Tidy by Category, Not by Location

When you think about how you want to organize your home, what comes to mind? Perhaps you’ve tried tackling one pile, box, drawer, or room at a time. While it’s a common approach, it often leads to an endless cycle of decluttering and organizing.
That is why the KonMari Method’s fourth principle is to tidy by category rather than by location.

Does this sound counterintuitive? I’ll explain why a little-by-little, room-by-room approach is ineffective and the benefits of organizing by category instead. If you haven’t already, you can read about the first, second, and third principles of the KonMari Method.

Downsides of Organizing by Location

It is repetitive. People often keep the same types of objects in multiple places around their homes. When you declutter and organize one area, you end up repeating the same work over and over. 

It is hard to know how much you actually own. Because the same type of item is often kept in different places, it is easy to overlook where they are and how much you have. This is especially true if you forgot you even owned them in the first place or didn’t know where they were stored.

It makes storage difficult. Even if you’ve decluttered one area, like a shelf or a room, organizing by location can make it hard to figure out where to store things. Have you ever found yourself looking at a pile of miscellaneous items and wondering where to store them, especially when they’re currently scattered across different spots in the house? 

Benefits of Organizing by Category

You have a clearer sense of how much you actually own. When your belongings are scattered across different places in your home, it is easy to underestimate how much there is. I call this “object impermanence,” and some might know it as “out of sight, out of mind.” When you gather everything in one category, like shoes or office supplies, you have a better idea of the volume. Similarly, it is easier to identify duplicates.

It helps you consider each item in its proper context. When you organize room-by-room, your belongings are seen in isolation – a winter jacket there, a lone coffee mug here. But when you gather everything in one category together, you get the proper context. This allows you to evaluate items relative to one another. Suddenly, you’re not just looking at a random jacket; you’re looking at all twenty of the jackets you own in one place. It is then easier to decide which ones you want to keep.

It is a chance to reevaluate storage habits and solutions. Items often end up in places they don’t belong, which can affect your ability not only to know where things are but also to access them efficiently. Grouping by category helps you consider each item's function and find a purposeful home for it, rather than just keeping random owner’s manuals in the bathroom drawer because that’s where they’ve always been.

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While organizing by category is a lesser-known approach, it is more effective for those who want lasting change. Gathering all the items in one category may seem intimidating, but it is the only way to truly see your belongings and make intentional decisions about them.