# Minimize This First

Source: https://www.theminimalists.com/minimize/
Published: 2026-06-10
Updated: 2026-06-08
Author: Joshua Fields Millburn

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If you gave me the keys to your house and permission to minimize anything I wanted, here’s where I’d start.

**The bedroom**. I’d clear the mess from your nightstands, dressers, and other flat surfaces using the [No Piles Rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hpypQ7LCQU). Then I’d apply the [Hate That Shirt Rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uCUd0TO5Ak) to your closet.

**The living room**. I’d use the [Wouldn’t Repurchase Rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1OIzkm5qYxE) to remove anything disrupting the calm in your main living space.

**The kitchen**. I’d open your cabinets and jettison anything that fits the [Didn’t Know Rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjKY2InCub4). Then I’d use the [Junkless Drawer Rule](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EAk1n0_E31M) to eliminate the anxiety hiding in your drawers.

**Why start with these three areas?** First, they’re the rooms where you spend the most time, so you’ll feel the benefits fastest. Second, they’re easier to declutter than the biggest problem areas—basements, attics, storage rooms, and other mausoleums of stuff. You can tackle those eventually, but momentum matters first.

—JFM

*P.S. Ryan, T.K., and I made a new YouTube video about this topic: [If We Had 2 Hours in Your House](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3ft258YG1M).*

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