Despite writing about organizing for a living, I'm a pretty messy person. I am a lazy girl at heart, and anything that makes my life easier in the short run will be my go-to – which includes dumping things near where they should go, but not actually putting them away.
The result is constant piles of stuff around my home. Most of the time, it is essential stuff I use weekly, such as laundry, shoes, or tote bags. But all of it makes me stressed – especially when guests visit at the last minute.
When I came across The Minimalist’s ‘no pile’ rule on TikTok, I had to give it a go in the hope I could finally conquer the doom piles and overcome tidying when feeling overwhelmed.
The Minimalist's 'No Pile' Rule
Keeping your living spaces free from unintentional piles of stuff will help avoid the stress of 'visual clutter' and reduce the need for big decluttering sessions.
The no pile rule is simple – you cannot go to bed without dealing with one pile somewhere in your home. Do it every night, and you will quickly simplify your home, says Lisa Cantu, professional home organizer and owner at An Organized Home.
She explains, ‘It helps reduce clutter by preventing accumulation. By dealing with items as they come in, you stop them from multiplying into large piles. It also creates a sense of order,’ she adds. ‘Clear surfaces contribute to a calmer and more peaceful organized environment.’
This simple tidying technique isn’t exactly ground-breaking, but it does help to break down otherwise overwhelming tasks into smaller chunks, spreading the workload out to help me feel more accomplished at the end of each day, without feeling exhausted.
@theminimalists The No-Piles Rule.
♬ original sound - The Minimalists
To make this decluttering tip work for me, I started by going around my home and taking pictures of all the clutter hotspots – namely my dining table, bedroom chair, living room cable caddy, nightstand, and my bath.
This helped me form a to-do list of sorts, making it easier to pick a spot each day to clean up.
Day one: The dining room
Keep dining tables free from clutter by tidying daily so the space remains functional.
Using the no pile rule, I made it my goal to tackle just one messy area a day, starting with the most prominent spot – decluttering the dining room.
My dining room is also my entryway, so the table offers the perfect spot to dump everything from bags to mail to outerwear. After a week off, where I let myself do nothing but reset and recharge, it had become a clutter mountain.
I had built it up into a massive task in my head, but in reality, it took me less than five minutes to put everything away and restore order and, once it was done, I knew I could go back to relaxing. It’s a lot like using the different day, different room housekeeping schedule to help make to-do lists feel less overwhelming.
I have put a woven basket on a shelf near my front door to quickly corral all the hats and scarves in one place. They are some of the few things that never end up in the table pile, proving that little drop zones make a world of difference to home organizing.
Day two: The clothes chair
I dedicated the next day to decluttering the bedroom ‘clothes chair’. I can count on one hand the number of times I have seen that chair free from clothes since I moved in two years ago, but it had recently gotten out of hand. Better weather means I have been doing laundry more often, and while it means that I have finally powered through the backlog, those clothes ended up taking over.
This task took a little longer as I had to fold clothes to save space, but it was all put away in less than 20 minutes. Seeing it clear at last made me realize how stressed it makes me when this chair is hidden under ‘stuff’. I'm hanging on to that sensation to act as great motivation to keep this functional space clear going forward.
I love my collapsible laundry basket. I use it for everything from laundry day to decluttering. The fact it folds down means I can store it easily behind my dresser in between uses so it is not always in the way.
This extra-large laundry hamper is perfect for busy households, with three removable bags to make sorting clothes for laundry super simple and taking clothing down to the washing machine a breeze.
Ecover has become a staple for many of my family members. I use it to keep eczema and acne under control, my mom uses it to help psoriasis, and my grandmother uses it to avoid setting off my grandad's breathing problems.
Day three: The nightstand
Having a pile of stuff on a small but vital nightstand can become frustrating.
Day three was a hectic one, and by bedtime, I realized I had not touched a single problem pile. Refusing to give up, I forced myself to declutter my nightstand.
Most of the items cluttering my bedside table needed to be popped back into the drawer or moved back to my jewelry box, but I also took the time to refill my pillbox (from Walmart), moving the individual containers back into my medicine cabinet for safekeeping.
A tiny amount of effort not only made my bedroom less stressful but also helped me get back on track with my medication – making this rule a certified win in my eyes.
The small tray I keep on my nightstand helps to corral some of the clutter, such as my glasses and jewellery when I forget to take it off before bed, for a tidier nightstand.
Day four: The bath and cables
Day four was dedicated to two smaller jobs. I know the rules mean I only have to tackle one, but the bath and cable cubby are such small areas that I had no problem dealing with them throughout the day.
Because I was focusing on just one tiny problem area, rather than decluttering a bathroom or organizing a living room, the tasks took less than a few minutes each and instantly made a noticeable difference. I was genuinely shocked to realize how much of an impact eliminating just one pile made.
I use a magazine rack to hold our most used cables, such as laptop chargers and phone chargers in my living room. It keeps visual mess to a minimum, and is slim enough to not get in the way of walkways.
Pack of 20
To stop cables from getting tangled together in tight storage, use some cable ties. These prevent cable damage by preventing knots while minimizing frustration.
With the edge of the bath finally clear, I could use my Damp Duster to quickly remove dust and debris that had built up. The ridged sponge means dust is removed, rather than spread around, for amazing results in seconds.
My verdict
The no pile rule has proven to be transformative.
I have learned a lot of lessons from The Minimalists, and the no-pile rule is now a favorite of mine. I don’t see myself changing my habits to putting everything away right away any time soon, so this quick no-piles rule will be my go-to to maintain order in chaos.
That being said, the experts still recommend at least trying to prevent the piles from building up in the first place. For example, Audra George, professional home organizer and owner of Pretty Neat says, ‘Not creating piles in the first place helps to keep your home clutter-free with less maintenance. Try to deal with items right away with the one-touch tidying rule. Always place an item where it needs to go immediately, instead of creating piles and saying you will deal with it later.
‘It also helps to own less,’ Audra continues. ‘The less you have to manage and store in your home, the easier it is for everything to have a place and therefore, have less clutter on surfaces. Be mindful of what items you bring into your home. For example, mail – sort your mail daily and immediately throw away or recycle all junk mail and keep the few things you need to deal with such as bills and invitations. This practice only takes one or two minutes and prevents clutter that builds up over time.’
A wall organizer, such as the wooden wall file holder on Amazon, might help you keep paperwork organized at the moment it enters your home.
This book by The Minimalists, Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus, collects the most relevant essays from simple living, decluttering, and finances, to passion, health, and relationships. Essential is for anyone who desires a more intentional life.
Meet the experts
Lisa Cantu is a certified professional organizer and founder of An Organized Home OC. She now oversees a team of organizers who help clients across Orange County downsize their homes and develop a custom plan to keep thier spaces in order.
Audra George has over 12 years of experience working in clients' homes. Her passion is to help others and to organize and help busy families get their spaces in order.
Emmy-nominated Netflix stars and New York Times–bestselling authors Joshua Fields Millburn, Ryan Nicodemus, known collectively as The Minimalists, have been featured in Time, Architectural Digest, and GQ, and they have spoken at Harvard, Apple, and Google. The Minimalists Podcast, with more than 140 million downloads, is one of the most popular podcasts in the world.
FAQs
Why do I have piles of stuff everywhere?
Piles of clutter accumulating around a home can be a result of a few things. Firstly, it could be because you do not have an organizing system in place to catch clutter and make it easy to put away.
Secondly, it could be that your existing systems do not work for you, and they need adjusting to better suit your routine.
Thirdly, it could be that you have not yet developed the habit of putting items away. It can feel tiring and pointless at first when you have to force yourself to do something, but the more you do it (for example, putting your coat straight in the closet when you get home) the quicker it will become second nature, reducing the effort it takes and preventing piles.
As someone who has not yet broken up with all of her bad housekeeping habits, the no piles method will certainly be a quick and easy way for me to stay on top of mess when it inevitably builds. When my house is tidier, then I can perhaps start working on building some habits of highly organized homeowners for a lower-maintenance space.
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