Outer Order, Inner Calm: Declutter and Organize to Make More Room for Happiness

by Gretchen Rubin

By getting rid of the things I don’t use, don’t need, or don’t love, as well as the things that don’t work, don’t fit, or don’t suit, I free my mind—and my shelves—for what I truly value.

Careful curation means that my space and my possessions reflect my truest identity.

Now, if three times the thought has occurred to me, “I wonder if I should get rid of that,” I get rid of it.

If you can’t decide whether to keep an item of clothing, ask yourself, “If I ran into my ex on the street, would I be happy if I were wearing this?” Often, the answer will give you a good clue.

Many things, if well used, move around. Clothes come out of their drawers, go to the laundry, return to their place. Books circulate around the house. Dishes come out of the cabinets, get dirty, get clean. For these kinds of possessions, staying in one place for a long time is a clue that they may be clutter.

David Ekerdt, professor of sociology and gerontology, observed that after age fifty, the chances that a person will divest himself or herself of possessions diminishes with each decade.

Inspired by this idea, I now create a “bowl of requirement” every time I travel to a new place. I find a bowl or a tray and in it I place anything that might be required by me or a member of my family: keys, sunglasses, earbuds, loose change, wallet. I’d noticed that when traveling, I often misplaced things because I put them down randomly, in an unfamiliar setting.

KEEP PENS, A NOTEPAD, SCOTCH TAPE, AND A PAIR OF SCISSORS IN EVERY ROOM.

IS YOUR CLUTTER BACKWARD-LOOKING OR FORWARD-LOOKING?

STAY CURRENT WITH A CHILD’S INTERESTS. Kids are often given gifts they don’t want.

Often, clutter sticks around because it’s not clear who owns it—so no one feels authorized to get rid of it.

Do any task that can be finished in less than one minute, without delay. Hang up a coat, read a letter and toss it, put a document in a file, throw away a pen that doesn’t work, put the toothpaste back in the medicine cabinet and close the door.

When I can’t sleep, I find it helpful to clear some clutter. Nothing too taxing, nothing that takes much thought—but I’ll wander around the apartment and put away anything that’s out of place. I usually find plenty to keep me busy for twenty minutes and then I’m ready to head back to bed. It’s a calming middle-of-the-night activity, and if I wake up exhausted the next day, at least my apartment looks good.

For some people, the habit of shopping leads to clutter problems. If so, try adopting these shopping habits: Don’t walk into a store unless you’re looking for a specific item. Be quick. The longer you stay in a store, the more you spend. Don’t take a cart or a basket. You buy less if you have to carry things around in your arms. Touching or tasting things triggers the impulse to buy, so pass up the free samples. Watch out when you’re near the register, an area packed with tempting impulse purchases. Erase your online accounts so you have to make the effort to reenter all your information with every purchase. Remember: Nothing’s a bargain if you don’t really need or want it.

I love a broad margin to my life. HENRY DAVID THOREAU

CREATE A WAITING ROOM FOR STUFF.

Packaes to emailed, to be fixed things. needs to be visible--closet on top of shoes.

There’s something about clearing clutter that loosens our grip on our possessions. The first time you sort through that closet or that file folder, you’ll get rid of a certain number of things. Then, when you go back for a second or third wave of clutter-clearing, you’ll get rid of more.

try scheduling a “power hour.” Make a list of all the tasks you’d like to accomplish, and once a week, for just one hour, steadily work on these chores.

USE HOOKS INSTEAD OF HANGERS. In many situations, it’s much quicker and easier to put something on a hook, and when it’s quicker and easier to keep a habit, we’re far more likely to stick with it. So add hooks if possible.

END EACH STAGE OF YOUR DAY WITH THE “TEN-MINUTE CLOSER.” We give children transition times to help them move from one activity to the next, and adults benefit from transitions as well. Before you leave work, take ten minute to put things in order. This transition time helps to mark the end of the day—and it also makes it far more pleasant to return in the morning. Glance over your calendar for the next day (this step has saved me a lot of trouble) Throw away trash, such as food wrappers or dry pens, and remove dirty dishes Put loose change in a change cup Stash pens, paper clips, binder clips, rubber bands, and other supplies (by the end of the day, I have seven pens scattered across my desk) File or discard any papers that you no longer need Close any open drawers or doors Shred Put away anything set in a transitional space, such as folders “temporarily” placed on the floor Pack up anything that belongs at home For extra credit: Do a ten-minute email blast. For ten minutes, go as fast as you can through your email inbox and blast out as many responses as you can. Unsubscribe to any unwanted email newsletters.

At the end of the evening, do a ten-minute closer at home. Put shoes away Hang up coats Close all drawers, closets, cabinets, and doors Shove chairs back into place Wipe the kitchen counters Put dishes in the dishwasher Put newspapers and magazine in the recycling pile (if, like me, you’re old-fashioned enough to read paper newspapers) Set the TV remote control back in its holder Toss junk mail Unpack any delivered packages Before walking to your bedroom, take a moment to revel at how orderly and clear your home looks.

The point of cultivating habits for continuous clutter-clearing isn’t to achieve some particular level of perfection. It’s to create an environment where we can feel, “I have plenty of room for the things that are important to me. I can find those things, I can see them, and if something new comes into my life, I have room to expand.”

After I’ve cleared out my closet, I find it much easier to get dressed and I wear a wider variety of outfits, because I like all the clothes I own and can find everything easily.

Every time I clear out my children’s belongings, they suddenly have more fun with what they keep. They have more space to spread out, they can find the things they like more easily, and the process of clearing clutter reacquaints them with forgotten possessions.

When trying to make a tough choice, challenge yourself: “Choose the bigger life.” The helpful thing about this question is that it reveals our values. Different people have different views on what the “bigger life” would include. For instance, when my family was debating whether we should get a dog, I was suspended between the pros and the cons—until I thought, Choose the bigger life. For us, choosing the bigger life meant getting a dog.

When your parents are driving you crazy because they’ve kept every piece of your schoolwork back to kindergarten, or when you’re driving yourself crazy because you can’t bring yourself to toss your husband’s ragged college T-shirts, remember: All this junk is an expression of love.

it’s helpful to think about the elements of a happy life: feeling good, feeling bad, and feeling right, in an atmosphere of growth.

Outer order helps us to feel good: we gain a sense of rest, of spaciousness, of organization, of energy. Outer order helps us no longer to feel bad: we get relief from irritation, guilt, frustration, hurry, and resentment of other people. Outer order helps us to feel right: we’re able to keep our attention, time, energy, and money trained on the tasks, people, places, activities, and values that matter most to us. Outer order helps us to create an atmosphere of growth: we make visible improvements in our surroundings, in ways that benefit everyone who enters that place, with room to expand, with a sense of renewal.

1 |Make your bed. 2 |Follow the “one-minute rule”—anything you can do in less than one minute, do without delay. 3 |Have a weekly “power hour”—make a list of tasks you’d like to accomplish and spend one hour, once a week, tackling the items on the list. 4 |Make it fun to get the job done. 5 |Don’t let yourself fall into “empty.” 6 |Don’t put things down, put them away. 7 |Don’t stockpile; that is, don’t store more of an item than you can realistically use. 8 |Keep mementos that are small in size and few in number. 9 |Keep things organized, but not overly organized. 10 |If you can’t find something, clean up.