August 02, 2018
Marie Kondo Made Me Do It: Start Clearing Clutter Today
It’s a messy world and we all get the urge to try and organize what’s around us. But how many of us are going about it smartly? Marie Kondo has a few ideas about better living – but be warned – it’s for the bold.
Most of us want to get more streamlined and clear out the clutter but tend to just coast along without any sensible method before admitting defeat. Enter Marie Kondo, a thirty-year old Japanese woman with an idea for better living who has stepped up and showed the world how to do the exact opposite. Extraordinarily well.
How well? So well that she ended up on The 100 Most Influential People list in Time Magazine, as well as being named one of The 100 Most Creative Business People by Fast Company. Her Instagram profile has over half a million followers, and consultants she trained are active worldwide.
How has she won such popularity? In short, using her self-developed method KonMari, which teaches minimalism. She encourages people to get rid of unnecessary possessions and has created a trend that’s spread like wildfire. “Our mission is to organise the world and spark joy in people’s lives,” states the mistress of organization. Let’s see how it is done:
I Don’t Love You Anymore
Commit yourself to tidying up. It’s not just about intensely tidying up a room, but also about the state of your mind. You have to want to do it, and believe that the introduction of order into your home will help you put your life in order, too. But be careful – you may have to reorganize some key elements in your life, as well. Think you can’t? Well, you’d better be ready, because that’s the second rule of KonMari: imagining what your ideal lifestyle would be. It may sound a bit mad, but by learning to fold socks and by getting rid of superfluous things, you can change your lifestyle for the better!
Dare to throw it all away! Already-read books (and unread, too), photographs, souvenirs, documents, clothes, trinkets and equipment – throw away not only everything that is unnecessary, but also anything you don’t love. According to this rule, when throwing them away you should thank the unloved things for all moments spent together. We recommend making the separation quickly, because the next rule is this: focus on things you decide to keep at home rather than on those you’ve decided to evict. Rip the band-aid off quickly, and move on.
Creative Mess
A rule for beginning your adventure with KonMari is this: do it by categories, not by location. This helps you focus on effective action. Today – papers, tomorrow – clothes, and so on. Assemble the objects from one category in one place and take action. As you work through your task and still can’t see the carpet under the pile of things, the decision-making process should become easier and you’ll find yourself more eager to fill plastic bags with things you don’t love enough to waste another hour of your life putting them in order.
Maybe you’re inspired to buy The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, or maybe you prefer to wait until Netflix makes a show starring Marie Kondo. For now you can look here. The decision is yours. It’s worth noting though, that American scientists may not buy the role of order in our lives: in Psychological Science, they state that being surrounded by mess drives people away from routine and increases creativity. We don’t doubt their scientific discoveries – nor the power of persuasion Marie Kondo yields. We’re sure that the scientific hypothesis doesn’t keep her awake at night, though. Her statement: “When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too.” has been liked by over 14,000 Instagram followers.
Looking for Tips
Marie Kondo is not the only a tidying star, but certainly the brightest one of her kind. When listening to advice given by her competitors, it’s hard to feel motivated, and their repetitiveness quickly becomes boring. With KonMari, we’re inspired to throw away most belongings and keep only a few genuinely-useful ones. Here are some other inspiring words on your road to organization:
Fay Wolf: Honor your memories. Inside my filing system, I have a 2-inch wide hanging file that serves as a drop area for my Personal Memorabilia. Once it’s full, I transfer the best of the best into a memorabilia box that lives on a high shelf somewhere. It’s always easy to grab a shoebox (or archive-safe box), label it, and give sentimental stuff a nice home.
Andrew J Mellen: When you’re thinking about buying something new, consider not just the monetary cost but the future responsibility of caring for and maintaining it, and the space it will take up in your life.
Peter Walsh: Don’t eat mindlessly in front of the TV. Sit down to dinner with your family every night for a meal.
Ok. the last one may be a bit more about happiness rather than the escape from unwanted junk. We may all be organizing-obsessed freaks here at Tylko, but we’ve got heart, too.
