A Guide to Decluttering Your Home this Spring

With the rise in popularity of the KonMari method (thanks, Marie Kondo!), countless individuals have been inspired to clean up their homes and declutter; and with spring finally here, what better time to start implementing some organizational tips than during the spring cleaning process?

The KonMari method of cleaning and decluttering centers around doing more with less. Kondo is less concerned with organization and moving around the items that fill our houses. Instead, her method pushes for a radical sweep and discard process. It’s about mindset, categorical work, and visualization– not about dusting and sorting and holding onto things that you no longer need.

There’s much to be learned from Kondo’s KonMari method– and fortunately, much of it can be applied to decluttering your home this spring.

Rip Off the Bandaid

The KonMari method centers around cleaning in one fell swoop– even when it’s hard. Much of the advice for cleaning, decluttering, and organization today stresses the use of small steps that work towards a larger goal. In theory, this is an excellent mindset; in reality, we’re oftentimes pulled away by responsibilities and distractions a few days into that month-long cleaning guide we decided to follow.

Declutter your space all at once. Kondo emphasizes that this is critical to avoid reverting to living a lifestyle that leads to clutter and mess. Tidying, according to the KonMari method, should be “a special event.”

Tackle Categories Rather than Rooms

Traditional advice has long focused on the idea of cleaning up your space room by room. While this is great for getting us comfortable and into a groove, that’s the exact opposite of what KonMari is about. The easier and more drawn out and predictable the process becomes, the more likely you are to fall victim to sentimental ideas and rationalizations about finding something a place later.

Kondo recommends that you start with clothing and slowly work your way into dealing with mementos and other more precious items. Because clothing tends to be the least emotionally-loaded thing we own, it’s an excellent starting point to get you ready to handle all of the hard work at once later on.

Visualize Your End Goal

It’s hard to get to a place of happiness and success if you’ve got no idea what that looks like; and when we think about it, most of us don’t know exactly what we want to achieve when we declutter. We want a cleaner space– but how much cleaner? We seek to discard old, useless, or meaningless items– but what will be left?

Taking the time to imagine your space– and your life– after a proper declutter of your home will do wonders when it comes to propelling you through work. Tossing out those “maybe” items becomes a lot easier once you realize that it’s in the name of the perfect vision you’ve got in your head. Decluttering is a traditionally emotional task and Kondo advocates for removing those emotions from the process; but doing so will take some work, and visualization is part of the process.

If you want to learn more about how to declutter your space and leave your home looking presentable and fresh, contact us today. Decluttering doesn’t need to be a war– with the right mindset and proper tools, you’ll find that it can change your life forever.