When I first saw this video by ADHD TikToker @adhdorganized that talked about the “poop rule” as a decluttering hack, I was quick to dismiss it. It seemed too gratuitous to be useful. The poop rule basically has you ask, “Is this important enough that I would wash poop off of it?” when you’re trying to decide whether or not to keep something. It’s shocking and admittedly gross, but once my initial disgust wore off, I began to consider that it might be a great way to cull unnecessary items.
After all, it’s basically an extreme version of Marie Kondo’s infamous decluttering question, “Does this spark joy?” Asking whether you’d wash poop off of something is basically asking yourself how important or special something is to you, with the bar set really high. As a mother of five, I’ve opted more than once to toss poopy items rather than clean them!
I decided to put the method to the test in a space I’ve been meaning to declutter for a while: a wide, shallow drawer in my bathroom. It holds items I don’t use every day, but reach for at least once a week, and it had become a catchall for lots of items that weren’t getting used. The whole thing was a jumbled mess, and it was beginning to stress me out each time I opened it.
How I Tried the Poop Rule to Declutter
To prepare for decluttering with the poop rule, I grabbed a couple of trash bags, knowing I’d likely be getting rid of a lot. I emptied the entire drawer onto the countertop and got to work sorting what I’d keep, what I’d toss, and what needed to get put somewhere else. As I handled each item, I considered the poop question.
I quickly realized that I’d have to adapt the method to this particular space. The drawer didn’t contain a single item that I’d wash poop off of to keep. However, when it came to items that seemed somewhat useful, the things that I’d typically get stuck hemming and hawing about, thinking of how quickly I’d toss it if it had poop on it put things into perspective. No, I didn’t need the expired creams from the dermatologist or the old, almost empty hand sanitizers and dental floss.
When it came to things like bobby pins and cotton swabs, though, the poop rule was less useful. Of course, I wouldn’t keep them if they got contaminated! They’re inexpensive (and far more sanitary) to replace. But there was no need to get rid of them; I use them at least weekly. All they needed was to be put in their proper place neatly.
So my takeaway was this: The poop rule is great for when you’re unsure whether something is, to borrow from another decluttering principle, useful or beautiful. If you’d wash poop off it, that particular item would have to be irreplaceable in its usefulness or beauty. But that doesn’t automatically mean that you shouldn’t keep something you’d toss if it did have poop on it.
The poop rule enables you to realize how quickly you’d let go of those “maybe” items if they involved some unpleasant work to hold on to. It helps you get in touch with your gut reaction to something, pushing you over that precipitous but freeing edge of letting those questionable things go.
