Over time I have come to understand the fundamental truth in my life that clutter, disorganization, and messes stress me out. This has been proven to cause anxiety, but everyone has a different tolerance for mess, clutter, and disorganization. I grew up with a lot of clutter and mess, but now my tolerance is lower and a small amount can cause me a surprising amount of stress. Because of this, I had to come up with a way to tidy up and get organized that worked for both me and my husband Alex so I could be more calm.
The next challenge I and my friends have recognized is the lack of direction and method for going about tidying and organizing. We have a lot of stuff in a lot of different places and it becomes frankly overwhelming!
Below is the order I would recommend going through these great resources to get you motivated and provide you with direction.
- Outer Order, Inner Calm by Gretchen Rubin
- I listened to this as an audiobook. It's a quick book and only a 2.5 hour listen.
- The Netfilx Original Series: Tidying Up with Marie Kondo
- There are multiple episodes. Each episodes covers the process, so it is great for learning through repetition. There are new nuggets to gain in each episode as well. I enjoyed the contagious joy that was tangible from just watching.
- The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing by Marie Kondo
- This is Marie Kondo's first book, so be sure to read this before her other book. I was surprised that I learned a lot from the book after watching the Netflix series. It is definitely worth reading too!
- Spark Joy: An Illustrated Master Class on the Art of Organizing and Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
- I listened to this, but the audiobook also comes with all the illustrations. They are great for learning how to fold! This expands even further and really emphasizes how to find more joy and appreciation in what you currently have in your life.
First of all, you likely noticed that these resources are only two individuals. There are many out there with tips and methods, but these are the ones that I went through and enjoyed. They are very different though. Gretchen Rubin is more practical and has more piecemeal tips and good ideas. Marie Kondo is more mystical and is about a philosophy, method, and way of living. Gretchen focuses on getting calm getting ride of more; in contrast, Marie focuses on receiving joy and understand why possessions are kept.
There are a number of similarities between them. In my opinion, they can both be pretty "over-the-top". Gretchen goes overboard on concepts of convenience and organization such as having scotch tape in every room. Marie is too much in parts of her system and her philosophy such as keeping as much as possible in the closet such as bookcases. Both strongly agree that gimmicky storage items don't help and should be avoided (although I haven't broken off this love affair!). They also agree on what should be kept: items to keep are items that are used, needed, or loved.
Outer Order, Inner Calm
My favorite takeaways are:
- The one-minute rule: if it takes less than one minute to complete (open the mail, put dirty dishes in the sink, etc) then do it now.
- It is easier to keep up than to catch up.
- It isn't a bargain if you never use it. (I am majorly guilty of this one!)
- Be aware of transitioning items (those boxes ready to donate). Be sure to schedule when you will drop donations off so that they don't sit around as clutter!
The Konmari Method
The Konmari method needs to follow her category order for specific reasons that she explains best in her books. Even with my rebellious tendencies to continue to purchase in bulk and use storage gadgets, I was convinced that going in order would help me be successful. The method is to collect all of your belongings from a category (can be broken up into "sub-categories" when needed) in one spot, sort each one by touching it, and then keep only what sparks joy (watch the Netflix series for the best explanation of this). If you aren't keeping it you will either dispose of it or donate it. Don't pawn it off on your friends or family!
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Categories in Order
- Clothing
- Books
- Papers
- Miscellaneous (by far the biggest category, so sub-categories are needed)
- Sentimental
My Experience "Konmari-ing"
I didn't get before pictures because to me it was down-right embarrassing. I took a lot of "in the middle" pictures when we brought everything to one spot. This was both overwhelming and satisfying in a way. We discovered that we had entirely too much stuff. Too many cleaning and office supplies. LOTS of expired food (some we moved into our house from our apartment years ago!).
My favorite things after a year of "konmari-ing" my home
- Freshen the air. This is one of her daily practices. I can't do it every day, but I try to be more intentional about opening the windows and lighting candles now.
- Folding. I love this folding method! I even use it when traveling. Alex is usually responsible for laundry and has kept at it for over a year. It's really not that hard and truly makes life easier.
- Reduce the noise. We are always being bombarded by messages and ads. By taking away the noise from possessions it gives a rest from the influx of attention grabbing all over in the world and the internet. I make sure things are put away, labels are removed, or are covered. It really has helped make my home more calm and relaxing.
- Letting go. I am a hoarder from a family of hoarders, so I struggle with this. Going through the Konmari method helped me be better able to let go of memories from the past, unwanted gifts, and unnecessary clutter.
- Store bags in other bags. I have a lot of bags and this works great! The handles show so I know where each bag is.
- Put everything away. One of my daily success disciplines is to do "chores" but for me that mostly means a daily tidy. Everything has its home and should go back to its home. Then it is easier to find and there is less clutter where it shouldn't be.
- Make sure to see what sparks joy and decorate "hidden" places like closets and drawers. If I had something I loved I made sure I could see it instead of leaving it in storage. Decorating the closets and drawers was a neat idea. These are private spaces and no one sees them. It is a chance to decorate freely like the inside of lockers back in the day! I have some of my favorite pictures and sentimental trinkets in places I open often, and each time they make me smile.
- Storing so that everything can be seen. This makes everything so much easier to find and grab. It's also less stressful because it is organized and separated.