I Tried the “27 Fling Boogie” Rule and Decluttered My Kitchen Cabinets in Record Time

I have no issue admitting that I am obsessed with decluttering and reorganizing my kitchen. I’m a huge fan of the “90/90 rule,” which helped me get my butler’s pantry into tip-top shape. But as much as I love organization finds from HomeGoods and Target, they tend to pile up and create space for storing even more stuff. Inherently, I know there’s a big difference between decluttering and organizing. And organizing clutter is pointless and an oxymoron. Maybe everything ends up looking nice, but typically those items should’ve been tossed or donated instead.  

So, when I heard about the “27 Fling Boogie” — not only did the name catch my attention, but also the intent behind it was inspiring, and exactly what I needed. The “27 Fling Boogie,” created by pro organizer Marla Cilley, a.k.a. FlyLady, is pretty simple, and helps you get a handle on decluttering while turning your focus away from organizing: You gather 27 items to throw away and 27 items to give away or donate. You can focus on whichever area is most pressing, be it a room, a drawer, a cabinet, or even your whole house. I decided to focus on a few pain points in my kitchen — specifically my cabinets and overstuffed drawers.

First stop, one of two cabinets underneath my main counter. They’re pretty spacious with a shelf in the back and a pull-out bin on the bottom. In cabinet number one, we used the bin to store surplus mixing bowls (which have become a lopsided, messy stack) and a hodgepodge of gadgets and items that I don’t recall buying or receiving, like dented Nespresso pods — those were tossed immediately. Other items that joined the donate pile were mismatched covers that didn’t fit the aforementioned mixing bowls, a set of unused air fryer accessories, and a single-serving blender from when I swore I’d become a “smoothie person.”

In the matching cabinet that housed my pot lids in its pull-out bin, I quickly arranged them by size for efficiency but didn’t find anything to get rid of. The shelf, on the other hand, held a jumbled mess of items like a Christmas-themed potholder (we celebrate Hanukkah) and an assortment of mostly unused strainers and funnels that were destined for the donate pile. The mismatched parts of long-lost kitchen gadgets headed to the trash.

From there, I peeked inside the drawers on my island. They make for great storage of bulky items like pans, baking trays, and serving platters, but also easily fill up with unnecessary supplies. Case in point? Two pans that make pancakes in the shape of a unicorn. Those were donated while the edible markers to color in said unicorn pancakes went right into the trash. The collection of tiny pans for making single-serve omelets was prime for donating. And just as I thought I was finished, I opened a cabinet to take out a plate for a well-deserved snack when I noticed two white ceramic heart-shaped plates that said “Heart” on them peeking out from a high shelf. The stowaways from my Rae Dunn phase immediately went into the donation pile.

I counted and realized that my “27 Fling Boogie” propelled me into donating and tossing well over 54 items. It wasn’t that hard to part with them as most are things I didn’t even know I had. It also made me realize that I need to take a breath and walk away before buying something that looks like it will make my life “easier” because odds are it’ll probably just make my life more cluttered. Air fryer accessories and remnants from subscription boxes that never should’ve been subscribed to are all casualties of believing I’ve found the perfect items to make my life more efficient. 

My dalliance with the “27 Fling Boogie” was a staunch reminder that most of the items in the donation pile were bought on impulse and never used. While decluttering feels great and lets me see what I do have and better understand what I do need, it shouldn’t be such a regular part of my routine. This challenge reminded me that I need to start asking myself if I really need something and if I know exactly how often I’ll use it before buying. I’m looking at you, single-serving blender and one-portion pans!

Have you tried the “27 Fling Boogie”? Let us know how it went in the comments below!

This post originally appeared on The Kitchn. See it there: I Tried the “27 Fling Boogie” Rule and Decluttered My Kitchen Cabinets in Record Time