We see you girl, overturned laundry baskets full of unpaired socks, re-wrinkled t-shirts that you need to “toss back into the dryer," jeans on the ground that require the “sniff test” to see if they are clean or dirty. Well, we have found your guardian angel and her name is Marie Kondo. We know, we know...stick with us, we have Amy + Meredith’d your KonMari Method to fit the everyday Home Girl who maybe doesn’t have time to tackle ALL the overflowing sock drawers or closets just yet.
So unless you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you’ve heard of the marvelous Marie Kondo and her new series on Netflix called Tidying Up with Marie Kondo wherein our heroine introduces folks -- who are a little bit clutter-challenged we’ll say -- to the joy of decluttering or the KonMari Method first made famous in her 2014 best-selling book: "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up."
RULE 01
Commit yourself to tidying up.
Okay, now this may be one day out of thirty or heck, even one hundred, but you should take some time to tidy. We don’t think you need to look at this like an all or nothing activity (which is going to directly contradict rule 4 below - but dang it we are trying Marie, cut us some slack!). Even ONE DRAWER of tidying up will be satisfying. Just last week we conquered one drawer of jeans with the konmari method and it felt like winning a gold medal at the Olympics, or at least what we think that feels like. So we choose to go a little at a time - progress not perfection.
RULE 02
Imagine your ideal lifestyle.
We sometimes stress eat over the very idea of having everything in one place perfectly decluttered; I mean, how do the kids play if they don’t pull out everything from the bins? You know, like if a parent can’t step on a Lego every once in a while is it real life? We don’t think so. So our ideal lifestyle is one of compromise, where we are able to make small changes over time, maybe even involve our kids in the “magic of tidying up” - just kidding our kids will probably run from this challenge - no joy. No. Joy.
RULE 03
Finish discarding first.
Tidy moms unite. Man, we love taking a heap to Goodwill or repurposing something to recycle it, but dang, getting through all the stuff is a job of its own. Getting through the piles does take some persistence, but what we have found is that once it is done, it’s like we have moved a MOUNTAIN. So this "discard it, before you organize it" philosophy does have its ups and downs, but overall, it’s worth it to make a clear discard pile and get that out of your life. Because if you throw it away, you NEVER HAVE TO PICK IT UP AGAIN. Boom.
RULE 04
Tidy by category, not by location.
Okay Marie, we have tried this and have a hard time making it happen. To grab ALL the clothes and dump them in our living rooms to sort would take us probably weeks, so while we will follow you to the ends of the Earth with your legendary t-shirt folding technique, we do violate your rules when it comes to this one, and we tidy by location, not category. We will work toward category moving forward, but our initial purge admittedly hasn’t happened by category.
RULE 05
Follow the right order.
We understand that committing to tidying up is the largest hurdle. I mean truly committing to this type of lifestyle is deep change. We daydream of a tidy always Instagram worthy house and maybe this is the way to get to it, maybe not, who knows? We are willing to try for a little life-changing magic. Are you?
RULE 06
Ask yourself if it sparks joy.
This is the most brilliant step we’ve used to declutter. Never before have we stopped to ask if something brings us joy after it’s been in our homes for years [sometimes many, many years]. So we totally understand and appreciate this rule. Upon purchasing something initially, we definitely feel the joy...but does it bring us joy TODAY? That is where we feel the real MariKon genius lies. How often do you stop to consider if an item is still useful? Probably never. Or maybe you do, but indirectly, like how frequently you use the item. That’s where we are right now - our faves, those sparking joy, are used a lot. Those that do not spark joy, not so much - and get shoved to the back of the closet. How many shirts in your closet do you actually wear? We’re thinking we wear about 15% of all of our clothes and that does NOT bring us joy. So our focus next is our own clothes [gasp]. Purging clothes [do not forget to thank the items!] for kids is so much easier...they outgrow the clothes before we need to ask if it sparks joy!!!
How about you? Has the KonMari method taken over your house? Tell us all about your decluttering and missions to being a Tidy Mom. We’ll reward success or even TOTAL FAILURE with a set of Copper Canisters and a Home Girl t-shirt to KonMari in - we KNOW these items will bring you joy. ;)
To enter, leave a comment below with your KonMari success OR failure story AND sign up for our C+C newsletter here. A winner will be chosen at random and announced on Friday, February 15th!
Comments
I have been inspired by everyone else, but we have had two surgeries in the family this January, one of which being me, so Jan-Feb have been more of survival, rest, and healing, but I do have a rule in December that in order to get you must first give, so the kids and I do a major haul of stuff to make room for the new/get our hearts right for Christmas!
I have yet to Marie Kondo it up… I think it’s a great idea and would love to do it in the future. Just hard to do when I have a 6 month old that needs 100% of me. 🙄
I haven’t done the KonMari method. Frankly, that scares me. But I have been looking at areas in the house that may need a little refresh and organizing. I wish I had a week with no body in the house so I can do it all without interruption. lol….I’ll keep dreaming.
I started cleaning this morning in the kitchen. My container drawer was messy and too full. Seems like things just get thrown in there. So I took everything out and straightened it up. Throwing old and mismatched lids and bowels. What an accomplishment, even if it’s one drawer. I hate clutter. Now it’s on to the next!
I have adopted her folding method and was inspired to tackle areas of our house but I agree I can’t take all my clothes out and make a mountain. But the shoe definitely got my mind going as to what needs to stay and what needs to go
I KonMari’d my kids rooms first. I agree, this is the easiest space to determine what to get rid of. My daughter (5) did start helping, but her favorite part was jumping in the pile of clothes. My son (6) actually helped all the way through the sorting, and folding! So far, after several weeks, I’ve been able to keep doing the folding and the drawers are still tidy! I agree about doing it by room. Up next, my dresser drawers, and if I get brave, my closet! Loving the new blog!
I have not started to take an inventory of my life using the KonMari method. I plan to start to look seriously at all of my possessions both large and small and ask myself do I feel happy when I think of the item. If not, its outta here!
I started in my bedroom, then moved on to the study, and then the baby’s room. Turns out the baby had more stuff than me and my husband combined! Why do children come with so much stuff! Lol
I completed a round of de-cluttering and tidying up last year and now am working in round two! It is certainly easier to keep things tidy if there is less stuff sitting around. This year will include tidying the attic! 🙀
I did a big tidy/purge in my bedroom this past fall/early winter and folded my clothes Kon Mari style, and it has been SO nice to see what I have, have less to choose from, and have the things that I actually wear and not much else!