Organization vs. Minimalism: Why "Less" Isn't The Answer for Everybody 

For tips that are equal parts functional, aesthetic, and therapeutic, read and get inspired by the excerpt below before buying your own copy here.

We promise we're not trying to take away your organizing fun, but we do want to reiterate that starting small and working your way up is the best way to ensure a successfully organized space. Starting on a drawer might seem like an insignificant project, but it can be just as transformative as organizing a larger space (and what is better than an organized bathroom drawer?), helping to eliminate common hassles and improve your everyday life. In other words, no more rummaging around for a hair tie or trying to find a pen to sign a permission slip. Have we sold you on starting small yet?

 In the same way that we don't want you to feel guilty about using dry shampoo for the fifth day in a row, we also don't want you to feel guilty when it comes to editing your items. After all, you should fill your home with only the things you like, need, or find sentimental. Here are a few examples. 

We are so proud of everyone's efforts to declutter their homes. It's a critical piece of the organizing process. Once you edit your items, what's left are the items that matter to you (that plunger might even matter one day!). And so you should feel absolutely no guilt about owning the items that comprise your life. Why fight the fact that your newborn needs a closet full of diapers, or your teenager needs a closet full of sports equipment? Resisting your reality instead of embracing it is unproductive and ultimately not useful. You're better off spending your time and energy looking for an organizing solution that accommodates all the components of your life rather than trying to live like someone else.

Organization is often conflated with minimalism, when, in fact, they are two very different things. You might define minimalism as living with less, while organization is an efficient and orderly arrangement of things or tasks. Minimalism is a design style and a lifestyle choice. But to be organized does not mean you must inherently own fewer things. It just means you need to be thoughtful about what you do own. You need to treat your things and your space with equal respect. An article once described us as "the organizing pros who let you keep more stuff." It made us laugh, but it also rang true. We want to help people live within their boundaries rather than make them throw everything out. Because you can't own everything, but you can own plenty of things. Plus, if you mindlessly throw everything out, then you risk having to replace some of those things that you really did need, which is more wasteful than finding an appropriate solution for accommodating how you really live.

One of our core beliefs is that you get the item or you get the space, but you don't get both. Everything you own takes up a certain amount of physical space, and eventually, even the largest home will run out of square footage. So how do you avoid that doomsday scenario? By making sure you live by our 80/20 philosophy: Keep your home no more than 80% full, and reserve at least 20% for breathing room. Using all the available space in your home is a bit like eating until you are overly full. It's as uncomfortable for your belt buckle as it is for your closets. And what if you want dessert? Or an extra pair of shoes? When you have no breathing room, you have no options, and that's just no way to live. 

As you begin to approach the 80% threshold, you'll notice things don't fit like they used to: You start cramming things into drawers, fighting with your pantry, and secretly wondering if you can store your winter coats in your daughter's closet. None of these things feels good, and it quickly becomes a puzzle too frustrating to solve. And that's what we're here for! We can help you solve your space while still embracing all the things you need, want, or use in your life. Whether you have it because you have kids, or you use it for work, or it simply makes you happy to look at—you get our official green light and approval to own said item. As long as you can store it appropriately without encroaching on the rest of your home, we see no reason to live with less if that doesn't work for you.