If you have been swept up in Marie Kondo, organization tips like these may help you achieve the lifestyle in a more reasonable fashion.
Some of the Marie Kondo Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is not for me. However, many of her organizational philosophies are spot on and they just make sense even busy moms. I want to share with you how I break down her 6 basic teachings in a way that works for me and my family.
Marie Kondo Organization Tips
Commit to it
This one was pretty easy for me. After years of fighting the clutter and constant avalanche of the mess, I was more than ready to commit to tidying up. If you are at the point where it doesn’t bother you or doesn’t bother you enough to do something about it then you are not going to be able to keep this important principle.
Imagine the ideal lifestyle you want to achieve
Picture why and how you want your home life to look. Do you imagine tidy uncluttered shelves? Do you want to have cabinets with just the bare necessities and give up the days where an opened door means an avalanche of plastic bowls and lids? I would even go so far as to tell you to create a vision board for your home to help you picture exactly what you want. But do it on Pinterest, so you don’t clutter your home making a real vision board. It helps give you a tangible reminder of your goal as you work toward it.
Do you feel the spark?
This one gets a lot of raised eyebrows but the idea behind it makes total sense. If you have books, t-shirts, knick-knacks, and small appliances you hate or are even apathetic to why are you holding onto them? Any items that don’t get you excited or make you feel good about using them should get an eviction notice. Only keep that which makes you happy or sparks some kind of joy.
Organize by category rather than by room.
While I can’t fathom grabbing every book in the house and dumping it in a pile in the middle of the floor to sort, I can get behind focusing on books. To me, a much more manageable way to tackle this job is to grab a box and move from room to room pulling books you no longer want into it. Check everywhere that books are stored: the coffee table, kids’ bookshelves, the office, and don’t forget to hit your nightstand.
The same goes for the rest of the categories on her list: clothing, papers, miscellaneous, and sentimental items. If the thought of combining the entire families closet in a heap sends you running you can follow her thought process on a smaller scale by going closet by closet and drawer by drawer.
Move onto papers when you are done with clothing. Go through desks, file cabinets, and anywhere else there is a buildup of paper. This enables you to focus on the category all at once by in a more manageable way.
Finish Discarding
This means those donate and sell boxes that you are filling up can’t stay. Get rid of them ASAP, don’t let them pile up in storage (or in the trunk of your car like I used to do). Once you get a trunk load, get it out of there fast. Take it straight to the thrift store. The longer they hang around the more likely items are to find their way back into the house and clutter up your garage.
What was your biggest Marie Kondo takeaway?