![]() Case in point: Henry tried to nab an old hat. Kondo warns that you shouldn’t show your family the discard bags, since they’ll want to stop you from getting rid of so much. Kondo asks that you consider your clothing’s feelings: Are they happy being squashed in a corner shelf or crowded onto hangers? Are your hardworking socks really thrilled to be balled up? It had sounded out there when I read it, but suddenly my clothes looked totally miserable. Everything had succumbed to a mixed-up messiness. With my eyes now open, I realized my closets had hit rock bottom. She advises beginning with clothing, since it’s the least emotionally loaded of one’s things (books come next, old photographs are much later), so as soon as I found a free afternoon, that’s exactly what I did. Instead, Kondo’s first rule is to tidy by category-deal with every single one of your books at once, for example, otherwise they’ll continue to creep from room to room, and you’ll never rein in the clutter. I’d always tackled clutter by room-take on the office first, the bedroom next. I might have been too lazy to declutter, but I was down for some reading-the book is surprisingly addictive. It turns out, tidying really may be the way to bliss. But once I read Kondo’s book, I got totally sucked in. But as a working mother I can barely keep up with the demands of daily life (laundry! groceries! deadlines!). Only then, Kondo says, will you have reached the nirvana of housekeeping, and never have to clean again.Īll of this sounded wonderful. Second, once only your most joy-giving belongings remain, put every item in a place where it’s visible, accessible, and easy to grab and then put back. First, put your hands on everything you own, ask yourself if it sparks joy, and if it doesn’t, thank it for its service and get rid of it. Kondo’s services command a waiting list a mile long in Japan, but for the rest of us, her book breaks down her radical, two-pronged approach to tidying. In case you haven’t, here’s the gist: with her little turquoise book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing, Kondo set off a decluttering craze across the globe. Doland, author of Unclutter Your Life in One Week!! Any item worth keeping is worth creating a space for.I’d heard about Marie Kondo, a Japanese organizing consultant, from friends who spoke evangelically about her methods and how they’d transformed their lives. "Putting it back in a box is just predisposal," says Erin R. So ask yourself, What would I do if I saw this in a store?ĥ. It's tough to be objective about your own belongings. Stuff that makes you smile-like the glittery clothespin reindeer your child made in third grade-doesn't count as "clutter."Ĥ. You think it's gorgeous (even if no one else does). Your ten-year-old LBD that still looks great? It stays.ģ. ![]() ![]() Your possessions should support who you are right now, not the person you were five years-or five pounds-ago. Instead of saving every card your beloved uncle ever sent, pick the one that captures his spirit best.Ģ. "The more memorabilia you have, the less emotionally valuable each individual item becomes," says Emily Wilska, an organization consultant in San Francisco. If they're still a mystery one month later, dump 'em.ġ. UPOs (unidentified plastic objects) get 30 days. But 99 percent of the time you just don't."ĥ. "They're afraid that one day they'll need that exact thing. "A lot of people worry they'll have regrets," says life coach Gail Blanke, author of Throw Out Fifty Things. If you don't get around to fixing the thing within six months, you can probably let it go.Ĥ. Search for similar items on eBay if your item's current value is less than the cost of repairing it (hello, broken printer from 2004), then toss and replace. "Sometimes when we give away a present, we feel like we're giving away the person," says Elsa Jewett, a feng shui consultant based in Denver. If you own enough spatulas and coffee mugs to supply a small diner, it's time to shed a few.Ģ. As you declutter, you'll face this question over and over (and over) again.
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