I was recently introduced to Marie Kondo and her magic "tidying up" method through some organization articles. After watching a couple videos, I ordered her book "The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up" and now I am hooked.
One of the statements that intrigued me, was that after following her "marathon" method, her clients never go back to untidy lifestyles. Keep in mind, Marie Kondo mainly works with clients in Japan, where living spaces are small and keeping neat and tidy is a valued part of the culture. So can her method work in America, land of the consumer?
There are several principles that the Kon-Mari method of decluttering is based on.
1. You must do all the sorting at once (as nearly as possible). Her marathon method recommends taking all of your items (by category) out at once, partly so you can see how much you have and recognize duplicates.
2. You should follow the order of sorting she suggests (Clothes, Books, Paper, Misc., then Mementos).
3. Rather than focusing on what you will discard, you should touch every item and decide if you want to keep it. The criteria is whether it "sparks joy" when you hold it.
Being analytical, the "sparking joy" criteria seemed a little too variable for a disciplined criteria, but I was curious to try it.
After starting the book, I tried out the technique with my clothes. I have been paring my closet down for a couple years now and actually have less clothes than my husband. When I considered the "Does this spark joy?" question as I picked up shirts and pants, I started to understand the benefit. It forces you to choose only the things that you are proud of and feel good wearing. Why would you keep clothes that do not look good on you, just because it was a gift or you enjoyed it once? Marie Kondo suggests you thank the discarded items for their service. Even if it was something you never wore, it helped you know what did not look good on you. Honestly, I was starting to feel more self confident because I truly liked the clothes that remained and had some ideas of what I needed the next time I went shopping.
There are a couple ways I would translate "spark joy" when you are considering whether to keep clothes.
Do you like wearing it?
Do you feel good wearing it?
Does it look good on you?
I found some clothes that had got tucked away that I started wearing again. I also found clothes that I do not feel good wearing, but got on sale. They did not get returned to the closet, but went into the donation pile. Now when I go in the closet, I feel good about every outfit.
I was afraid I would not have any clothes left after this round, but I have enough and it did highlight some deficiencies in my closet. Now that I know what I need (ex. black pants), I can find some higher quality pants that I love.
Overall, I am still a little skeptical about how long before I start to notice clutter in my closets again, but I have a newly inspired respect for quality over quick and cheap. I will continue to use the Kon-Mari method in the rest of my house and see how it goes.
For more info, Marie Kondo has a website: http://tidyingup.com
