Organizing and decluttering have always been fun to me. Last year, I read an article on Maria Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and immediately pre-ordered it.
If you’ve already this book, you’ll know that Marie describes herself as someone who has always enjoyed tidying and organizing. If you haven’t read this book, I will describe her for you. I know what she’s like not only because I read the book, but also because I recognized myself in her. When I was younger, I would rearrange and reorganize my bedroom to get it as perfect as possible. I loved decluttering, but most I loved finding creative storage solutions. I need those creative storage solutions, because I had so much stuff.
And even though the amount of my belongs has gone up and down since then, I still have too much stuff. I’ve been in a decluttering mood for a long time and, now, even moreso due to reading this book. So, here are five things I learned from The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and will apply to the decluttering of my house!
1- Do your decluttering all in one day. Marie recommends decluttering your house all in one day. I completely agree with this tip, because it’s easier to keep your house tidy if it’s tidy all at once. This tip doesn’t entirely work for me. I just don’t have a single day when I can go through the entire house and declutter. I’ve made this tip work for me by decluttering all of a category of items in one day. For example, I will go through all the books in one day, or maybe all the movies in one day. That works better for me.
2 – Declutter the sentimental items last. This is SO true! Decluttering sentimental items can be a roadblock in your organizing plan. These items are hard to get rid of. When I come across a sentimental item, I put it right back where I found it (unless I actually want to get rid of it).
3 – Don’t decide on storage solutions until you’re done. The point is to declutter, not to find clever ways to store things you don’t need. If you need storage when you’re done cleaning out your house, you will definitely have boxes and containers at the end that you can use! Rarely will you need to purse storage solutions after you declutter.
4 – Try to store all your clothes in your closet. She does not recommend storing your off-season clothes where you can not see them. This is a sure way to keep things you don’t need, because you can’t see all of your clothes.
5 – Appreciate your possessions! Marie’s method is a little different, but she suggests thanking the items that you’re getting rid of. She literally holds each item she is discarding, thanks the item for whatever it provided her, and then gets rid of it. I have not graduated to speaking outloud to my possessions, but I have been acknowledging (mentally) how a particular item served me. I also acknowledge that it no longer has a purpose for me. This has helped me get rid of things that I don’t need, but for some reason I’m still hanging onto.
Have you read Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up? It has helped me a ton, and I know I’ll read it again!
Rebecca has been writing about style, beauty, and lifestyle topics since 2011. Thank you so much for reading this post! Feel free to leave any questions or comments below. I love hearing from you!
