I Tried the “Didn’t Know” Rule in My Kitchen, and Cleared Out 40 Years’ Worth of Clutter in Minutes

I’ve lived in the same bungalow — formerly known as my “starter home” — for 40 years, and as the years go by, I’ve continuously accumulated more and more “stuff.” As a self-proclaimed saver of things, items without any current usefulness abound. To start small and tackle the infamous junk drawer in my kitchen, I fueled my inner resolve and accepted pro organizers Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, aka The Minimalists’ “Didn’t Know” decluttering method challenge. 

The Minimalists’ “Didn’t Know” Rule is simple: If you find something you didn’t know you owned, you can permit yourself to let it go. Seems simple enough, right?

The viral trend recently came to my attention, and I’ve been dying to try my hand at it ever since. In my defense, the junk drawer in my mini kitchen is tiny, measuring just 14 inches wide, 18 inches across, and 4 inches deep. So, no wonder the drawer was a mess!

To start, I delved into the forest of tangled paraphernalia, gasping at incongruous representatives of non-kitchen-worthy residents in the drawer. Among the offenders, I decluttered:

• Masking tape from 2002
• An empty Scotch tape
• Unused birthday candles from who knows when
• Sweet corn holders (ick!)
• Lock De-Icer (which probably doesn’t work, since it’s 30 years old)
• Cheese slicer
• Nonworking meat thermometer (that was a fun Thanksgiving!)
• Old keys on old key rings (I’m keeping the key ring from Blockbuster, for old time’s sake)
• A miscellaneous Swiss Miss scoop

It’s safe to say I didn’t know I had almost any of these items. Next, I decided to move many of my non-kitchen wares to other spots in the house. The Stanley measuring tape, index cards, hole punch, collection of wrenches and screwdrivers, and multitude of permanent markers now live elsewhere (for some of them, that’s the trash). 

The garbage bag was filling up with things I was unaware I had, and it was time to rearrange and banish the words “junk drawer” from my vocabulary for good. Initially, I copied the way I had kept the drawer all of these years. Back went the measuring cups and spoons, joined by two basters, the new meat thermometer, and the single nutcracker. I used two plastic bins shoved into the back, but I wasn’t happy with the results.

Up front, the two BIC lighters, my one pair of scissors, garage keys in envelopes, the random tools, the hand grater that never fit anywhere, joined by the garage door opener (necessary!), rubber jar openers (also necessary!), and I was done! I thought the drawer looked acceptable with fresh shelf liner, enhanced by the three colorful cups from Dollar Tree.

I thought the challenge was complete, and I was satisfied with my work. And then came the next day — and a new vision! I really only needed one plastic rectangular container for the baking items, which made room for two boxes of food storage bags. The cups now store twist ties, bag clips, and rubber bands. The garage door opener is in its rightful place, as are the jar openers and the handheld can opener. 

I would say that I exceeded the “Take Away 10” decluttering method with far more than 10 items to get rid of — and the overflowing garbage bag can attest to my success! The results of the “Didn’t Know” decluttering method were miraculous, and I can’t wait to try them on my next overflowing collect-all spot.