NEW YORK — Closet Method Eases Kitchen Cabinet Decluttering

A writer at Real Simple says applying the organizing logic typically used for closets to kitchen cabinets made the decluttering process easier, according to the outlet's account, "I Tried Treating My Kitchen Cabinets Like My Closet—and It Made Decluttering So Much Easier."

"I Tried Treating My Kitchen Cabinets Like My Closet—and It Made Decluttering So Much Easier" — Real Simple

What Did the Real Simple Writer Try?

The headline itself frames the experiment: rather than approaching kitchen cabinets as a single, undifferentiated storage block, the writer applied the same sorting mindset used for a closet. That distinction matters to anyone who has opened a cabinet and found mismatched lids, duplicate mixing bowls, and appliances wedged behind each other with no clear system. The outlet's framing suggests the shift in mindset — not a new product or container — was the change that made the difference.

How Does Closet-Style Sorting Work in a Kitchen?

Closet organizing systems are built around a simple premise: group items by type first, then by how often they're used. Shirts go with shirts, shoes go with shoes, and everything gets a defined zone. Applied to a kitchen cabinet, the same logic means baking tools stay together, everyday dishware gets the most reachable shelf, and rarely used items — the fondue pot, the turkey roaster — move to the back or to a separate cabinet entirely. The headline's emphasis on cabinets being treated "like a closet" points to this category-first approach as the organizing principle being tested.

Why Does Category-Based Sorting Reduce Clutter?

The appeal of a closet-style system in a kitchen setting is that it forces a decision about every item's category before deciding whether to keep it. Clutter in cabinets often accumulates because items get pushed to wherever there's space, rather than assigned a home. A closet system assigns homes first. That makes it easier to spot duplicates — three sets of measuring cups, two garlic presses — because like items are no longer scattered across different shelves. It also makes it easier to notice what's never used, since items grouped with their category but untouched for months stand out more than they would buried individually throughout a cabinet.

What Other Decluttering Guidance Has HTT News Covered?

The cabinet-as-closet approach lands amid a broader run of decluttering coverage. HTT News recently reported on seniors receiving guidance on decluttering their homes, and separately covered an elderly man who embraced minimalism through decluttering. Both accounts, like the Real Simple piece, center on applying a defined system — rather than ad hoc purging — to bring order to accumulated belongings. The throughline across the coverage is that structure, not willpower alone, tends to be what makes decluttering stick.

Where Can Readers Find the Original Account?

The full write-up, including the writer's specific experience applying the method to a kitchen, is available through Real Simple's original report. Readers interested in how organizing principles translate across rooms — from closets to kitchens to, as other HTT News coverage has shown, entire households — can find a growing body of reporting on category-based systems as a recurring theme in minimalism and home organization writing this fall.

The core claim across these reports is consistent: clutter tends to recede not when people buy more bins, but when they decide, item by item, where something belongs — the same question a closet forces every time a hanger goes back on the rod.

Does the Method Require New Storage Products?

Nothing in the outlet's account points to new bins, labels, or purchased organizers as the mechanism behind the result. The change described is procedural — sorting by category and frequency of use — rather than material. That distinguishes the approach from organizing content that leans on product recommendations, and it mirrors the closet comparison itself: a closet works because of how clothes are grouped on the rod, not because of a particular hanger brand. The implication in the Real Simple framing is that the same no-cost logic is what carried over to the cabinets.

Is the Approach Meant to Be a One-Time Fix?

The closet comparison also carries an upkeep implication, since closets typically get revisited each time a season changes or an item no longer fits. Applying that same expectation to a kitchen cabinet suggests the sorting is not necessarily meant as a single cleanout but as a structure that can be checked periodically — when a duplicate gadget turns up again or a rarely used item resurfaces. The outlet's account centers on the initial decluttering experience, but the underlying system described is one built for repetition rather than a one-time reset.

Artiglio is A coming-soon iPhone chief of staff for briefings and drafts. Not on the App Store yet.