I’m starting the organization books with Marie Kondo because she is front and center right now with her Netflix show. I’d also already started reading Spark Joy before I thought of this experiment. (I’d also already cleaned out the kitchen and garage, but the book has given me lots more ideas for making the space more functional.)

Still, I think it’s important to mention that there are lots of choices out there if you’re looking for a decluttering method. There’s no need to do whatever is trending at the time. Find what motivates you and what system speaks to you.

Key Ideas I Like

KonMari sees tidying as putting your mind in order just as much as your house.

“Tidying up is far more than deciding what to keep and what to discard. Rather, it’s a priceless opportunity for learning, one that allows you to reassess and fine-tune your relationship with your possessions and to create the lifestyle that brings you the most joy.”

With much in life out of our control, it’s nice to focus on something that you can change. I have to say that “tidying” keeps me from wasting time and energy on things I can’t control. I can control what possessions I own and can decide to keep only the ones I truly need and love. I can control how I arrange my things so they bring me the most joy.

Decluttering is a simple way to profoundly influence our space and our spirit. I would even say it’s self-care in a weird way. There is an obvious connection between our physical surroundings and our mental/emotional feelings. I may not like our rental house, but I can arrange it again and again until I get the most possible joy from it.

Still a work in progress, but slowly the fridge and pantry is getting lovelier to look at. It does put my mind in order to have certain things together in uniform containers!

“The more textual information you have in your environment, the more your home becomes filled with noise. Just by eliminating these elements from your home, you can create an elegant space.”

Cereal boxes with words and colors… gone. Packaging on many items… gone.

You have permission to part with just about anything.

I like this one… I went through our boxes of photos, greeting cards, and other memorabilia (sshhhh… out of Kondo’s prescribed order!) and tossed about half of what was in there. Memory items can be hard, so when in doubt, I kept it. I was picturing myself at a much different time in my life, feeling grateful to have handwritten notes and special award certificates. There are some things I kept because “I might need it someday,” but most in that category I’m trusting that I could let it go, which helps me feel a lot lighter.

I got rid of a dresser that was warped from the storm but sitting in our garage for the past year because I couldn’t access it. I went through boxes out there one by one until I could put the dresser on the curb. The garage is neat and swept clean.

I sold a sofa, kitchen chairs, a step stool, and a folding table.

I also tossed old cosmetics and sorted like with like, leaving me with a clean and simple drawer.

Focus on what you are “keeping” rather than on what you’re letting go, creating a home where you are surrounded primarily by items that bring you joy.

I emptied our nightstands, wiped the drawer clean, and put back only what is essential for that space… in divided boxes. Now when I open the drawer, I see all the things that I love… pretty paper and pens, only my favorite book marks, the “good” lotion, with the tv and bed remotes in the back.

I took the huge messy pile of paper plates, various colored napkins, and plastic utensils out of my pantry and another cabinet, sorted them by type, and now keep them in the pantry in magazine holders. It is easy to grab a spoon and a yogurt when heading out the door.

“As we hone our sense of what brings us joy through the process of tidying, we come to know ourselves far better.”

These items were for sale on Zulily. Marie Kondo has inspired a whole new market for more junk to collect! I don’t think she’d be pleased…

I took out all our mugs and drinking glasses, recycled or donated the ones we don’t use or were not in the best shape, and really looked at what was left. I can’t say that our glasses make me happy exactly. Maybe someday I’ll get different ones. When, a few days later, SG and I were at Target, we found some cute BPA-free, cheap-but-sturdy plastic cups that we both loved, so we bought a few of those. They are the ones I reach for most.

We should appreciate every item we have.

“Our goal in tidying should be to create a living environment filled with the things we love. That is also why it is so important to begin the whole process by identifying what you consider to be the ideal lifestyle.”

I had my car washed and detailed. There is nothing in the car that does not belong there and I feel better every time I drive it.

“A joy-filled home is like your own personal art museum.”

Still a work in progress, but I decided to find some way to hang up my necklaces since I rarely get to see them. This may have to wait until we move to our new space, but I’m thinking about how to best enjoy what I have.

As we notice what sparks joy, we learn about ourselves.

“I can say with confidence that there’s no task more enjoyable than storing. You’re creating a home for the things you love while exploring their interconnections. While this may not seem to be concrete, this intuitive approach to storage is the best and most natural way to make your house comfortable for you. Tidying is the task of bringing your home closer to its natural state. So it’s a natural part of yourself.”

Keep like with like.

Above is a “before” and “after” of the bins I have in our mudroom area. Sorting and labeling these make a huge difference.

I streamlined our “junk” drawer in the kitchen. I took extra paper pads and pens out and stored them in the office.

I divided the kitchen utensil drawer by using leftover cardboard containers.

There is an end point!

The more you work through your house, the closer you are to a house full of joy.

Key Ideas I Don’t Like

There is a specific order to her process – clothing first, then books and papers, then miscellaneous (electrical cords, cosmetics, kitchen goods, food, cleaning supplies, laundry items…)

Kondo suggests going through things by category, rather than by room or part of a room. I have a compromise to that one. While I know where all my stationary and greeting cards are and could cull that all at once, I do not (yet) know where all my extension cords are. So I have been going through one small space at a time, and every time I find one at the back of a file cabinet or mixed in with craft supplies, I add it to my impromptu “extension cord box.” Once I’ve finished going through the entire house, I’ll organize and contain the extension cords somewhere that makes sense. My future self will not need to purchase another extension cord ever!

“There are two reasons you should tidy up in order. The first one is related to our capacity to identify what brings us joy… The second reason we need to tidy in the right order is because it eliminates wasteful purchases of unnecessary storage goods.”

This book goes into much more detail about that “miscellaneous” category than her first, with very helpful suggestions on what to keep and how to store it.

You have to pull out absolutely every item in a category.

This seems suffocating to me. Because of it, I notice that I procrastinate on tackling certain categories or spaces.

Her very specific folding requirements.

“When hanging clothes, be sure to arrange them so that they rise to the right. Keep the same category of clothes together: coats with coats, suits with suits, jackets with jackets, and so on.” She also says that dark colors should be in the back of a drawer and light colors in the front.

I have to say, this is growing on me. Here are our tools, hardware, and batteries, where divisions really help keep order. I’ve also been able to keep my sock drawer neat with these principles.

“Four principles: fold it, stand it upright, store in one spot, and divide your storage space into square compartments. These principles apply not only to storing clothes but to every other category as well.”

Basically, nothing should be kept near the sink, not even your dish detergent or sponge.

This is probably a sub-point for another key point, but I’m so shocked by it that I had to give it it’s own space! In our new kitchen, this might be possible… I’ll have to see. We will have an island that would probably look odd with a container of dish soap sitting in the middle of it, so I get her point. But how many people’s homes look like they are ready for a magazine photo shoot all the time???

Storage is only decided once the entire process is over.

“Only when you have finished sorting everything can you truly grasp how much you really have and identify the appropriate categories. Therefore, all storage should be considered temporary until you finish.”

I definitely have a storage bin addiction. I LOVE these clear containers I’ve found. After determining what I’m keeping in a particular category, I get so much joy from seeing it put away nicely, but where I can see everything I have. I just cannot wait to buy these containers. I do see her point though. I’ve been shuffling existing containers around to other rooms. Solution: put all storage containers in one area and “shop” from there.

An Interesting Thought: “Compared to the drama of reducing, where garbage bags pile up each day and your space undergoes a drastic transformation, storage involves quietly moving things around and finding joy in small accomplishments.” Very true.

The section about BECOMING A PERSON WHO MATCHES THE BOOKS YOU’VE KEPT.

Generally, Kondo believes that our possessions have their own spirits and should feel at home in whatever space we put them in, that we should even sort things by their energy. This idea seems to fall into those beliefs.

“When you’ve finished tidying your books, step back and take a good look at your bookshelves. What kinds of words leap out at you from the titles on their spines? If you have been telling everyone you’d like to get married sometime this year, but you have a lot of titles with words like “XXX for Singles,” or if you want to live a joyful life but own a lot of novels with tragic titles, watch out.”

“The energy of book titles and the words inside them are very powerful. In Japan, we say that “words make our reality.” The words we see and with which we come into contact tend to bring about events of the same nature. In that sense, you will become the person who matches the books you have kept. What kind of books would you want in your bookcase to reflect the kind of person you aspire to be? If you choose which books to keep on that basis, you may find that the course of events in your life changes dramatically.”

I have not tackled books yet, but I wonder about this one. When we move, most of my books will be in one place and I’ll try this experiment to see what they say about me.

P.S. I’d already read her Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up when it came out in 2014. Obviously it didn’t stick. 🙂