You’ve likely seen a photo where the objects are so perfectly arranged that you can’t take your eyes off it. It’s a style known as “knolling” in photography circles, and it has become a social media trend for good reason.
There is even a dedicated subreddit for all things knolling, where over 12,000 people share their appreciation for an artfully symmetrical photograph. Scrolling through the page may satisfy your need for uniformity and correspondence.
We’ve compiled some of the photos from the page into this list for your enjoyment. As always, don’t forget to upvote your favorites, and even share some of your knolling work if you have any!
#1 Contents Of A Croatian Firetruck
#2 Keeper Of My Grandparents’ Things The Rest Of The Family Would Have Thrown Away
#3 Came Across This Facebook Post
You can’t deny the soothing feeling that an organized image brings. According to physicist Alan Lightman, it represents order, something we all inherently crave.
As he wrote in his book The Accidental Universe: The World You Thought You Knew, the emotional pleasure we get from our search for symmetry helps us make sense of the world around us.
#4 All Of My “Beach Trash”
#5 Do My Pop Tabs Count?
#6 Sea Glass Collected In Kodiak, Alaska
Lightman went on to compare our innate satisfaction with symmetry to the enjoyment we feel in the repetition of seasons and the reliability of friendships. As he noted, symmetry is economy, simplicity, and elegance.
“The architecture of our brains was born from the same trial and error, the same energy principles, the same pure mathematics that happens in flowers and jellyfish and Higgs particles,” Lightman wrote.
#7 My Daughter’s Latest Origami Obsession
#8 Leaves I Picked Up On Campus Today
#9 Sea Glass Collected On Holiday
However, there is also such a thing as symmetry OCD. Simply put, it’s having feelings of distress upon seeing objects that are not symmetrical, even if there is no logic behind it.
According to Healthline, it may manifest through strong urges to align things that are perceived as “crooked,” discomfort and anxiety when something “feels off,” and intrusive thoughts about spatial arrangements and shapes, among other symptoms.
#10 Montreal Insectorium Beetles
#11 How About This? Found On Another Site
#12 First Time Trying Out Knolling With My Vintage Toy Brush And Comb Collection
Since this type of condition often involves compulsions, symmetry OCD could involve tapping things an equal number of times, stepping or walking in specific patterns, or even mentally redoing tasks that would make the person feel like they are creating a “sense of balance.”
#13 I Volunteer At A Used Book Store. I’ve Been Collecting The Bookmarks We Find In Donations For Months And Finally Got Around To Making This Display
#14 A Gift For My Surgeon After My Top Surgery. Top Surgery Tom With Removable Breasts, Hospital Gown, Binder, Drains, Drains Holder, Admission Bracelet, Shirt And Shorts
#15 All Those Hex Keys That Come With Furniture And Only Get Used Once
Knolling is perceived as another manifestation of symmetry OCD. Recognized treatment methods, such as cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), exposure and response prevention (ERP), and medication, are used if the condition becomes disruptive to daily life.
But if it is at a manageable level, knolling could be an effective outlet. At the very least, you get to create something visually appealing in the process.
#16 A Huge Collection Of Smalls I’ve Found Over The Years Of Working At A Rubbish Dump In The UK
#17 I Arranged My Cherry Tomatoes
#18 How I Use My Phone Less
#19 My Collection Of 80s Beach Scope Photos
#20 Was Tidying Up Stationary Drawer And Found Some Pens
#21 Leaving For Antarctica In 3 Hours!
#22 Singapore Civil Defence Force Shows What’s Inside Their Fire Engines!
#23 My Fidget Collection
#24 Does This Count As Knolling?
#25 Thought I’d Share My Typical Setup For Spinal Cord Surgery
#26 Cleaned My Purse Out After… A Very Long Time
#27 My Collection Of Odd Pasta Shapes
#28 Over Christmas At My Parents’ House, I Dug Out A Box Of My Jewelry From High School (Late 90s To Early 2000s)…. Along With Some Random Trinkets From The Same Box
#29 What My 4yo Packed To Evacuate For The La Fires
#30 All The Pens I Used Writing And Researching My Dissertation
#31 Knolling Nerds
#32 I Teach Elementary School, And I Use Fun Flavors Of Lip Balm As An Incentive (If They Line Up Quietly, They Get A Swipe On The Back Of Their Hand). Here Are All The Scents I Have So Far!
#33 I Loved This Book As A Kid. I Still Find It So Satisfying To Look At. Baby’s First Knolling!
#34 Kind Of Gross, Kind Of Cool. Objects Found Stuck Behind A Built In Bathroom Cabinet On My 1910 Apartment
#35 What Got Me Into Knolling Years Ago
#36 Lifted The Couch This Morning
#37 Two Views Of What’s In My Work Bag
#38 Just Learned Out This Subreddit, Here’s Some Weekly Food Prep
#39 My Partner Once Called My Purse “A Series Of Smaller Purses” And He Wasn’t Wrong
#40 Didn’t Know This Was A Thing, So Here’s One I Made About 10 Years Ago
#41 Found Shopping Lists From 6 Months Of Part Time Cashiering. 🛒
#42 My Vintage Coach Collection Knoll I Made Before I Knew About This Page!
#43 My Painting Inspired By Knolling
#44 My Late Granny’s Trinkets
#45 Soy Fish School
#46 My Never Ending Quest To Find The Perfect Lip Balm
#47 All The Lisa Frank Rubber Stamps I Found At A Garage Sale Last Week
#48 Packing My Backpack For Tomorrow For… Reasons
#49 I Spy Page Made With A Portion Of My Trinket Collection
#50 Friend Told Me To Post Here. Took This In 2023 For A Photography Contest. Didn’t Win
#51 Mom’s Pins
#52 My First Knoll Of Broken Pottery I’ve Found In My Towns River
#53 My First Attempt At A Purse Knoll Featuring My Cat’s Paw (Not Usually In My Purse)
#54 My Eraser Collection
#55 Things I Collected Off Floors /Bleachers During My Time As A High School Janitor
#56 All Of My Socks That Are Missing Mates
#57 Knolled My Lunch For Y’all. I’m 29 And Proud LOL
#58 My Color Coordinated Derm Conference Skincare Sample Haul
#59 Things Found In My Drawers
#60 My Dad’s Collection Of “Junk” He’s Picked Up Over 10 Years Of Being A Mailman
#61 My Favorite Yarns In My Collection
#62 Swedish Mountain Ranger Prepared To Cross Greenland
#63 I Do Underwater Trash Cleanup Of Tourist Spots. I Catalog Everything After Each Cleanup
#64 The Contents Of My Almost 4 Year Old’s Bag
#65 Things Found In The Past 12 Months While Picking Up Litter In My Town
#66 Orange Breadtags ( Panids )
#67 First Time Poster, Hope I’m Doing It Right. These Are The Contents Of My 8 Year Old Daughter’s Purse
#68 Contents Of My 5yo’s Favorite Backpack
#69 My 9 Year Olds Halloween Haul. Did This By Himself, I’m Quite Proud
#70 Dumped My Entire Coffee On My Bag And Somehow Missed (Thankfully) All The Contents Inside
#71 Cleaned Out My “Every Day” Makeup Bag
#72 Essentials Of A 7yr Old On Her Bike Ride
#73 My Late Grandmother’s Purse And Contents
#74 My Collection Of Color Test Strips From Packaging
#75 The Contents Of The Bag I Keep Packed In Case I Need To Go To The Hospital
#76 Cleaned Out My Trinket Dish
#77 First Day At A Shelter In NYC
#78 Shopping Lists I’ve Found At My Job
#79 Someone (On Another Platform) Building A New Deck And Found This Under The Old One
#80 All The Stuffed Animals I Made For My Upcoming Craft Fair
#81 Knolling My Meal Preps For The Week
#82 Purse Was Getting Heavy, Idk Why
#83 I Feel Like Patrick Bateman With My New Setup
#84 Purse Lay Of A 41 Year Old Woman LOL
#85 Mom Let Me Knoll Her Soap!
#86 My First Knoll Using My Girlfriends Everyday Bag
#87 The Contents Of My 6 Year Old’s Coat Pocket
#88 Work Bag Guess My Profession Or Favorite Color
#89 Purse Knoll Of A 19-Year-Old College Student
#90 What I’m Bringing To A First Date
#91 What’s In My Purse Currently, I Do Admit I Have A Lip Gloss Obsession
#92 Knolling My Jar Of Things I’ve Found In Parking Lots
#93 Everything From The Top Pocket Of My Backpack
#94 First Time Trying This! I Found Random Objects Found Around My Apartment And Organized By Color ❤️🧡💛💚🩵💜
#95 Leaving For A Year-Long Trip Tomorrow, Heres The Pack
#96 Cleaned Out My Lip Treatment Bag
#97 All The Things I Picked Up On My Walk In 2024
#98 Accidentally Dumped Gravy In My Purse So, Cleanup Was Required
#99 My Mom Saved My Childhood Bin Of Legos To Pass Onto My Son. This Is Everything I Sorted Out That Wasn’t LEGO
#100 Knolling Is Not Just “Here’s My Everyday Bag” – R/Edc Exists For That. R/Knolling Is About A Specific Organizational Aesthetic
#101 My 4 Year Old’s “Hazard Box”
#102 The Contents Of My Way Too Heavy Purse
#103 My Best And Biggest Knoll Ever
#104 Knolled My Purse! 🙂
#105 Knolled My Fruit Bowl
#106 Bedside Table Of A Blue House In A Red Neighborhood, January 2025
