Have you heard of Marie Kondo? Maybe you know her as the Japanese woman who became famous because she advocated for keeping only the things that “spark joy.” She even became a meme once, you know.
From a meme that went viral on the Internet, Marie Kondo is now a famous personality who has her own book. She also stars in the Netflix show “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,” where she helps people tidy up their homes — and we all have that problem.
If you’re having trouble organizing your home and getting rid of clutter, you’re in the right place. Here are the six basic rules in the KonMari method. After this, you might become so invested in tidying up that you decide to start a cleaning service. Who knows, right?
Rule 1. Be committed.
Marie Kondo believes that the key to living a clean and tidy lifestyle is being committed to it. Otherwise, you’ll go back to messing up and cluttering your home, defeating the whole purpose of the method.
Rule 2. Picture your ideal lifestyle.
When we utter the word “home,” we usually think of an organized and aesthetically pleasing place. That vision might be far from how your home looks right now. Take that vision of how you want your home to look and how luxurious or carefree you want to live. Once you have a clear picture of your ideal home, you’ll know what you need to do to achieve it.
Rule 3. Declutter first.
Before you can organize your home, you have to reduce the objects in it. Let’s admit that most of the things we have, we barely use. So it’s time to throw those things away. Go room to room in your home and spot the items you no longer need or want. Prepare some boxes where you can put them.
The KonMari method, however, requires more than tossing away your old stuff. You need to hold every piece you’ve decided to throw away and thank it for serving its purpose. The whole point of it is to help discard your feelings of guilt. We all know how hard it is to throw away things that have sentimental value. But showing your gratitude to them can help you let go.
Rule 4. Tidy by category.
The hardest part about tidying up is finding a place for everything. But the method provides a solution for that pain: tidying by category. Put all like items in one place. Kitchen materials and tools should be in the kitchen. Books should be allocated in a particular area. Doing this reduces the chances of having your things all over the place, making it easier to find and fix after use.
Rule 5. Follow the right order.
The rules to tidying up might seem excessive. But each step is part of the process. To help you yield good results, make sure you follow the right order. Commit to tidying up first, picture your ideal lifestyle, declutter, then tidy up by category. Avoid multitasking and jumping from one step to another because that’s going to overwhelm you.
Rule 6. Does it spark joy?
If you’re having trouble decluttering or saying goodbye to your things, Marie Kondo proposes a simple solution: ask yourself if it sparks joy. She believes that we should keep only the things that make us happy. That is a good point considering that clutter causes stress. So the next time you hesitate to throw something away, ask yourself, “does this spark joy in my life?”
The Marie Kondo method is highly effective. She has helped hundreds of people tidy up their homes and organize their life. If you want to lighten your load and reduce stress, try this tested method.