Get Inspired

Watch the Netflix special “Tidying Up with Marie Kondo”, read “The Life-Changing magic of tidying up” and watch folding tutorials on YouTube. If you browse Pinterest, you may also be inspired by their use of storage boxes and decorate your own!

Plan your journey

Set aside 5 weekends or spread your tidying up marathon throughout several months so you dedicate one weekend per month to complete your process. You may not be able to make these consecutive weekends or days. That’s ok! But you will need a designated holding space so that you can retain the effect of pulling everything from a category at once.

Take before and after photos

It really helps to keep yourself accountable and feeling super proud of your accomplishment when you take before and after photos. Post your before and after shots on your IG stories to inspire your friends!

Follow the order

Lay it all out before you start a category. Make a huge pile and then sort through to decide what sparks joy and what doesn’t. It is important to touch every single item. Don’t make the mistake of just going through your clothes without putting it in a big pile. It may not be the most logical step, but the visual effect is often what will motivate you to continue on this journey.  It’s completely psychological, but still important! 

Plan your donations

Choose a place that you will bring your donations to, such as a women’s shelter, reuse store, or other charitable organization. It can hurt less to say goodbye to something if you know it is going to be used and cherished by someone else. However, you don’t have to be strictly charitable. You can also list things you want to sell on Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, or other websites. I personally really enjoy selling things, or listing things for $0 because I like knowing that certain belongings will make someone else happy. However, be sure you don’t let the time it takes to sell something become a reason for delaying your tidying journey. If you plan to sell it, do so, but if you haven’t managed to list it within a month of setting it aside, then you should ask yourself whether you’re really willing to let it go.

 Enjoy the process

 I personally felt like I was going through the most effective form of therapy when I was Marie Kondoing sorting my old tax returns while listening Ariana’s Grande’s new album and sipping on a glass of Cabernet! Some of the decisions will be easy.  Deciding that an item no longer brings you joy can be freeing.  However, it can also be hard to discard something that you used to love.  That’s okay, just take Ariana and Marie Kondo’s advice and say: “thank u, next!”

Analyze what you gave away

Seeing all the items from a category in one big pile can have a huge impact on how you view your consumption habits. Did you learn any lessons about your consumption or hoarding tendencies throughout this process? Think about all the things you decluttered and make a mindful decision to become a more thoughtful consumer in the future. One way that can help is if you write up some of the values and thoughts you discovered in the process, so you can look back on what you learned when any impulse shopping urges come up.

Maintain the order

Now that your computer wires are properly organized in a box, always put them back there. Every item has a home; make sure they find their way back! Respect the new order you’ve established for your things. When your place gets slightly messy throughout the week, take a moment, just five minutes, to put items in their homes. Once you’ve completed the KonMari steps, cleaning your house won’t take more than 1 or 2 hours every week.

Upgrade on your essentials

Now that you purged yourself of your old bras or clothes and old home decor, make a list of things you will want to invest in the following year that will last you for a long time and bring you a lot of joy. I absolutely encourage you to skip this step if you feel like you don’t need anything else. You also can go back to your reflections, and try to live by one of your new values.  If you’re often tempted buy shiny new objects, you could try only buying to replace: only buying those investment pieces once the item you have is beyond repair.  For those having trouble with hoarding (and not counting anything you discarded during the initial tidying), you could try the one in, one out method: if you want to buy something new, you must discard the equivalent number of items to make room for it.