I always found it strange that the steps are this: 1) clothes, 2) books, 3) papers, 4) literally every other object in existence including entire rooms, 5) sentimental items.
Not saying it's a bad system - just interesting.
EDIT: added sentimental items
EDIT 2: thanks for the silver!!!
I think the system is designed to help someone hone the skill of âsparking joyâ - so as you go through the categories, you can practice knowing the feeling of what feels right to keep and what doesnât. So when you get to the last category of sentimental items, youâll have an easier keeping the items you truly like instead of getting hung up on what to keep.
Japanese culture generally favored smaller houses with more purposeful items, so for a long time all Marie worked with didn't have much more than clothes, books, papers, and sentimental items. That "literally everything else" is mostly for Americans who have tons more things.
I had to adapt the system to my case. Clothes didn't take long, and I barely have any important documents to begin with, but my kitchen was packed to the rafters with stuff because I inherited all of my grandma's kitchen things. I had to do a few passes in the kitchen to get it where I wanted it to be.
Hope this helps with spring cleaning! There is a show on Netflix called Tidying Up that is great to watch for inspiration to declutter and organize. Feel free to share elsewhere, too!
This is great!! I'm just starting and this will definitely help!
Happy to have been of assistance! Best wishes for your decluttering project!
I happened upon Tidying Up and I'm so happy I did. I love it.
I still haven't had a chance to bullet journal, but I'm printing this out and hanging up on my to do list! I've been watching her show and tidying. Thanks!
I might actually steal this. I watched the show, then read the book. We are starting on the first Sunday of February. Thanks and good luck!
Her method works well for me. I've always felt a lot of pressure to get rid of things, even ones I love, so I have developed some weird habits (giving away items I love because I evaluated them through other people's eyes and keeping things I didn't always like because I felt obligated somehow.)
I had some bujo epiphanies right before I watched the series and those epiphanies with KonMari have helped me get something of a grip on my life. Also, I love opening my underwear and socks drawer now because it's so pretty and organized.
I still struggle with completing difficult or stressful tasks but that's something else for me to work on :)
Thanks for this OP!
You're very welcome! :)
I'm doing Lesson One this weekend. It's weird- ever since I watched the series, I've started looking forward to folding my clothes....
Here are these objects that both protect my body, and define my style, but I didn't appreciate them at all. Now doing laundry makes me smile. You might even say that it, sparks joy :D
I have the excact same feeling, but mostly in the kitchen. I suddenly love putting away the dishes đ
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This article talks about the method and how's it's related to Shinto beliefs. And just like all religions, it's not for everyone.
She also brings up other ways of thinking about it like "is this something you want to take with you moving forward?" I get your point though.
But I honestly think the core of Konmari is just being aware of everything you have ie. the touching everything, folding it so it's visible, putting things away in containers so you can see them. I don't do emotions well so I don't have a lot of "joy" when it comes to most things, but I find the focus on visibility quite practical. I see her ways of how to determine whether or not you keep the item as a suggestion or a new way to think about what you have. I probably gave away like 5 things out of my whole wardrobe that I was keeping out of laziness or guilt. I still keep things for my own reasons, it's just that the show gave me more psychological tools than what I had already.
I have a lot of clothes, that don't spark joy right now, after decluttering them with the KonMari-Method. Just because I would've to few left, if I throw everything out, I still keep them. These months I also got into sewing, so I tend to redesign them, to my style, to spark joy.
This mindset helps to not buy everything out there, but to really think twice before buying anything.
Everything else I labeled as "donation, trash etc.", will get a redesign, to fit my home. When it's broken I will replace it maybe, but until then still use it.
That is so weird. I just started Tydying up with Marie Kondo on Netflix like 30minutes ago and I'm doing my bullet journal while watching it, and now I see this post. I think it's a sign.
Tbh, can we start with tidying up that heading font?
It is irksome. Sorry, I didn't make the image. Just passing it along!
I figured not, honestly, so I didnât want to come off as terribly rude in the event that you had. I just donât care for the trending bounce hand lettering; lot of it is nearly impossible to read. I had a screenshot on my phone from an ad posted by a Facebook page for some giveaway they were doing. The word âgiveawayâ was almost unintelligible until I saw the whole post. I saved it to share with others to make sure it wasnât just me. Most couldnât make it out until I told them. đŹ
Funny, I am actually listening to the Life Changing Art of Tidying Up right now, which is where this came from.
Nice little guide, gonna keep this handy!
This is a great idea and I am all for it. I love donating things with regularity.
However, if there's not a "stop buying shit you don't need" component to this method then I feel like most people will fail. Organize shit you do have and then stop buying more shit. That's the key to staying organized.
The fact that I sat on chairs I was throwing away last night in my driveway crying over the fact that they were leaving makes me realize I might need this sort of list more than I imagined.
Lol. I always am attracted to de-cluttering books, shows, articles, etc. But I clutter myself so much there us nothing ever to declutter (plus we moved in 16' major throw out). Literally everything is being kept after curating or packed neatly away. But I'm keeping this anyway. Thanks.
We recently moved, too. I am focusing on the "finding a home for everything" part as we also have pared down to essentials in most categories.
I did not like her method. A tidy home can have full shelves and stacks of things. Tidy does not equil minimal. But if it works for you, great. Personally I'll keep my overflowing bookshelves and pile of quilts and blankets.
not bullet journal in any way whatsoever
i'm in love with you
I like the idea but 'not sparking joy's isn't a great reason to get rid of something. I'm not going to throw out my bin because it doesn't spark joy, or my work uniform because it doesn't make me happy to hold.
Her method isn't literally about being "happy" when you hold or look at something. "Spark joy" simply means if something helps make your life easier, if this is something you want to take into your future, or if something gives you a strong reaction in any way, it should be something you keep. So she would say a bin could "spark joy" because it keeps trash in one place and not all over the place, making your life easier.
That makes WAY more sense than any way it's been explained so far
Is the item serving you well? That can be a way to sort out items that need to be discarded or passed on to serve others.
That's probably better. But I have things like, my Dads tshirts that I stole from his cupboard after he died. They neither serve me well nor bring joy. But they're worth keeping
In the KonMari method you have to physically touch every item and decide whether to keep or discard. I think that is a nice parallel to the Bullet Journal where you kind of take every item out of your brain, put it on paper and then decide what to do with it. So is Bullet Journaling the KonMari method for the brain?
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The truth has been spoken.
But don't clean clothes bring you joy? Not being smelly bring you joy?
She has an excellent example in her book about how a screwdriver doesn't bring her joy, but the tasks that the screwdriver helps her do, like building a bookshelf, and the end results bring her joy. Thus, the screwdriver is important and slightly joy bringing for this reason.
So, one of our cats is easily upset by a tainted litterbox. If there is so much as one clump of pee in there, he will find some other place to go. We've taken to leaving a small pile of dirty laundry on the floor as his emergency pee place because if we don't he will do it on the bed or the couch. At least I can wash out the laundry (vinegar is amazing for getting smells out).
So, to that degree, doing laundry sparks joy. But only a little.
Could be! It definitely helps me keep track of what I need to remember and focus on doing! And best of all, I get make my bullet journal include what brings me joy like the KonMari method.