Do You Realize tidying Up Could Change Your Life?

Forget everything you’ve been taught about

decluttering. Japanese tidiness expert Marie

Kondo has tips that will transform your

home from unmanageable mess to ordered

haven

Some of us are total neat freaks, some more

relaxed yet organised, and others of us are

just plain untidy. Which category do you fit

into? Are you managing your mess, or

drowning in it? Take the test and find out

DO IT ALL AT ONCE, AND DO IT

NOW Ignore all the advice about

tidying for 15 minutes at a time, or

getting rid of one thing a day, or

starting with the bedroom. You need

to set aside some time and tackle

everything all together. But do it as

soon as possible.

START WITH THE EASY STUFF

Don’t begin by going through old

photo albums or love letters. These

are the hardest things to throw away.

Unless you’re a style maven and

clothes are your ultimate passion, you

need to begin with your wardrobe,

move on to books, then papers,

miscellaneous items (e.g. kitchen

equipment) and, lastly, items of

sentimental value.

DISCARD FIRST, SORT AND TIDY

LATER ‘Do not even think of putting

your things away until you have

finished the process of discarding,’

says Kondo. ‘As soon as you think, “I

wonder if it will fit in this drawer,” the

work of discarding comes to a halt.

You can think about where to put

things when you’ve finished getting

rid of everything you don’t need.

THROW AWAY EVERYTHING YOU

DON’T LOVE If you want to achieve

true tidiness, you need to really think

about the things you are throwing

away – don’t throw away randomly,

instead hold each item in your hand

and think about its meaning to you.

Kondo says that if the item ‘brings you

joy’, you’ll feel it straight away. If it

doesn’t, it’s time to let it go. I found

this method particularly useful for the

two non-essential sets of possessions I

also happen to love – clothes and

books. As Kondo says, ‘Pick them as if

you were identifying items you loved

from a display in your favourite shop.’

PUT EVERYTHING IN EACH

CATEGORY IN ONE PLACE FIRST If

you’re sorting and tidying clothes first,

find every bit of clothing in every part

of your home. Kondo says when she’s

working with clients she warns them

that anything they don’t bring to her

at this stage is going in the bin. Tell

yourself the same thing, and you’ll

find anything that’s of value. Anything

else probably isn’t that important to

you.

LET GO WITH LOVE (GIFTS AND

KEEPSAKES) This one is truly life-

changing. You know that hideous vase

you keep because Great Aunty

Maureen gave it to you when you first

moved out of home? It’s OK to say

goodbye. Kondo recommends quietly

thanking the person who gave it to you

and the item itself for its time with

you, and then putting it in the charity

pile. Sounds nuts, but strangely

enough it works to get rid of the guilt.

Dithering over old love letters? Ask

yourself why you’re keeping them. Do

they bring you joy? Or is there a

reason you’re holding onto that part of

your life? If you can honestly say you

feel happier holding on to them, fine.

Otherwise, let them go with love…

DITCH YOUR PAPERWORK This one

is tough, but ultimately fair. Time to

throw away elaborate filing systems.

Kondo argues that all your paperwork

should fit in one place, in two groups –

papers to be saved, and papers to be

dealt with. This means being

absolutely ruthless about what you

keep. Gone are the electrical manuals.

Think about how often you go back to

use them – never, right? If you really

need to figure a part out, most

information can be found online now.

Ditto old bills, credit card statements

and payslips. The only thing you need

to keep are contracts (employment,

mortgage, lease, etc) and insurance

policies. Avoid piles of papers – store

them in an upright holder to avoid the

collection getting too big.

DON’T BUY EXPENSIVE OR

COMPLICATED STORAGE

EQUIPMENT Kondo claims to have

tried every kind of storage on the

market in Japan and says ultimately

the only thing that is truly useful is a

shoe box. Our insatiable need for

‘better storage’ comes from having too

much stuff in the first place – and

once stored away in your latest pretty

box from IKEA, your things are

forgotten about and you’ve just added

another box of stuff to your life. Shoe

boxes can be used in a drawer to store

tights in neatly packed upright folds

or, in a kitchen, used to store baking

pans and trays upright instead of piled

on top of each other.

TREAT YOUR POSSESSIONS LIKE

PEOPLE This one might take a bit of

getting used to but Kondo

recommends an ongoing ‘dialogue’

with your things, which will allow you

to sense more readily when it might

be time to let them go. She says, ‘We

often hear about athletes who take

loving care of their sports gear,

treating them almost as if they were

sacred…Our belongings work really

hard for us.’ Caring for your

possessions is the best way to make

sure they support you, their owner, for

longer. (Turns out your granny was

right about caring for your clothes

after all…)