Marie Kondo has sparked a tidying up revolution.
Marie Kondo is the best-selling author of “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” and “Spark Joy”; she also has a Netflix series, “Tidying Up With Marie Kondo”. Her goal is to help you tidy their spaces by choosing joy. Through that, she offers tips and tricks to help you become more organized and intentional with your belongings.
There are numerous benefits to decluttering things around your home. For instance, less clutter creates lower stress. Also, this tidying up revolution has led to an increase in donations to Goodwill! This time of year spring cleaning means decluttering. Here are some easy tips from Marie’s book as you start your home decluttering projects:
Here are some examples of folding your t-shirts to stand up in a drawer. The idea behind this is you can fit more in your drawers, and be able to see everything that is stored there. Your folding technique doesn’t have to be perfect, and it only takes a second to fold your clothes this way.
1. When starting your decluttering and tidying project, begin with clothes and end with sentimental items. Regarding organizing clothing, Marie says, “The key is to store things standing up rather than laid flat.”
It seems like a lot of work to follow Marie’s advice and pull all your clothing out of closets and drawers and put everything in a pile. She recommends you touch each item of clothing and ask yourself if it “sparks joy.” If the answer is “no,” donate to Goodwill and let it spark joy for someone else!
This is also the advice of our resident Goodwill Fashion Guru, Kathy Friend. According to Kathy, “If you touch everything in your closet, you will quickly decide to rehang it or refold it and put it away.” Many times you will determine you don’t like an item enough to put it away in your wardrobe. Kathy also suggests storing items you are not ready to part with. “We all have things in our closet we aren’t ready to donate. Put those items in a box and store it away from your closet. In a few months you may be ready to donate it to Goodwill.”
Keep the things in your closet to a logical ratio of 75% tops and 25% pants. Use this info graphic as a guide.
2. Kondo’s mantra for tidying up, “to truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”
Your life is changing and transitioning. For example, you go from living with parents, to living on your own. And then you may have children, and then send them to school. Before you know it, the nest is empty. Are you storing things that have outlived their purpose and belong in the past? Donate those things to Goodwill Keep things that are helpful in your future and let someone else cherish things that brought you to where you are today.
3. Regarding paper clutter, Kondo says, “Make sure that you keep all papers in one spot only. Never let them spread to other parts of the house.”
Paper clutter can cause stress in your home. Make this step a priority. First, dedicate a spot in your home where all paper lives (it does not have to a separate home office – it can be a corner in the living room or dining room, or possibly a guest room). Next, recycle junk mail before it even comes into the house. Finally, make a date with yourself to deal with your paper – if not daily, then every 2-3 days. Having paper all over the house almost guarantees that important events and bills will fall through the cracks.
I am so glad this wasn’t sparking joy for someone and they donated it. Look what I found on a shopping trip to Goodwill!
4. “Believe what your heart tells you when you ask, ‘Does this spark joy?’”
You might feel this step is a bit crazy, however, this “yes” or “no” question is just what is needed to decide whether to keep an item or donate to Goodwill.
That is to say there is no “magic” for decluttering and getting organized. It takes time and effort, both mentally and physically. Make a date with yourself and get started, or hire a professional to get you on the right track.
This month’s guest blogger is Cathy Fairchild
Get in touch with Cathy at: sayyestoless.guru or find her on Facebook
