Tips for De-cluttering Your Home That Will Spark Joy In Your Life

Declutter, simplify, and organize, your home with this must know declutter tip that will give you a clutter free bedroom, kitchen & closet fast!

The internet is ablaze with Marie Kondo at the moment & rightly so! The way she clears a room has me in awe! So like most of you, I’m sure after watching an episode, you have all good intentions to de-clutter & simplify your life! Only question is where to begin?

The KonMari Way

If you have no clue who Marie Kondo is or what the The KonMari Method is all about, you must be living under a rock.
The KonMari Method is a tidying method, she isn’t like the infamous Mrs Hinch who takes cleaning to a whole new level. Marie Kondo is unique, because she asks one simple thing every time she picks an item to decide if it’s a keeper or not – “does it spark joy?” which is the determining factor for deciding what to keep and what to give or throw away. All you thrifty mummas will be happy to know that this new age wave of de-cluttering has found thrift shops in abundance of all goodies that people are throwing away due to this tidying method! – score!

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Why De-clutter?

If you have a busy family home, you no doubt have clutter & did you know clutter causes stress? Clutter can even cause bad health if the clutter causes pests to enter the home and companies like https://www.pestcontrolexperts.com/local/new-jersey/ have to clean for you. We don’t want that now, so it makes sense to limit any stress, I’m not OCD but clutter & mess does stress me out… having said that, getting the energy to actually do something about it is another thing! All good intentions here 😛 but beginning slowly is easy enough, once you get started you won’t stop!

Planning

Having a plan helps you decide on how to begin, it’s no use getting everything out creating a huge pile & overwhelming yourself. So visualize where you want to go with de-cluttering, what’s your ideal lifestyle? Do you want to live in calm relaxing surroundings? Can you visualize how life would be if you started this journey with de-cluttering? If you see bliss ahead, begin! Don’t wait for happiness to land on your lap, you might think simple tidying/de-cluttering does nothing for your happiness, but it really can! You’ll feel the difference in your surroundings & mood the moment you clear the things you’re holding onto.

How to KonMari?

Tidy by category, not place. Follow this Order –

  • Clothes
  • Books
  • Papers
  • Miscellaneous
  • Sentimental objects

Gather all items & pile them on the floor.

Hold each item one at a time & ask… Does it spark joy? A simple one-factor test is to discard first & store later! This means do this all at once, completely. Designate a place for everything to reduce chance of space becoming cluttered again.

Where to begin?

In the Kitchen –
Your kitchen often becomes full with random items that fill up drawers & cupboards if you make a lot of home cooked meals like me, you’ll probably have a lot of “things” you think you need, despite not actually being used that often.

  • Get rid of unused gifts – we’ve all been there, receiving kitchen gadgets or accessories that just take up room without being used. If they are still in the same packaging or just haven’t been used, put them in a pile to sell
  • Use your space wisely – running out of cupboard room? For everyday items you might even want to store them on show, for example by hanging pots and pans on hooks, or getting a magnetic strip for kitchen knives (out of the way of children of course)
  • Have a Tupperware dash – the containers flowing out of your drawers & taking up too much space? If you have anything cracked or missing a lid, put it straight in the recycling. Same goes for old pots & pans – ask yourself the last time you used it, just like an item of clothing.

Bedroom –
Unless you have ample space to keep clothing, such as a spare room to keep wardrobes in, it can be difficult to organise clothes & prevent the area from becoming cluttered.

  • Be brutal with old clothes – look at each item of clothing and think “when was the last time I wore it”; “when am I likely to wear it in the future”? If you can’t answer either of these questions, add the garment to a pile for selling, giving away or taking to a clothes bank
  • Organise by season – try to put garments that you plan on wearing soon to the front of your wardrobe or drawers and those that you won’t be wearing (such as chunky knit jumpers during summer) towards the back.
  • Store away unused clothing – use Vacuum Storage Bags to store clothing you won’t be using & save space in the long run, this also keeps clothing safe from any moths.
  • Use drawer dividers – instead of allowing drawers to become a mess, use dividers to separate different types of garments. This will save you time when finding items of clothing, as well as stopping them from becoming creased in the drawer

Bathroom –
With an array of cosmetics, soaps, creams & powders, your bathroom can easily get cluttered up with too many products. Unless you’re organised, your clean space can easily become awash with products you barely use.

  • Add shelves – if you are struggling with places to put your toiletries & don’t have much space to work with, try adding shelves in cubby holes to give yourself more options
  • Don’t keep old bottles – just like your clothes, you need to be brutal with what you keep. If you have any shampoo bottles with a tiny amount left and you’ve already moved on, throw out the old bottle, making sure to recycle if possible
  • Keep makeup or cosmetics organised – use a Vanity Organiser to separate different types of makeup from lipsticks to eyeliners.

Once you begin implementing these methods, you’ll find the whole thing that much easier, start as you mean to go on! Prepare to live stress/clutter free in no time!

Have you tried the KonMarie method in your home yet? Or maybe you’re putting off the dreaded “spring clean” Which rooms in your home need the most work? Let me know in the comments below & don’t forget to share!!

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5 Comments

  1. lauraslife123
    18/02/2019 / 10:06 pm

    I see a lot about Marie Kondo recently. I’ll need to watch the series on Netflix and then apply to my home. Thanks for the post. I enjoyed the bread x

    • 18/02/2019 / 10:16 pm

      Hi Laura! You’re welcome! Yes you should totally give it a watch 🙂 Thanks for reading!

  2. 30/01/2019 / 5:38 pm

    I have seen people Marie Kondo-ing for months now, yet I never really looked into it! Although, I do remember Emily Gilmore being a fan of Marie Kondo on Gilmore Girls! Thanks for the how-to guide & an awesome explanation!

    Kendra | http://www.helga-marie.com

  3. 30/01/2019 / 5:16 pm

    So I read this book about 2 years ago and it is one that I recommend getting at Abebooks for cheap (https://livebythesunshine.com/top-9-books-to-buy-from-abebooks-com/) and I just started watching her netflix series! It was so funny, I was watching her teach the couple in the first episode to fold laundry as I was folding mine her way! I’ve had it like that for 2 years! Love it! These are great tip Dee!

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