Helpful Life and Home Organization Tips and Quotes from Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo is sparking a stir again.  Her Netflix series is generating excitement and inspiring people to change their lives. Her books, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Spark Joy have each reached #1 on the New York Times best seller list.

The KonMari Method, an organizational process focused on discarding and organizing an entire home by category rather than by location, rests on the fundamental tenet of removing anything that does not “spark joy”.  Although her approach can seem extreme to some, she provides interesting insight into the fundamentals of organization and her show has been demonstrating the profound effect it has on families’ lives.

She understands you “can’t tidy if you have never learned how.” And goes on to say, “When it comes to tidying, we are all self-taught.”  We glean information from pop culture that has tried to prevent families from becoming overwhelmed by suggesting to organize projects a little bit at a time.  Kondo feels strongly decluttering must be done all at once. “Rebound occurs because people mistakenly believe they have tidied thoroughly, when in fact they have only sorted and stored things halfway.” I see this with many of my clients who tell me they have tried to get organized on their own unsuccessfully.

 
She breaks organization into two acts.  “Deciding whether or not to dispose of something and deciding where to put it.”  The decision of whether or not to keep an item rests in whether or not it sparks joy for you.

Once you have removed all items that don’t bring joy, “Designate a place for each thing.”  This is a very important point and a fundamental principle of effective organization. An item is much more likely to be put away if it has an assigned place to go.

I have also been inspired and will be attending a KonMari seminar in New York in March.

 

Helpful Tips and Quotes from Marie Kondo

“If you have storage space that should be sufficient yet falls short, try standing things vertically.  You’ll find that this solves most problems.”

On a budget, shoe boxes make great storage bins in that they are decorative, sturdy and well sized.

When sorting books, take every book off the shelf and return only the ones that bring joy.  This is a more active process than removing the books you don’t want from a shelf and thus allows for better sorting.

“I recommend you dispose of anything [paper] that does not fall into one of three categories:  currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely.” “What should you do with the [papers] that you’ve decided to keep?”  “I divide them into two categories: papers to be saved and papers that need to be dealt with.”

I hope Marie’s techniques and advice gives you the inspiration and direction you need to meet your organizational goals in 2019.  If Imagine Home Organization can help you organize your life, and you live in or around the St Petersburg/Tampa/Sarasota area, please contact us today. Happy sorting!