Magical cleaning from Marie Kondo
The author of the well-known FlyLady system was one of the first to introduce the idea of ”cluttering up” the home space. Today she has a very solid competitor: a Japanese specialist in organizing everyday life – Mari Kondo.
The girl’s books are sold all over the world today in large editions, and thanks to her, housewives on all continents are mastering the complex science of “littering an apartment”.
The content of the article:
We put things in order in life and throw out trash according to konmari
Marie’s main idea is to throw away everything that is unnecessary that does not bring you joy and pleasure, and organize the rest.
It sounds, of course, strange – “not bringing joy”, but it is this rule that dominates the konmari system… We constantly store things “in reserve” in houses, store our accumulated items, stuff them into bedside tables and wardrobes, and then we experience constant stress from cluttering up the apartment, lack of “oxygen” and irritation that follows us.
Focus on what is truly dear to you., and on those things that make you happy in everyday life.
And generally speaking do not bring things into the housethat do not make you feel happy!
Video: Order in the house according to the Marie Kondo method
So how do you get rid of the excess?
- We start not with premises, but with “categories”. We drop all things from the house into one room and start debriefing. So it will be easier for you to understand – how much “junk” you have accumulated, whether you need it, and whether it makes sense to leave it.
- The very first category to start is, of course, clothing. Further – books and all documents. Then “miscellaneous”. That is, everything else – from household appliances to food.
- We leave things for “nostalgia” for the very last moment: after you sort out the main part of things, it will be easier for you to understand which souvenirs / photographs are vital for you, and which you can easily do without.
- No “gradually”! We litter the house quickly, without much hesitation and in one go. Otherwise, this process will drag on for years.
- The main rule is the joy of feeling a particular thing in your hands. Now you have taken an already pretty worn T-shirt in your hands – it’s a pity to throw it away, and it draws from it with some kind of cozy nostalgic warmth. Leave! Even if you can only walk in it at home, while no one sees. But if you pick up jeans, which are very “cool”, but do not cause any sensations and generally just lie “on the growth”, throw them away boldly.
- Parting Things Easily! Say goodbye to them and let them go – to the trash heap, to needy neighbors in the country or to people for whom these things will already become their great joy. Distribute bags for things that have lost their “positive” – a bag for trash, a bag for “giving into good hands”, a bag for “selling to a thrift store”, etc.
Video: Wardrobe clutter using the konmari method
Organization of storage of things according to konmari – basic rules for order in wardrobes
A huge cookie jar filled with Soviet buttons, thimbles, pins, and so on. Which you never use. 2 rubber heating pads. 4 mercury thermometers. 2 boxes with documents that have lost their value 10 years ago. A whole closet of books you will never read.
Etc.
In every apartment there are such deposits of “let it be” things, and Marie inspires everyone to heroic deeds with her advice!
So, you threw away all unnecessary things, but what to do with the remaining things?
How to properly organize their storage?
- Determine the ultimate goal. How exactly do you imagine your home? Look on the Web for pictures of interior design, stop at the ones you like. Recreate your future home (from the inside) in your head and maybe on paper.
- Clean up the space to the maximum. Leave only the most pleasant and dear to you (and what you cannot do without). Having felt the convenience of “minimalism”, you will not want to return to “littering”.
- Let the relatives not spy on and interfere! All the “experts” with advice on the topic – “Leave it”, “It’s an expensive thing, you’re out of your mind” and “There is a lot of space on the mezzanine, put it there, then it will come in handy!” – drive away!
- Sorting things by category! We do not remove the closet or the corridor, but the books or cosmetics. They collected all the books in one place, sorted them into “causes joy” and “throw away”, the second pile was taken out, the first one was beautifully folded in one place.
- Cloth. We do not make home “outfits” out of boring clothes! Or to throw away, or give it to good hands. Even if no one sees you, you should walk in what gives you joy. And these are hardly tattered sweatshirts with a faded top.
- How to fold? We stack clothes in piles, but vertically! That is, looking into the drawer, you should see all your blouses, and not just the top one. So the thing is easier to find (no need to dig up the entire pile), and the order is preserved.
- Anything that you do not wear in this season, put it on the far shelves. (umbrellas, jackets, swimwear, gloves, etc., depending on the season).
- Documentation. Everything is simple here. 1st pile: documents you need. 2nd pile: documents to sort out. For the 2nd stack, take a special drawer and put all questionable papers there and only there. Don’t let them creep around your apartment.
- Do not keep pieces of paper, postcards, documents that are of no value. For example, instructions from household appliances that you have been using for more than a year (unless it is a warranty card), paid rent receipts (if 3 years have passed since the date of payment), papers on loans paid out long ago, instructions for medicines, etc.
- Postcards. It’s one thing if it’s a memorable thing that causes you a wild attack of joy and nostalgia at the same time, it’s another thing when it’s a box of duty cards. Who needs them? Say goodbye to such things boldly!
- Coins. Do not scatter “change” around the house, pouring it on the refrigerator, then on the coffee table, then in the piggy bank, which you will never open, because it is “not money for a long time.” Spend immediately! Fold in your wallet and “drain” on small items in stores.
- Presents. Yes, it’s a shame to throw it away. Yes, the person was on duty trying to congratulate you. Yes, somehow inconvenient. But you will not use this coffee grinder (handle, figurine, vase, candlestick) anyway. Get rid of it! Or give it to someone who will enjoy this gift. What to do with unnecessary gifts?
- Equipment boxes. What if it comes in handy? – we think and put another empty box into the closet without putting anything in it. If only those unnecessary buttons, 100 instructions for medicines that you never look at (because the Internet is there) or 20 extra mercury thermometers. Throw it away immediately!
- Go to the trash heap – all the things, the purpose of which you do not even know, or just never use it at all. Some kind of incomprehensible cord, an ancient non-working TV, microcircuits, an old tape recorder and a bag of cassettes, samples of cosmetics, things with the logo of your university, trinkets won in the lottery, etc.
- Photos. Feel free to throw out all the pictures that do not evoke emotions in you. We leave only the most dear to our hearts. Why do you need thousands of faceless landscapes, if you can’t even remember – when, why and who photographed it? The advice also applies to folders with photos on a PC.
- Bags. If you use them, then store them in each other so that they take up less space. Cracked, faded, out of fashion – to be discarded. And be sure to shake out the everyday bag every day, so as not to arrange a warehouse of incomprehensible things from it.
- Each thing has its own place! And all things of the same kind – in one place. In one closet – clothes. In the nightstand – things for sewing. On the upper shelves – documents. And do not try to mix them together. A thing without a place is a new path to an old mess.
- Bathroom. We do not litter the edges of the bathroom and sink. We put all bottles with gels and shampoos in the nightstand, in the cabinets.
According to Marie’s ideas, littering comes from the fact that we do not know how to return things to their rightful places. Or because it takes too much effort to get them back into place. So – decide on “places”!
Cleaning magic from Mari Kondo – so why do we need it and why is it important?
Of course, Marie’s cleaning style seems, at first glance, extremely large-scale and even somewhat destructive – after all, you need to get rid of your, in fact, habits in one gulp, and start life from scratch…
But, as practice shows, order in the house really leads to order in the head – and, as a result, to order in life…
Getting rid of excess in things, we begin to get rid of excess everywhere, gradually getting used to separating the main from the secondary and surround ourselves only with pleasant and joyful things, people, events, etc.
- Learn to be happy. The fewer things in the house, the more thorough the cleaning, the fresher the air, the less time and effort on really significant issues.
- The things you keep at home are the history of the decisions you make. Cleaning is a kind of inventory of yourself. During it, you determine who you are, where your place in life is, what exactly you want.
- The konmari cleaning is a wonderful remedy for shopaholism. Having thrown away half of the things on which considerable sums were spent, you will no longer be able to recklessly spend money on blouses / T-shirts / handbags, which you still have to throw away after six months.
Are you familiar with the konmari system in cleaning? Share your experiences and tips in the comments below!
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