No matter how big or small our Liberty Village condos are, we may come to a point where tidying things up becomes necessary – even if it isn’t springtime! 

Have you heard about the Japanese Art of Decluttering? It was popularized by the New York Times Best Seller author, Marie Kondo.

It’s impossible to become Marie Kondo overnight, but applying some tips from the decluttering expert is a good segue into a clutter-free lifestyle. 

But First, Why Declutter?

You might be asking yourself, “Do I need advice in decluttering?” It’s generally expected and assumed that tidying up is an innate trait. Were you self-taught to tidy up? Or did your parents spend time teaching you (or maybe nagging you) with how to clean up your room? (We’d love to see your answer in the comments below!)

Whether self-taught or not, our decluttering skills can improve by implementing some of the KonMari Method, the approach invented by Marie Kondo. Her method has been so effective with her clients, she states “Tidying has changed their way of thinking and approach to life”. 

Even if you aren’t one of her clients, you will surely get the following benefits when you declutter your unit:

• Increased productivity
• Lowered stress level
• Improved focus
• Better control of your environment

Now, let’s dive into some KonMari decluttering methods!

Declutter Using KonMari Method

One: Books to Read Some time Means Never

How many books in your condo have you started but not finished reading? How about the number of books that you’ve bought but haven’t started reading?

It’s so easy to go online and have a book delivered to your doorstep. Hence unread books may compile.

According to Marie Kondo, if you decide to keep the unread books because you might want to read them sometime, that ‘sometime’ never comes [sic]. 

She advises us to stop insisting that we will read it someday. These books’ purpose is to tell us that either we don’t need it or don’t have to finish it if we only got halfway through. Now is the chance to let it go.

Two: Say Goodbye to the ‘Just Because’ Approach

Gifts are are means for expressing someone’s feelings. However, these gifts tend to accumulate in our space, and because they were picked out and bought by a loved one, it’s hard to let them go.

If there are items that lie inside your drawer or sitting somewhere in your bedroom, it might be the right time to discard them. Their purpose is already done! Just thank it for the joy it gave you when you first received it.

Three: Demoting Outerwear to Loungewear is a No-No

“I can’t wear these clothes outside anymore. I’ll just use them as loungewear!” Does it sound like you? 

No need to be shy because guess what? Many people think that way too! But it’s time to break that habit!

To Marie Kondo, these castoffs aren’t loungewear. We are just delaying discarding the outerwear that doesn’t give us that relaxed feeling around the house. 

KonMari Method will tell you to throw them in the garbage. But if you think doing it is such a waste, you can donate the clothes or sell them so they can serve their purpose to another person!

Four: Stop Piling Things. Start Storing Vertically.

Stacking is very hard on the things at the bottom. 

When you stack everything in piles, the thing at the bottom bears the weight of the pile and gets weak. Also, we tend to forget what the items in a pile are – they virtually disappear!

Whether it’s a piece of clothing or paper, the item at the bottom is either used less frequently or lost from our awareness that they exist. 

Five: Daily Tidying as Part of Our Lives

If you’re going to choose one piece of advice from this post, this would be the best one to remember and implement: Designate a place for each thing.

Marie Kondo shares that there is a chance of getting your space cluttered again if existing items in your house don’t have their designated spots.

She is saying that when we use an item and take it from its designated place, we should put it back to that same spot after use. This simple thing you do each day can help keep your condo unit in order.

We Can Only Cherish a Certain Number of Things at a Time

Marie Kondo tells her clients to be surrounded by things that only spark joy. If an item doesn’t spark joy, discard it.

As human beings, we can’t take proper care of so many things inside our home, and we don’t want to spend all our life tidying and decluttering.

The KonMari method suggests that the simple task is choosing what to keep and what to discard. Then you can seamlessly take care of the things you decide to keep.

“Pour your time and passion into what brings you the most joy, your mission in life” – Marie Kondo

Kylie Solway

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