Sort by category, not room, to see the truth about volume

Most people start by straightening a room, then another, only to find the same kind of stuff scattered everywhere. It feels productive until you realize you’ve sorted markers in the kitchen, office, and bedroom three different times. The brain mistakes motion for progress. The better lens is category. When you collect every sweater from the entire home, lay them on the bed, and see nineteen nearly identical black ones, denial ends on sight. Your coffee cools while you laugh, a little shocked, then choose the three you actually reach for.

This approach works because the mind needs complete sets to judge accurately. When like items are dispersed, you can’t compare and you underestimate volume. It’s like trying to budget with only one bank statement open. Pulling everything into one place creates a single decision context and removes the memory load of tracking what might be hiding in a different closet. Your phone buzzes, but you ignore it because the heap in front of you is honest and immediate.

Handling each item once matters, too. The Zeigarnik effect says unfinished tasks nag at us. If you bounce between piles, you create dozens of open loops that drain energy. A “one touch” rule, paired with small subcategories (tops, then pants, then socks), closes loops quickly, teaches your hands what “keep” feels like, and accelerates decisions.

I might be wrong, but the relief people feel at the end of the first category has less to do with tidiness and more to do with cognitive closure. You’ve stopped negotiating with shadows and started deciding with evidence. Practically, you avoid duplicate purchases, free up storage, and reclaim attention. Psychologically, you build a bias toward completion. The mechanism is simple: category consolidation reduces hidden inventory, comparison improves discrimination, and finishing one scope trains the brain to seek closure.

Pick a single category—say, tops—and bring every last one to one spot, even the jacket in your car. Handle each item once, keep what you truly wear, and place the rest into a donation or discard bag without circling back. Close the loop by finishing that subcategory before you rest so your brain gets the reward of completion. Then move to the next subcategory. Keep the scope tight and the movement steady, and you’ll feel your decision speed increase within an hour. Try one subcategory tonight.