Home Organizing vs. Decluttering: What's the Difference?

What Is Home Organizing?

Home organizing is about creating order and finding a place for your belongings.

During an organizing project, items are sorted and categorized, similar items may be consolidated, and belongings are given a place based on the space available and how you use them.

Depending on the project, organizing may also include labels or organizing products such as bins, baskets, drawer organizers, containers, or other storage solutions.

The goal isn't simply to straighten everything up so it looks better. A well-organized space should also make sense for the person using it. Where items are stored, how they're categorized, and which products are used can depend on your routines, what you own, the amount of storage available, and how you use the space.

Home organizing generally isn't focused on getting rid of belongings. You might come across obvious trash or an item you know you don't want while organizing, but deciding what to part with isn't the primary purpose of the service.

What Is Decluttering?

Decluttering is about going through your belongings and deciding what you no longer want or need.

A common way to work through a space is to separate belongings into categories such as:

• Keep
• Donate
• Toss

Depending on what you're decluttering, you may also have items you want to sell, recycle, give to family members, or handle another way.

The goal is to remove belongings that are taking up space and that you no longer want to keep. You may be decluttering because your home feels too full, you're having trouble finding what you need, you need more usable storage space, you're preparing for a move, or you simply want to reduce how much you have.

Once you've made decisions, you can take donations to local donation centers, dispose of trash, and use a junk removal service for larger amounts of unwanted belongings.

What's the Main Difference Between Organizing and Decluttering?

Decluttering helps you decide what stays. Organizing creates a system for what stays.

If everything in your closet is staying but you can't easily find anything, you probably need organizing.

If your closet is full of clothes you no longer wear, items that don't fit, and things you know you don't want, you may need to declutter before organizing it.

The same applies throughout the home. You can organize a kitchen, pantry, garage, bedroom, bathroom, home office, or other space without decluttering if you want to keep what's already there. But if there are too many belongings for the space or you know there are things you no longer want, decluttering first can make the organizing process easier.

What Does a Professional Organizer Do During Home Organizing?

Home organizing is one of the services professional organizers provide.

For an organizing project, the organizer can sort and categorize belongings, consolidate similar items, determine where things should go, and set up the space so it's easier to use and maintain.

For example, in a kitchen, they may remove items from cabinets and drawers, group similar items, decide where everything should go, and put it back in an organized way. They may also provide light cleaning of empty cabinets, drawers, or shelves as they work.

Organizing products and labels may also be used depending on the space, what the client wants, and how the organizer works.

For many organizing projects, the client doesn't need to be involved in every part of the process once the organizer understands their preferences and what they want done.

What Does a Professional Organizer Do During Decluttering?

Decluttering is typically more collaborative because the organizer can't decide which personal belongings you want to keep or let go of.

A professional organizer can work alongside you, moving through the space and helping you decide what you want to keep, donate, toss, sell, or handle another way.

They can provide guidance and accountability, keep items sorted as decisions are made, fill donation boxes or bags, handle trash, and do much of the physical work involved in clearing the space.

Depending on the company, they may also provide donation drop-off or help arrange removal of larger amounts of unwanted belongings.

Do You Need to Declutter Before Organizing?

Not always.

If you're happy with what you own and simply need help creating a better system, you may only need home organizing. Maybe you've already decluttered, don't have much you want to get rid of, or simply want to keep everything you currently have.

If you have belongings you no longer want, or there's more in the space than you'd like to keep, it usually makes sense to declutter first.

There's little benefit in spending time finding the perfect place for something you're going to get rid of anyway.

Can a Professional Organizer Help With Both?

Yes. Many professional organizers provide both decluttering and home organizing services.

A project may begin with the organizer working alongside you to declutter. Once you've decided what you're keeping, the organizer can move on to sorting, categorizing, and organizing those belongings.

You can also hire an organizer for only one part of the process. If you prefer to declutter on your own, you can do that before the organizing session. If you only need help deciding what to keep and don't need the remaining belongings organized afterward, you may only need decluttering help.

The services don't always have to be done together.