Kon mari cleaning

KonMari: The Easiest Way to Clean

In this article, you’ll learn how to sort through all of your clutter with this famous Japanese method of organization.

Have you looked around your home and suddenly had the urge to clean? Do you feel as though there is a force that demands you drop everything and tidy up your surroundings only to put it aside for later? What if you were told that there was a way that you could clear away your clutter and clean your home only once and never have to do it ever again? Marie Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, can help you achieve just that

Marie Kondo, a Japanese native, has been interested in organizing things since she was young and actually used to run to her classroom to clean and tidy up while everyone else was in PE. She once had a nervous breakdown of sorts and was unconscious for a period of two hours. Once she had awoken she’s apparently had a sort of revelation that told her to keep what made her happy and get rid of everything else.

By applying the principals of fung shui and leaving behind her old method of organizing, she created the KonMari Method of cleaning. Kondo admits that the method isn’t easy, but it is worth the end results.

What is KonMari?

For those not in the know, The KonMari method is a way of cleaning and organization that has been borrowed from the Japanese and is a relatively new and progressive to categorize your belongings that leads to long-lasting results. The resulting change is so incredible that Kondo typically winds up with months-long waiting lists!

How Does it Work?

Envision yourself in a clutter-free environment

Before you begin to get rid of all of the things in your home, the first thing that you need do is to imagine that you are already in a clutter-free space. Think very hard about what that actually means to you personally. No two people are the same, so the things that work out for you may not be for someone else.

Ask yourself this:
• What does being clutter-free mean to me personally?
• What am I looking to accomplish in this space?
• How can I combine creativity and minimalism in this space?

Begin Sorting Through Your Possessions

This step is where you begin to comb through everything that you own and let go of whatever you deem unnecessary. Even though the KonMari method does center around getting rid of items instead of merely putting them away, it is also an emotional process. Keep in mind that what you get rid of doesn’t have to be materialistic, but can be whatever you feel serves you no purpose.

Make Room For What Really Matters To You

Once you’ve done the task of sorting through all of your things, you can now begin to make room for the belongings that really matter. It really is a simple process, by discarding the things that have no deeper meaning to you, you can make room for the things that do. Being able to distinguish between the two is an important part of the entire KonMari process. Things that you keep around only add clutter and weigh you down with unnecessary attachments that can actually prevent you from moving forward in your life.

Keep Only What Brings You Joy

As you sort through your things, it is very important that you feel a sense of joy from having it. Ask yourself, “Does this coat make me happy?” or “Do I cherish the memories attached to these shoes?” In order to be sure it the object in question really does invoke feelings of joy, either hold or touch it to see if any positive feelings come about from you grasping it. If not so, then keep it. If not, then throw it away or donate it.

In Kondo’s own words, “If you can say, ‘I really like this!’ and like having it for yourself then ignore what others say. If you can’t say that, let it go.”

There Is A Specific Order To It

When you’re discarding your things, Kondo says that first, you have to start with clothes, then books, papers, miscellaneous things, then finally your mementos. And even then there are ways that you must discard things within each of those categories. If you’ve just started, you would begin with clothing first and in that category, you would start from tops to bottoms then jackets and proceed from there. The entire process has an order by which you must abide by.

Overview

This cleaning and organizational method will grant you the ability to let you gather and think back on your life while allowing you to remain in the present and remind you of the important things around you. The KonMari system isn’t just a way to organize, it’s an important life lesson.

Have you tried to use the KonMari Method? Did it work out for you? If you have any thoughts you’d like to share, you are more than welcome to do so