Japanese organizing expert Marie Kondo released a book in 2014 that has not only helped people clean their homes but detox their lives in general. Instead of targeting quantity or retail worth of a person’s possessions, her Konmari method focuses on what positive emotional significance items bring to a person’s life. As Kondo shares on her 92nd Street Y speech, Konmari enlists a few primary rules to effective tidying:
Rule one: “Tidy in one shot as quickly, and completely, as possible”
The typical western concept of tidying involves slow progress and sometimes procrastination. Part of what makes the Konmari method so helpful is that many of its components involve “shock;” in other words, implementing a deadline will force you to acknowledge your clutter without too much distraction.
Rule two: “Sort by category, not by location”
Most people organize their cleaning by room or area, but the Konmari method suggests you sort your possessions by type and all into one place. Kondo asserts that you might be surprised with how much you actually have, and that can be overwhelming. But seeing a huge pile of clothes on your floor will not only push you to go through them but show you that some things aren’t worth the time it would take to put them away again.
When cleaning, it’s ultimately more helpful to start with more superficial categories than sentimental objects. This will help you to get the hang of the method in the first place, and by the time you get to the more difficult objects, you’ll be in the flow of cleaning.
Rule three: Keep what “sparks joy”
Arguably the most intriguing aspect of the Konmari method is the measure by which one decides to keep an object. That is, Kondo says only to keep what brings you happiness. When faced by a huge pile of t-shirts, you might hate the way three of them look, never wear seven of them and only truly love two of them. By physically picking up each object, it becomes easier to identify items that make you happy and those that don’t, making you wonder why you hang onto objects that don’t spark joy.
Kondo says you will feel the joy in your body when touching an object that indeed sparks it. Your favorite t-shirt should bring a rising sensation to your whole body.
Approached correctly, taking the time to find happiness in your home will spread into your personal and work life. As Kondo says, “the question of what you want to own is actually the question of how you want to live your life.”
