Tidying like Marie Kondo

„The Question of what you want to own is actually the Question of how you want to live your Life.“ – Marie Kondo

Marie Kondo is from Japan and currently lives with her two daughters, her son and her husband in Los Angeles. She is an organizational expert who helps people around the world to transform their cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration. She wrote several books including “The life-changing magic of Tidying”.

Her tidying method is all about deciding what you want to keep. The main criteria is whether something sparks joy for you.   

Tidy by Category not by Location

There are 5 categories to go through starting with the easiest:  

1. Clothing: Shirts, blouses, pants, underwear, socks, dresses, skirts, shoes, handbags etc.  
2. Books: Novels, encyclopaedia, magazines, comics, note books, cooking books etc. 
3. Paper: Insurance policies, receipts, contracts, university / school papers, manuals, certificates, postcards, letters etc.  
4. Komono / Miscellaneous: Jewellery, bedding, toiletries, cleaning utensils, tools, kitchen equipment, electronics, decoration, board games etc.  
5. Sentimental: Anything of the above could be a sentimental item, so usually such decision is postponed until the last category including Fotos, art work from children, gifts etc.  

The tidying method by Marie Kondo Step by Step

For all the mentioned categories the method works the same way:   

1. Gathering: Collect all your belongings of one category from every possible location and create one big pile. 
2. Joy check: Hold every single item and check if it sparks joy for you. Only keep what sparks joy and has a purpose in your life going forward.
3. Letting Go: Let go of every item that does not spark joy. Be grateful for what purpose it had in your life and give it a new one.
4. Storage: Assign every item a home that it should always return to. Display what you love so that it sparks for you. 

If you finish all the categories, you should never rebound to a decluttered home as you trained your brain how to take decisions based on what you want to keep in your life and what makes you happy.  

Kondō, M., & Zeller, E. W. (2015). The life-changing magic of tidying up: the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing. Unabridged. [United States], Tantor Media, Inc.

Franziska has participated in the official KonMari Consultant training and helps you on your tidying journey based on the method of Marie Kondo.  

Here are some before and after pictures from clients we have worked with so far: