Tidying Up
Have you ever watched the TV show “Hoarders”? It is basically a reality show-style chronicling of real-life people who struggle (in these cases to the extreme) with amassing a bunch of stuff they really don’t need, and then being unable to get rid of it without professional help.
Now, while my case (and I suppose the majority of yours) — that of collecting more things than I needed and suddenly realizing it was time to declutter — is not as dire or dramatic as these onscreen portrayals, I still felt a bit of a struggle when it came to several things. Among these things was deciding where to start. Luckily, I came across yet another TV marvel — home design guru Marie Kondo — and was introduced to the KonMari tidying method, thus launching my own decluttering journey. I wanted to share a few things about the method itself, as well as some of my favorite lessons gleaned while putting it into action.
Two of my favorite Marie Kondo quotes provided the motivation I needed to start strong.
“The question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”
“Life truly begins after you have put your house in order!”
And I don’t know about you, but after these last two years, I am not wanting to waste a single second more to begin a new life chapter, so onward I went to Kondo’s website, which does an excellent job of identifying the 6 rules of tidying.
While you can check out all 6 rules for yourself, I’ll provide you with the KonMari Method in a nutshell: It’s a simple tidying method that focuses on taking a totally different (joyful) perspective on tidying. Instead of asking yourself what you will need to throw out or give away, you are taught to approach your tidying project with the question of what you want to keep, choosing only those items that speak to your heart.
Not only do I love the positivity and refreshing angle of this approach, but I also love that Kondo assures method adopters that we will never again “relapse to clutter”. And you don’t just have to take her word for it — I have found this to be true and testify that this system is the only one that is actually transformative.
Listed below is a highlight reel of the top lessons I learned in the process of tidying:
- It pays to commit to the process and not stray from the prescribed order. Remember, It can take up to six months to tidy your home, so hang in there and don’t deviate. It will all pay off in the end!
- It felt surprisingly freeing to let go of the things that no longer suited me. It was invigorating to say, “That’s not me anymore.”
- Using this method helped me gain better clarity about how my space becomes comfortable to me and how I want my house to feel.
- I gained an understanding of the things I truly liked and gave myself permission to stop buying things that weren’t my favorite.
- I learned that, when shopping, if I had to rationalize purchasing an item, it was an indication that the item didn’t bring real value to me.
- Tidying is actually a meaningful way to care for myself. It’s life-giving to actively decide what gets to be in my space!
Want to explore further?
Listed below are a few links with more information on the KonMari method. Happy tidying!
Tidying Course
Container Store x KonMari
Book – Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up
