I saw a lot of Konmari in action when I was growing up, thanks to my father’s passion for tidiness, symmetry and order (though he must still be oblivious to Konmari in particular).
I never saw him making potato balls out of his socks; they were always neatly folded with space to breathe. He would always organize his wardrobe with clothes categorized on similar kind of hangers and line them up in the same direction. All jars in our house were always supposed to be size and color coordinated; whether containing spices in kitchen or sauces in the fridge, or screws and nails in his working area. He emphasized on organizing and storing things in a way that they can be located even in the dark. In addition to learning some priceless organizing, storing, de-cluttering tricks, I also inherited bits of his OCD.
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I myself am not much of a hoarder or an avid shopper. The clutter and mess tends to impair my thinking process, and annoys me simply.
Having said that, a lengthy ( about two week long) de-cluttering, re-organizing session every 3-6 months had been a constant in my life. Until I somehow ended up with the book “The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up” in my kindle device. Marie Kondo, the International best-seller and organizing consultant, actually made me catch up on some of my faulty areas. It solved some riddles for me and gave me some much needed answers.
KONMARI:
KonMari is essentially a tidying method, very realistic and practical, created by Marie Kondo. It has a simple philosophy of living with joy behind it.
It’s about getting rid of useless and needless items and only keeping those which you need and which spark joy.
It has two steps to it. The first step is de-cluttering and the second part is organizing based on categories (clothes, documents etc). According to the writer, your house should be a place of comfort with an aesthetic appeal rather than being just a storage.
Some Benefits:
The queen of de-cluttering and organizing , claims that once you have tidied your house properly, there will be no rebounds. Also it helps you minimize the time you spend tidying, once you have konmari-ed the proper way. You get more time to focus on the real mission of your life
That definitely sounded like good news. So I set out on this promising journey of de-cluttering; seemed like the right thing to do right before moving houses.
The book itself is packed with gems. However I want to share my experience regarding four major rules that worked magic for me.
Rules for De-cluttering:
1. Someday never comes.
Errors:
The decade-old pair of shoes, broken accessories, incomplete craft projects, unworn dresses, unused kitchen gadgets were a few things among many that I had kept for years on end to use someday.
I love crafting and so I had another collection of various items waiting to be reused or recycled. But the more of those things I collected for someday, the more unmotivated I felt looking at the growing pile.
May be a part of me really knew well that I’d never use those things, but I kept them ‘just in case’. The fact i had trouble accepting was “someday never comes.”
Fix:
Getting rid of all that stuff was the only way to know if it was a right thing to do. Far from having missed it, I feel grateful for being free from all of it. My creativity has been renewed.
Discarding items Konmari way, I learnt some valuable lessons. You need to do somethings right away, instead of piling them up for one day.
If you leave a project incomplete for long, inspiration and motivation freezes and it becomes difficult to get back on it.
The incomplete projects I discarded, taught me how things didn’t work as the writer explains. Things I bought and never wore showed me what styles don’t work for me. There was nothing to be sad about in the end.
2. The true purpose of a present is to be received.
Errors:
As I continued to downsize my belongings, I came across several items of similar nature:
A sweater worn only once sitting there with its undecided fate, while I tried to battle between feeling grateful to the person who gave me and my personal dislike for that shade of green and V neck. I was in a similar dilemma about some fancy and costly wedding gifts I found no purpose for in my life. I had no use for other stuff like elaborate makeup pallets, (not much of a makeup person) perfumes, decoration items, yet I had kept them for years.
As I moved on to my accessories, the list grew. A pair of not-my-style-earrings from a beloved friend (sitting there at least for the past decade), the darling broken necklace received from my favorite teacher, the faded ring I got from my deceased aunt and multiple similar items cluttered my entire jewelry box. Far from sparking joy, these items sparked guilt every single time I opened the box. It seemed like the number of things I didn’t wear out numbered what I actually did.
Surely the person who gave it to you doesn’t want you to use it out of a sense of obligation, or to put it away without using it, only to feel guilty every time you see it. – Marie Kondo
Every time I had previously de-cluttered, I would conveniently not question their oh-so-precious presence. I realized my major challenge were the gifts given by people dear to me. I didn’t have trouble dealing with stuff I bought for myself or even the gifts that came from people I wasn’t really close to. Passing that stuff on or trashing is quite effortless for me.
I realized I was just hanging in the past as the author said in the book.
Fix:
From the stuff, I could tell the people who still mattered to me from those who didn’t. I also realized the possibility of reconnecting with some of the old friends instead of clinging on to their memories (considering they were still alive.) That gratefully led to revival of some old endeared and endangered connections.
As for the people who dwelled in my heart, throwing the objects I attached with them did not change my affection for them. So after I discarded or donated most of it, I felt a sense of calm rising inside. It felt like all the stuff I didn’t need held me captive for so many years.
I had other things besides the ones from different people I gave away. There were many other things which I treasured and had been using joyfully ever since I received them.
I kept the things that sparked joy or which I like to wear regularly. I thought giving away would make me even more guilty, but I actually felt light and peaceful looking at the now neat and organized collection.
The Promised No Re-Bound:
As I discarded or donated countless trash bags full of stuff, I began to see the promising magic in action.
I own less stuff now and that definitely cuts down on junk and extra time for tidying up and frees up a lot of space as well. Once you learn the joy of living with less, you will never want to go back to cluttering.
I learnt more about what works for me and what doesn’t and my likes and dislikes. This makes decision-making easier and me a more mindful shopper as Konmari promised. Instead of storing things for two years before discarding them, it has become effortless to trash them right away as needed
Rest of the rules will be covered in the next post. Till then happy konmaring.
So, what are some of the challenges you face de-cluttering? Let me know in the comments below.
This article was originally published on May, 1, 2018 and has been updated on March 18, 2020.
