Unsure how to begin
One of my very first clients, Mark (name changed for privacy) was so overwhelmed by clutter that he abandoned his home and moved into a hotel. When he reached out to me he had been living in the hotel for over 2 weeks. Leaving his home was preferable to facing the anxiety and stress he felt there.
That's why I'm sharing with you one of the most powerful tools in my organizing toolkit— Rules. They calm the chaos and ease the stress that often comes with tidying, decluttering, and organizing.
The Need for Rules
Why are rules so impactful to organizing? Rules...
Reduce overwhelm and anxiety because they give you an action plan
Eliminate decision fatigue because the decision is already made for you
Tell you when and how to start so you don't struggle with uncertainty
Help create a routine so you don't rely on motivation to stay organized
I am going to highlight 3 steps you can take to incorporate rules into your organizing practice.
Step 1: The Basic Rules of Organizing
These are the classic rules professional organizers swear by — you’ve probably seen them in books or heard them before.
One in, One Out
One of the more popular organizing rules: If you purchase an item, you take an item from the same category and donate it to make space for your new purchase (e.g., When you purchase a new t-shirt, you take an old t-shirt out of the drawer and donate it).
Put "like with like"
Take all items that are the same and put them together when sorting. This allows you to think in categories which reduces decision fatigue (instead of looking at each object individually, you are grouping them into a category), saves time, and allows you to see if you have excess of a category of items (e.g., Put all papers that need to be filed in one pile).
Designate Spaces for Everything
When organizing assign homes for every category so items are easy to find. Using this rule also saves space by grouping items together (e.g., Gather all your child's artwork and put it in a binder in your office)
Assign Your Most used items the "prime real estate"
Storage areas are not created equal. Some shelves, cabinets, and even rooms are hard to access. Organizers call the easy-to-access areas "prime real estate" and we reserve those areas for your most used items (e.g., Put the dishes you use every day in an easy to reach lower shelf in your upper kitchen cabinet).
Label Label Label
Dedicated organizers carry label makers, sharpies, painter's tape, chalk tape, and chalk pens because we come prepared to label jars, baskets, drawers, and anything else we can get our hands on! Labels are visual reminders that can aid memory and focus. In some cases, labels create calm, save us time,and ensure that our objects find their way back home (e.g., Label baskets in the family room with the name of each child so they know where to put their schoolwork).
Step 2: Personal Rules for Organizing
Once you have mastered basic organizing rules you can graduate to creating your own personal rules for organizing. Here are a few ideas to start:
Set Time Limits for Tasks
Setting time limits for tasks can enhance our productivity and motivation and help with task initiation. We often overestimate the time it will take to finish tasks that we dread. The trick is to just get started. Set a timer for 15 minutes and dedicate that time to doing a small part of that task (aka chunking). Sometimes we procrastinate by overworking less important tasks just to avoid the bigger ones. We also tend to go down a perfectionist rabbit hole by spending too much time on a task when there are diminishing returns. (e.g., When doing taxes so we can get started, When researching a purchase to limit our time) .
Create Daily Routines
Routines provide structure and predictability but they must be personalized based on how and when our brain works best with certain tasks (e.g., Morning & Night Routines, Your "Top 3 Things of the Day" List, Journaling, Dinner and Cleanup).
Make Up Your Own Rules For Clutter
Every person is different and struggles with different categories of clutter. Take the category of clutter that trips you up and create a rule for it.
Ex #1: All birthday cards will be displayed for one week and then either thrown out or put in my sentimental box
Ex #2: I will keep my monthly magazine for 3 months and then recycle it
Ex #3: I will Keep out only 3 craft projects at a time
Step3: Rules for Random Objects
Once you have your basics and your personalized clutter covered, you can focus on the final step dedicated to objects that can get overlooked. Ask a friend, Google, ChatGPT, or look up a YouTube video (my favorite) for the general rule. Here are some examples of random objects and how to treat them:
Makeup Brushes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJJCZ9l3fYc
Adjusting and Evolving Your Rules
Once you have practiced the 3 steps for creating organizing rules, it is important to reflect and tweak the rules to make them work for you. For example, I originally created a daily routine where I worked on my blogs for 15 minutes every morning. Suddenly, the routine stopped working for me. Now I write my blogs in the late afternoon. It took time for me to recognize that my original rule wasn't working and it also took time to experiment to see what works for me now. I encourage you to reassess your rules periodically to maintain effectiveness.
In Conclusion
So now, dear reader, I urge you to reflect on your own organizing challenges and to consider how rules can help. Don't forget to experiment, tweak, have fun, and celebrate any small wins along the way to keep yourself motivated. And, as always, please share any tips and experiences you have when it comes to organizing rules in the comments section below (To sign up or sign in and comment go to the blog home page.
Rules can be comforting for most of us, but you don't have to be one of Gretchen Rubin's "Rebels" to rebel against a rule that's too firm or fixed. I love that you painted these organizing rules as neither onerous not overwhelming. It's easy to let go of one thing if you are going to bring in something new; even if it's hard to let go, you're rewarding yourself for the exchange. I also appreciate you pointing out that they're your rules — you can use guidance from others, but it's all about figuring out what works for you, and if you've given it a serious chance, pivot to what works better. Mostly, I appreciate that you focused on the…
Sometimes, the idea of implementing rules can feel too stringent and off-putting. However, the way you explained them is so clear and calming. I like your stepped approach, too. Establish the basics, develop your own rules, and research strategies/boundaries for specific categories.
The rules are particularly helpful when many decisions need to be made. The rules provide a selection shortcut and put less strain on the options. As you mentioned, this helps tremendously with decision-fatigue management.
Yes I think I call the rules, guidelines or habits. However guidelines seem more flexible than rules and habits can be harder to form than a rule. Rules especially as it relates to decluttering are very helpful to clients because it removes the subjective about keeping something. When it is a rule they decided on they have the the power and control making the situation their own. I love your decluttering rules.
Yes! Rules are like containers that help you make decisions. I love having rules too—especially knowing I can change them when they’re no longer working.
Great basic information - all in one place! I especially liked the importance of adjusting and evolving your rules. We change, Circumstances change. Life happens. Adjust accordingly.