It’s time to straighten up and simplify your living space.
If you have been feeling overwhelmed by clutter lately, you’re not alone. We’re living in a society where consumer goods, clothing, and products are getting easier to come by, less inexpensive, and more likely to find a place in your junk drawers or on your shelves. Unfortunately, a higher level of the stress hormone, cortisol, is associated with a fixation on mess or disorder. The upside? This means that your stress levels can also be lowered when you declutter your surroundings. We’ve compiled a list tips and tricks from one of our favorite organization experts: Marie Kondo
Interested in learning more about how to apply these tricks to your closet?
Learn how to Konmari fold your clothes at an upcoming Spark Joy Networking Event. Our next one is on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at 5 PM – 7 PM.
Who is Marie Kondo?
An organizing consultant and author from Japan who has stolen the hearts of America with her new Netflix series, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. Marie Kondo has developed her own technique of organizing -- the KonMari method -- that suggests separating all of your belongings into subcategories. Once you have done this, you choose to keep only the items from each category that “spark joy” for you. Her unique approach is focused on decluttering your life, not simply ‘neatening up’ your space.
Save Space in your Drawers and Closets: Learn to Fold Clothes Like Marie Kondo
One of the most difficult categories to organize is clothing--some of Marie Kondo’s top laundry tips include:
Folding your clothing like origami
Standing your folded clothes upright in drawers
Storing your items in square compartments.
Want To Learn How To Organize Like Marie Kondo?
Are you interested in organizing your belongings, but don’t have the time to read Marie Kondo’s book or watch Netflix? Don’t worry; we’ve summarized the KonMari organization method for you using a graphic from makespace.com. Here are a few of her top suggestions for decluttering your surroundings:
Commit
Set aside enough time to get your task done all at once. Commit to tidying up your space in one attempt to prevent the dreaded ‘half done’ stage of organization.
Visualize
Kondo suggests that you visualize your ideal living space and simplified lifestyle. This will both motivate you to complete your task and prevent you from falling back into the clutter.
Prioritize
This is where the heart of KonMari comes into play. You take an item in both of your hands, and ask yourself “does this spark joy in me?” If the answer is yes, you keep it. If no, donate it or throw it away.
Discard
It is crucial that you actually get rid of the items that no longer serve your living space. Putting them in a new place or promising to discard them later are traps that we too often fall into.
Categorize
Kondo suggests that you organize your belongings by category, as opposed to room by room. For example, we suggest getting all of the books in your house together instead of tackling one bookcase at a time.
Designate
Give every item a ‘home’ in your living space. Commit to returning that item to its home after every time you use it.
Register for our free Spark Joy Networking Event.
Learn how to fold your clothes Konmari style! Our next one is on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, at 5 PM – 7 PM.