The Joy of Organizing Your Life!
Millions of Americans are tuning into Netflix to get tips from 34-year-old Japanese organizing expert Marie Kondo. The show, “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” was an instant hit – which says something about how much we want to de-clutter and organize our lives! Good Will and Salvation Army reported increased donations last month after Kondo’s show started airing, suggesting Kondo has captured global attention.
No doubt you’ve heard of her ubiquitous approach – called the “KonMari Method”. It doesn’t attack the task of organizing room-by-room. Instead, Kondo begins by sorting belongings by categories and keeping “only those things that speak to the heart.”
Does It Spark Joy?
Does this really work? If you watch the show, or even the trailer, you can see her method is HELPING lots of different types of people who have trouble letting go of unessential stuff.
People welcome this diminutive woman with sweet, determined energy into their living spaces to help them sort, categorize and purge their belongings. Marie Kondo offers tips anyone can apply to the decluttering process and the first is to figure out which items spark joy. “You feel it when you hold a puppy or when you wear your favorite outfit,” she says. “It’s a warm and positive feeling.”
Kondo believes as you focus on that feeling and develop a sensitivity to joy, you will progress through the decluttering process with ease – or at least with less difficulty.
Are you ready to tidy up and find your joy?
The Cluttered Categories
The first category is clothing, then books, paper, komono (kitchen, bathroom, garage and all things miscellaneous) and finally sentimental items. With clothing, the KonMari Method separates everything into two piles – based on whether or not an article of clothing sparks joy or doesn’t. The pile you keep should be arranged so you can see everything – Kondo rolls or folds and stores everything purposefully, according to color, and favors the use of boxes.
After clothing, Kondo tackles books and papers. Before organizing she asks the people to imagine their ideal life. Which of these things maintain your household and support your life and aspirations? Instead of memorializing your past and getting bogged down with stuff, figure out what gives you joy and serves you best.
Personal papers start with a single stack which gets divided into three categories for storage. Always remove documents from their envelopes and sort into:
- Pending – Need Action, like letters and bills;
- Important – Need to keep forever, like contracts and insurance forms;
- Miscellaneous – Things you want to read again, like recipes.
When You Get Stuck
Kondo encourages people who get stuck to start with something they KNOW they love, in order to experience that connection and identify it when tidying up.
And when people feel guilty about letting go of something, Kondo advises them to thank the items for their service while discarding them. This applies to clothes with the tags still on them, and unused items that have never/will never be used!
For more tips visit Marie Kondo’s website, or pick up her book – a New York Times bestseller — available on Amazon digitally and as an audiobook.
Optimally Organized in Colliers Hill
With plenty of storage space in the brand new homes of Colliers Hill, it’s so much easier to stay organized! Come and visit our amazing neighborhoods and amenities and explore the models and move-in ready homes of Richmond American Homes, Shea Homes and Meritage Homes. Available in ranch or two-story designs, new homes in our master-planned community are priced from the upper $300s to the $600s.
