“Bookshelves have become cluttered with books on all kinds of decluttering.” WSJ
How’s that for an ironic lead-“To Declutter, First Buy Lots of Books”. Despite the recent explosion of interest, acquiring more in a quest to own less is not a new phenomenon. Organizing’s been a thing for a long time. The first Container Store opened in Dallas in 1978. The professional organizing industry was born in LA in 1984. Barbara Hemphill wrote Taming the Paper Tiger in 1992. While papers and closets, toys and gadgets led the way, we’re added our thoughts, our calendars, and our endless to-do lists to the things that overwhelm us.
So what’s a person to do?
When rightsizing, minimizing and Kondo-izing fail you, it’s not an indictment of the technique du jour. When you jump into the how of organizing without fully considering the why, you’re setting yourself up for disappointment. It’s just another version of the cart before the horse. Buying books and supplies and hiring professionals to help you declutter can be reasonable, but only after you’ve considered why you are in the mess you’re in. That’s why I wrote Robin’s Rules. I wanted to offer a simple, thoughtful framework for understanding why we have so many things we do not use, need or maybe even like. I wanted folks to let the horse pull the cart. Mindset then method. To think first. To formulate an appropriate plan. Then execute that plan.
No straight jackets or carvings in stone! Rules aren’t that strict. Consider them food for thought, guidelines, or metaphorical guardrails to keep you in your lane rather than careening off a messy and expensive cliff.
Think. Make a plan. Execute the plan. That’s what a person should do.