This year, the world has been busy talking about Mari Kondo’s new Netflix show, “Tidying Up.” Getting your home organized and throwing away or donating anything that doesn’t fill you with joy has become the trend of the year. But while joy is certainly a big part of it, there’s more to it than that. Here are the steps you’ll need to take to achieve a KonMari home.
Visualize your after. Before you begin, you have to visualize the home you want—not just a clean closet or organized shelves, but imagine walking into your newly organized and tidy home. How does it make you feel? What does it now allow you to do? Maybe you can now host parties, adopt a pet or start a new hobby at home because you have more space. When you know the benefits so clearly, it’s easier to let go of the clutter.
Let go via sparking joy. This is the one everyone is talking about, and for good reason. More often than not, we hold onto possessions just because. Here, the key is to pick up each object, hold it in your hands and take in exactly how it makes you feel. It should make you feel joy, as being surrounded by joy is a particularly positive way to live. Even if something in your house is purely useful—like forks and knives—they can still spark joy because they are a vital part in how you feed yourself and give yourself energy each day. Joy doesn’t have to mean you can only be surrounded by particularly beautiful things. Function can bring joy, as well.
Forget someday. A big reason why people end up with too much clutter is a fear of letting things go. When this anxiety becomes extreme, it can lead to a hoarding situation. The KonMari method is all about realizing that someday never comes. You hold onto all these items that you think you might use one day, only to discover them in a box in your garage five years later, sitting around taking up space when they could be used by someone who actually needs them.
Treat your home and possessions with empathy. The idea of treating things like they’re alive can strike many as odd, but the reality is, when you treat your possessions with the respect you treat the people in your life, your relationship to those things will change. You would never toss a person who brings you joy on the floor, so why would you throw your favourite shirt there? If this item brings you joy, treat it like it does.
