Declutter First. Always.
- Jun 25
- 3 min read
Updated: Jun 30
Read Time: 2-3 minutes
If there's one piece of organizing advice I hope every person remembers, it's this:
Declutter first. Always.
Whether you're organizing your pantry, redesigning your closet, tackling the garage, or refreshing your office, the first step is never buying containers.
It is never measuring for shelving.
And it is definitely not heading over to hit up Amazon.
The first step is making intentional decisions.
Deciding what stays, deciding what goes, deciding how you want to use the space, deciding what deserves your attention.
When you skip the decluttering step, you're creating systems around things you may not even want or need.
The point is not to organize and continuously manage our clutter.
Too often I see clients and friends spending money buying storage solutions for items that could have been donated weeks {or years} ago.
They still have too much and are continuously outgrowing their "solutions" because they never took the time to truly edit.
Spend your time before you spend you money.
Take the time to edit your belongings. Understand how you use the space.
Then measure, plan, and invest in products that support your system.
Not the other way around.
One of my favorite parts of decluttering with a client is watching the shift that happens a couple hours into the first session. There's always a moment. The donation pile has grown, the trash bags are filling up, they see the space we are clearing, and it feels good. It feels like relief, like freedom, like momentum. I can almost see the weight lifting off their shoulders. And once I see the glimmer of hope in my client's eyes, once they realize this is possible, the decluttering decisions get easier and easier.
Suddenly, the room feels lighter.
The space has breathing room.
Categories become more obvious.
The right storage solutions become much easier to identify with every pile of "keeping" decisions.
The organizing almost starts to happen naturally.
Because by taking the time to intentionally choose what items stay, we uncover what the space actually needs.
Here's the truth.
Decluttering isn't the fun part.
It's slow. It can be emotional.
Sometimes it's exhausting.
You're making hundreds of decisions, revisiting old memories, and confronting purchases that may not have worked out. There are moments when it feels much easier to throw everything in a basket, maybe buy another bin, shove it in the space, and call it organized.
Believe me - I get it.
I've spent countless hours decluttering my own home, and I've spent hundreds more helping clients work through theirs. I know how tempting it is to skip ahead to the "pretty" part, the done part.
But don't.
The beautiful baskets and perfectly labeled containers aren't what create lasting organization.
The decisions do.
Those hours you spend sorting, editing, and intentionally choosing what deserves a place in your home are the foundation of every successful organizing project.
The work may feel slow today.
But it's what saves you countless hours, unnecessary purchases, and ongoing frustration later.
Hang in there and power through for as long as it takes, it's worth the time and effort.
I am going to challenge you, the next time you feel tempted to buy organizers, pause and ask yourself:
Have I finished decluttering the area that is frustrating me?
If the answer is no, that is where your energy is best spent.
And the best part is that your time is free.
Investing your time now to do the deeper work, saves you time and money in the long run. Trust me, I have learned there is no shortcut.
Are you ready to regain your freedom?
If this post encouraged you to take the first step, I've created printable resources to help you gain momentum and guide you through the process.
12-PAGE TEMPLATE with easy checklists, tips, guides, sorting labels, and more.
Once you have decluttered a space, I encourage you to take the advice from the next blog post and apply it to maintain what you achieved!
"Decluttering Isn't a Project-It's a Habit"
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