I did my Konmari decluttering 4 years ago. This was a life-changing event for me that made me reconsider not only things I own but many other aspects of my life too. In this video, I share my thoughts on Marie Kondo method 4 years after.
My main takeouts from Konmari method (for more watch my video below):
● Start with the goal. Why do you want to own less? Without understanding your goal you will not have the right motivation (or no motivation) to follow through with decluttering. When I was deciding about my goal I realized that owning fewer items will make me feel more flexible and more liberated. I spend less time on choosing what to wear, to do cleaning, etc. I also needed more clarity and a more organized life. I learned that when you have physical clutter, you gonna have mental clutter too.
● Start with decluttering, you will think of the organization later. Don’t think how you gonna organize and tidy everything before you completely declutter and get rid of things you decided not to keep. Also, when you own many items you think by organizing them you will be tidier. In reality, by having less there is a better chance to be more organized.
● Do your possessions spark joy? Konmari doesn’t tell you how much you have to throw away, she focuses on “what items you want to keep” (and discard the rest). To define what to keep you have to hold each item in your hand and ask yourself whether this item makes you truly happy? The idea is to surround yourself with possessions that really brighten your day instead of bringing you down.
● Declutter by category. You bring all items in one category together (dump them in the middle of the room) and declutter everything in one go. This helps you to see how many items you own in this area of your life. Categories suggested by Konmari: Clothes, Books, Papers, Komono (miscellaneous), Sentimental items.
● Start with the easiest category. Start decluttering with less important category (cosmetics for me) and leave harder items (digital & electronics to me) to declutter in the end. Gradually progressing teaches you how to understand what items ‘spark joy’ and how to say no to your own hoarding inclinations 😉
● Why do we hold on to things? When you decide which things you want to keep and which ones you should let go, you learn a lot about yourself. Some people keep more stuff than they need because they have anxiety about the future and fear of uncertainty. Some people hoard things because they still live in their past and don’t want to let anything go. Decluttering gives your important mental lessons.
