I Used the One Touch Rule to Declutter My Closet and Got Rid of 47 Items

Every fall, my closet inevitably morphs into a monster. My summer dresses hang on one rail with the light jackets, while the bulky sweaters and thick coats I save for cold snaps sit on the bottom rail. By the time the leaves change and the weather settles into real fall, I can’t find a single pair of jeans that are buried in there somewhere. One day, I spent almost 20 minutes pushing everything to one side and still couldn’t find them. That’s when I knew I had to do something.

So I did what I always do and went online looking for a smart organizing hack. This time, it was a moving pro who taught me the “one touch” rule, which movers use to help clients downsize their closets before moving day.

Sarah Balducci, a moving expert from BMS Moving & Storage shared the one touch rule with me, along with a few tips she often gives clients. Essentially, you take an item out of your closet, and it goes straight into one of three piles: keep, store for the season, or donate. There’s no “I’ll think about it” pile, and no “maybe” or “limbo” box. With only one touch allowed per item, you have to act.

She recommends being ruthless in your decluttering, which is the point of the rule, and to sort in short sessions of no more than two hours, because big jobs can feel overwhelming. Balducci also suggests using a seasonal rotation system for off-season clothes. She explained that what makes the one touch rule work is that every time you pick something up, put it down, and pick it up again, you give yourself another chance to talk yourself into keeping it. By dealing with it just once, you eliminate all of those extra steps. Although I’m not moving, I knew this was brilliant and just what I needed to sort my closet clutter.

I started with my closet open in front of me. First, I made three designated spots: one for fall clothes staying in my closet, one for off-season clothes going into storage, and one for donations. I used piles at first, then switched to bags and bins after my first session. Then I worked in small batches. I started with the top rail and kept clothes grouped in quarters, so I never had more than a few items in my hands at a time. I decided on the spot what to do with each item, pretending each item was “lava-hot,” so I went with my instincts. Pick it up, decide, place it — no hovering and no second-guessing.

By the end of the two-hour afternoon session, I had a whopping 47 items in the donation pile. I finally let go of the pants I always thought I’d wear again once I lost a few pounds (it’s been years!). I also found plenty of duplicates, and I rediscovered one of my favorite sweaters hiding under a coat.

I do several closet cleanouts every year, and I dread them because they feel like they require so much time and energy. I get stuck on what should stay, partly because I attach a lot of sentimental value to my clothes. So my “maybe” pile was always too big, I’d get tired, and whatever I hadn’t sorted ended up back on the hanger.

The one touch rule takes that pile away. There’s nowhere to park a decision, so I just made one decision, one touch at a time. That made the whole job feel shorter and more manageable. It wasn’t me versus a monstrous closet — it was just me versus one item.