A book by Mari Kondo
In this book, Marie Kondo introduces the KonMari method—a simple yet transformative approach to decluttering your home and life. By keeping only the things that “spark joy,” she shows how tidying can become a powerful act of self-reflection. Rather than organizing for efficiency, Kondo encourages a deeper process of letting go, helping you create a space—and mindset—that supports the life you truly want to live.
Despite its importance, no one teaches us how (rather than to) keep our living space in order. Furthermore, most of us believe that it is better to ‘tidy a little every day’ rather than organising everything in one fell swoop.
The truth is that keeping a clear environment requires habits that emerge from a different mindset. Such a mindset you can only get when you tidy in one shot. The radical result will change your perspective, which will empower you to keep your space in order ever after.
We make a mess of our environment because it gives our mind something to pay attention to. When our mind is in a state of distress, for example, studying for a test, it is all to happy jumping from one distraction to the next. When your environment is clean and uncluttered, you must examine your inner state.
In this situation, the only possible course of action is dealing with it. From the moment you start tidying, you will improve your life. As such, it helps to see tidying as a means, rather than an end in itself.
It is in our nature to take the easy route and resort to storage solutions when our place is a mess. However, putting things away only puts the mess out of sight. Sooner or later, the storage units are filled, and we are left back where we started. Real decluttering starts by discarding.
The first core lesson of keeping an organised space is to tidy by category, and not by location. We can have the same items in multiple places, and when we organise each of them separately, we will not do any of them away.
When you start your declutter marathon, go from books to clothes, not from cabinet to cabinet or room to room. Per category, there are only two essential steps: discarding things, and deciding where to store the rest. Of the two, discarding must come first.
Once you have put your house in order, tidying becomes a simple task of putting things back where they belong. In fact, this becomes an unconscious habit.
Tidying completely deeply affects your mind. It inspires a strong aversion towards your previously cluttered state. The change needs to be so sudden that you experience a complete change of heart. This can never be achieved when you do it gradually.
Such a radical cleansing requires an efficient approach. The more time it takes, the more tired you feel, and the more likely you are to give up halfway through.
In the words of Stephen R. Covey, you should always begin with the end in mind. The same is true for your decluttering marathon; what do you hope to gain through tidying? What would it be like to live in a clutter-free space?
Then, further explore your why‘s. If you want to declutter your environment to be less distracted, ask yourself why you want to be less distracted? If it is to work more efficiently, ask why you want to work more efficiently? Keep going until you feel like you have reached your core motive(s). This will help your keep at it when tidying gets though and tiring.
When you have assessed your underlying motivation(s) and visualised the result, you are ready to start discarding.