Konmari method Archives - Ellen's Blog, Professional Organizing for Kingwood & Houston

The change of seasons calls us to do some decluttering. With this change around us outdoors, we feel inspired to make change indoors. There are many strategies that can help you declutter. Try one of these 6 smart strategies to declutter your space at home or work.

Tournament Method

The Tournament Method helps those who are especially overwhelmed. Just like in any sport, compare two items and one “wins.” Keep the winner and pit it against another “competitor.” Soon you will have eliminated almost half of your items. If you want to keep your decluttering simple, the Tournament Method works well.

Treasure hunt

Rather than decide about what to give away, decide what is a treasure to keep. A treasure hunt strategy keeps you positive and pro-active. When sifting through a large box, dig for treasures only. The rest is decluttered and given away. The Treasure Hunt method works well if you tend to lose focus when you are decluttering.

FlyLady Method

FlyLady has been a staple for many to help start decluttering. Her strategy relies on small, fun tasks that break your decluttering into bite size efforts. Establishing small routines makes your decluttering happen. One of my favorite routines is the 27 fling boogie. You grab a garbage bag and eliminate 27 items at a time. If you are a person who is looking for decluttering routines, Fly Lady’s method work help you make changes.

#MinsGame

Joshua Fields Millburn & Ryan Nicodemus write the blog, The Minimalists. Their game came from their new perspective on stuff and minimalism. The game starts on the first day of the month. On day 1, you eliminate 1 item. On day 2, you eliminate 2 items. And so it goes. It’s a great way to make a game of your decluttering. Challenge others in your circle to play too.

Keep the End in Mind

Organizing guru Peter Walsh reminds us to Keep the End in Mind. Create a vision of what your space will look like decluttered. Permit only what will work with that vision to remain. Use a vision board, pinterest, or a magazine to help you stay focused on your goal. Knowing what you want your space to look like when completed helps you make decisions on decluttering.

Konmari Method

Recently Marie Kondo, best selling author of The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up, created the Konmari method to declutter. Her mantra about the items we own is, “does this spark joy?” Keep only what brings a smile to your face. Does everything have to bring you joy? For Ms Kondo the answer is “yes!” Surrounding yourself with only what is fabulous is definitely life changing. Learn more about the Konmari method here.

No matter the method, get started on your decluttering today! Your changes in your space will bring about changes in your daily attitude, stress and positivity.

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Is it surprising that a tiny book about the art of decluttering and organizing is on the New York Times best seller list for weeks? Vogue, Good Housekeeping and the Today Show have tested Ms. Marie Kondo’s Konmari method. It’s a topic and technique that has merit. The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is a best-selling guide to decluttering your home from Japanese cleaning consultant Marie Kondo. Three tips stand out for me in this tiny “how to” guide.

Organize by category

It’s hard to know where to start your organizing. Using the Konmari method, start your work by category. A category can be a group of items that are alike or used together. In a disorganized space, it’s often the case that most categories are not grouped together. There may be more than one spot for school supplies, clothes, gift wrap or any group. You may have purchased items and these did not get put away or placed with similar items. Organizing by category works well. When you see all your items together, it’s easier to make decisions on what to discard. You know what you have and how many you have of an item. Once your category is organized, you must find a specific spot to place it as a group.

“Tidying by category works like magic.”

Finish discarding first

Decluttering is always the first step in organizing. Once an item has lost value or function, it’s time to let it go. Often we think if we have better storage, if items were rearranged to fit better in a space, or we had more containers, we would be more organized. With the Konmari method, you are assessing and processing in order to release items. Ms Kondo asserts that this processing and dialogue is an inner conversation that focuses on what is important to you rather than others.

“To truly cherish the things that are important to you, you must first discard those that have outlived their purpose.”

Keep what sparks joy

The Konmari method helps us choose what we want to keep, not what we want to get rid of. Ms Kondo’s question is “does this spark joy?” The essence of each item in your home should bring a smile. Many items in your home are good, but are they good for you? It’s a lot to ask to have every item in your home bring you joy, but all your clothes and shoes certainly should. By releasing the items that we associate with guilt, shame or obligation, we are freeing ourselves to live our best life.

“Keep only those things that speak to your heart.”

The Konmari method helps you live your best life after putting your house in order. It’s simple effective strategies can transform your home and your life like magic!

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Declutter with these 6 Smart Strategies