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You’ve probably already heard of the tidying professional from Japan who is helping people bring order to their homes all across the globe. Marie Kondo made her name with her guide to a clutter-free life, The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up.
More recently, her Netflix series Tidying Up shows viewers how decluttering your life can help make space for the truly important things in life; helping bring people together, achieve their ambitions, and significantly reduce stress. Minimalism is a growing movement as people downsize their space and enjoy a more calm, motivated mindset with fewer “things” getting in their way.
Millions of people have seen success with the KonMari Method – changing how they live and only keeping items that ‘spark joy.’ Moving home is a particularly good time to learn the art of tidiness; setting good habits from the outset and making sure that you don’t fill your house with too much stuff early on will help you keep your new place spotless.
We can all benefit from relieving ourselves from clutter, whether you’re downsizing or just want to save on your removals costs. So how can you apply core KonMari principles to your move?
Do You Really Need All Those Knick-Knacks? How To Declutter Before You Move
Moving home is probably the best opportunity there is to purge unnecessary possessions – aka clutter! If you’ve been living in the same place for a while and you’re anything like the majority of the population then you’ve probably got heaps of storage boxes just bursting at the seams, not to mention the cupboard under the stairs that you must never open for fear of clutter avalanche!
Rather than treating tidying as a slow room-by-room process, Marie Kondo’s highly successful method encourages you to tidy up all at once, approaching the task category by category. The order of the categories is also important to follow as they get harder as they go on:
- Clothes
- Books
- Papers
- Miscellaneous Items
- Sentimental Items
For Kondo, tidying is a mindset. Decluttering is a process whereby you should only keep the items that ‘spark joy’ – and let go of anything that doesn’t. For each category, make a pile for keeping and a pile for discarding (give these items to charity if you can to give them a new life!).
Part of the difficulty with parting from possessions can be sentimentality; however, with Kondo’s method, you hold the item in your hands and thank it before parting with it which makes decluttering a more cathartic process. Of course, there will be some things like medical records and basic toiletries that are necessities and will need to go with you. But be strict with yourself as it is only by making a dramatic change in your mindset that you will avoid a clutter rebound!
How Can You Pack Efficiently?
It’s important to fully declutter first and then you can focus on getting the remaining items packed up. Just as Marie Kondo advises tidying by category, rather than by room, you should apply this same principle to your packing process. Once you have segmented each category of your possessions into keep and discard piles, you can start to think about packing these for your move. First, lay everything out so that you can easily see what you need to pack.
There will be some personal items that you may need during your move so it’s best to set these aside and pack them in a separate suitcase. When it comes to packing your clothes, use the KonMari folding method (folding items cleverly that stand on their own) to save space and make it easier to unpack the other end. Plus, if you realise later on that you need to get something out of your suitcase, it will be much easier to find. For other items, stack heavy things at the bottom of the box with lighter things on top and stack the boxes together in this way too to avoid crushing anything. Breakable items should be carefully wrapped and packed amongst clothes or linen as padding. Finally, neatly label each box by category so that your unpacking process will be super efficient in your new home!
Live The Clutter-Free Dream In Your New Home
When you move into your new place you’ll want to lay the space out exactly how you want it, adding any decorations, furnishings, and finally your possessions. While the first phase of Kondo’s technique is to declutter, the second is to decide where to store things. We should exercise self restraint and go through the discarding process fully before putting things away. You may find when you unpack that there are even more items that no longer ‘spark joy’ so you can part with them too.
Using Marie Kondo’s tidying methods can help you get your home looking spacious and chique right from the outset. In fact, her clothes folding technique is absolutely revolutionary. Never again will you have to search through your closet to find your favourite outfits because using her easy folding technique, they’ll be stood vertically and visible, making getting dressed in the morning that little bit easier. Kondo also warns to beware of storage solutions as these can often mask clutter and are the easy option, allowing you to kid yourself that your house is in order although the items may no longer truly spark joy. The true goal of your tidying efforts should be to ensure you attain the lifestyle you want once you have ordered your surroundings; cleaning your home will be easier and you won’t lose things so often, freeing up more time and energy to focus on doing the things you love.
Commit To The Tidying Mindset To Transform Your Living Space – And Your Life!
Investing time in the KonMari method is well worth it. Not only will your new, clutter-free home be more joyful to be in but you’ll see such immense benefits from the transformation that it’s not likely you’ll ever let your home get out of order again. Kondo boasts that nobody who has completed the KonMari process has ever relapsed: she states that “if you use the right method and concentrate your efforts on eliminating clutter thoroughly and completely within a short span of time, you’ll see instant results that will empower you to keep your space in order ever after.” With the KonMari method you really can (and should) aim for perfection!
