Decluttering Tips for Home that will Make Marie Kondo Proud

It has been years since the Marie Kondo magic sparked a tidying-up craze across the world. With the pandemic having forced people to stay home and resist the outdoors, we now have extra time to get more organized and get rid of things that do not “spark joy.” In this article, we listed down the best decluttering tips for home, including Marie Kondo-style methods that are sure to change your life.

Prepare to Let Go

Nostalgia can be an obstacle to decluttering your home. Imagine opening a box filled with old mementos that you forgot ever existed or finding that old favorite t-shirt that has been in your cabinet forever. Moments like these could stop you from discarding things that no longer have space in your life just because they once held a special place in your life. When decluttering your home, prepare yourself to face the inevitable task of having to let go of these once-treasured items to make space for new ones.

Visualize Your Space

It’s also important to have an idea about how you’d want your room to look like post-decluttering. This would enable you to plan and figure out which things to keep. Do you want that kitchen counter cleared? Do you want a minimalist living room? Do you want to have extra space for future furniture? Asking yourself these questions would help you envision your space and prevent getting stuck in the middle of organizing.

Get Rid of Items by Categories, Not Location

According to Marie Kondo, we should discard items by their category and not by where they are placed in our home. In the conventional method, decluttering is done per room: from the bedroom to the office to the living room to the kitchen and so forth. But under the KonMari method, you should tackle each item based on its category.

For example, you may want to start with organizing your books before jumping on to clothes or vice versa. If you tackle these items based on where they’re located, you may end up circling every now and then. If needed, you can break down categories into subcategories. For example, undergarments can be further classified into underwear, socks, gloves, and others.

Keep Things that “Spark Joy”

One of Marie Kondo’s key decluttering tips is to keep things that “spark joy.” While it’s a very subjective rule, it emphasizes the importance of giving space to things that you love or inspire you. According to her, keeping these joy-inducing things will put you closer to your inner values, reveal your likes and dislikes, and identify your desired lifestyle.

Discard Before Dispose

Make sure to sort all items and place them into boxes before getting rid of them. This will help you dispose of unwanted stuff in one go instead of doing it little by little. When torn whether to keep an item or not, one great litmus test is by asking yourself these two questions: 1) has this particular item been used over the past 12 months and 2) are you planning to use this particular item over the next 12 months?

Make Decluttering a Habit

Decluttering your home is not a one-off thing. It’s a life skill that you need to master and apply consistently to achieve your desired living space. You may consider having a schedule for major home decluttering such as every six months or so. Only by sustaining an organized space can you say that your home decluttering is a success.