KonMari: The importance of tidying

Published by Josh Banks,

"Our living environment is a direct manifestation of our inner state." ~ Rowena Tsai

On my new year's resolution quest to find happiness, I stumbled upon Tidying Up with Marie Kondo (whilst browsing through Netflix). This life-revolutionising, inspiring show called out as an effective, efficient and energising way to organise your life and create a sense of bliss contentness but also enables you to prosper.

KonMari (founded by Marie Kondo) has the goal of aiding people with tidying by using simple techniques. The main focus of KonMari is choosing joy. Throughout the tidying process, you discover what is unique and sentimental to you whilst de-cluttering the rubbish.

Tidying is a primarily mundane chore that we all must do although it doesn't have to be just that. The physical space in which you live and spend a lot of your time has an important role to play in how we behave, so have a clean cleared room allows us to function well and be happy. There are many benefits and advantages to cleaning such as;
  1. Being more social
  2. Improved health
  3. Time managed
  4. Clearer thoughts
  5. Knowledge of resources

So with all of these advantages, why not go on a KonMari adventure?

Purifying the Space

Marie always starts the tidying process with her time old ritual of introducing herself to the home she is going to tidy. This stage allows her to prepare by imagining the idyllic lives that will be led in the house she is about to work her tidying magic on.

It is suggested that in preperation of tidying, that whilst tidying you should "change the air", you can do this by:

  • Opening a window
  • Lighting an incense
  • Candles
  • Spraying an aromatic spray




Obviously there are many, many other ways to help you focus on the task at hand. I you start to become stressed or stuck whilst tidying you can always open a window or light a candle to help you refocus. Not only does changing the air help motivate you to tidy but it is something that can be done every day.


Clothes

To start pile all of your clothes on to a bed then sort through them keeping only the ones that truly spark you joy. As Marie said, "Sparking joy for me is how my body reacts to it". You should envision what you see yourself wearing and what you feel good wearing. Any clothes you no longer like or want, Marie thanks them before giving them away.



When it comes to folding clothes Marie has a certain way to fold everything. And I mean everything!

Books/Paper

Just like with clothes, it is more effective if you create a pile of your books then Marie suggests that you gently tap your books to wake them up especially if they have been sat on the shelf a while. You then have to ask yourself will these books be beneficial for my life going forward? As well as do they spark you joy? Of course, don't forget to say thank you if they are un-beneficial or if they do not spark joy.



For paper this also gets put on a table, then you should separate it into Pending which is papers waiting for you to act upon them, there is also important the stuff you absolutely must keep and finally the miscellaneous piece of paper that you keep to re-read.

Komodo

Also know as miscellaneous bits and bobs, clutter and control the majority of peoples lives. The best way to store stuff like this is in boxes so that you can see everything, meaning that you have a better understanding of where things are for when they are needed.

Sentimental Items
Marie always tackles this last as she finds it most difficult, so she recommends working your way up to it.




Marie's general rule are;
RULE 01
Commit yourself to tidying up.
RULE 02
Imagine your ideal lifestyle.
RULE 03
Finish discarding first.
RULE 04
Tidy by category, not by location.
RULE 05
Follow the right order.
RULE 06
Ask yourself if it sparks joy.

Is there a specific way you declutter, organize and tidy your house?

Will post soon - Josh C: