Cleaning and decluttering the Marie Kondo way….
There's no better time to declutter and sort out your space than before a garage sale, and so the queen of organization, Marie Kondo, is here to help you do just that.
Even if going full-blown KonMari (what Kondo calls her style of tidying) seems a bit out of reach at the moment, these ideas will help clear your home and your mind, one step at a time AND give you plenty of items to bring others joy and you, cash!
WORK THROUGH CATEGORIES, NOT ROOMS
Contrary to how most people would think, Kondo advises to work through your home in order of category rather than tackling a whole room.
While it may seem to make more sense to sort by room and think of separate kitchen storage ideas for example, Kondo points out that it's hard to really achieve much this way.
'When we disperse storage of a particular item throughout the house and tidy one place at a time, we can never grasp the overall volume and therefore can never finish,' Kondo says. 'To escape this negative spiral, tidy by category, not by place.
2. ORGANIZE AND DECLUTTER SOLO
Perhaps not something you would have thought about before, but Kondo believes that you should be decluttering by yourself.
The reason for this is that loved ones, especially family members, can be anxious about how much is getting thrown away, or try to guilt you into keeping something that you have moved on from.
A very simple tip, but actually very effective. The one exception? Photos. Gather as many family members around when sorting out photos and you'll not only get things decluttered and organized, but you'll have a wonderful time doing so.
3. LET GO OF THE PAST
One habit it's important to lose when decluttering is feeling guilty.
'To throw away what you no longer need is neither wasteful nor shameful,' says Kondo. 'Let them go, with gratitude. Not only you, but your things as well, will feel clear and refreshed when you are done tidying.'
You shouldn't feel bad about tidying up your space and moving on from belongings. After all, 'to truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose,' says Kondo. 'The space in which we live should be for the person we are becoming now, not for the person we were in the past.'
Just imagine how much lovelier it would it be to live in a home filled only with objects which 'spark joy', rather than pieces which no longer reflect who you are.
SO, HOW DO YOU ORGANIZE LIKE MARIE KONDO?
Marie Kondo has six basic KonMari tidying rules so that you can organize like her. They are:
COMMIT YOURSELF TO TIDYING UP
This means setting aside time and space to tackle a tidying job and then committing to complete it.
2. IMAGINE YOUR IDEAL LIFESTYLE
Marie really focusses past the decluttering job itself and asks you to consider how positive you will feel once its done. It does make it easier to start!
3. FINISH DISCARDING FIRST
She suggests that the sorting through and discarding part of the decluttering should be done all at once. Then you can move on to sorting. Marie Kondo does suggest you thank each item you discard for serving its purpose, but we're happy to skip that bit...
4. TIDY BY CATEGORY, NOT LOCATION
Simple: tidy all your Tupperware first, then move on to cutlery, then to china (and so on).
5. FOLLOW THE RIGHT ORDER
Sticking to the plan is the key to success but Marie Kondo also suggests orderliness in the actual tidying away of items – and is insistent that the best approach is to make things we use regularly or like to see on display are very much to hand, while items we don't need often are stored in a less convenient place, purely because we don't need them as often.
6. ASK YOURSELF IF IT SPARKS JOY
Having trouble parting with something? It's a good way to work out whether you really want to keep it. And if a room – or corner of a – really doesn't spark joy, that's a good starting point for your rethink.
Just think of how good it will feel to have a clean and tidy house and a pocket full of change - both literally and physically. Happy selling and see you on June 4th!
