Keeping the Things You Love

Throughout the book, The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, it is a common idea to get rid of the stuff that does not bring you joy (Kondo 107). Although this does not sound all that difficult, it has been something I have tried my best to avoid. I love stuff and it seemed like way too much work to deal with it. Whenever I go through all of my stuff, I get distracted by the memories, waste too much time, and eventually just throw everything back into a variety of spots to organize later. Despite my problem with keeping stuff, I have successfully dealt with it and it honestly feels so much better, with the help of Kondo of course.

Twelve out of fourteen spots of stuff in my room

The first thing I did was try to find all of my miscellaneous items, which were spread around my room in fourteen different spots (twelve of which are shown above). Sadly, it was not like each spot held a different type of thing; they all had a weird mixture of stuff that usually was not at all related. I then took everything out and sorted it by what it was.

Supplies, cards, miscellaneous, and notebook piles

One pile was made up of stuff that was definitely just junk. The stuff in that pile was stuff I had no clue I still had. Most people are unaware of all the odds and ends they’ve collected over the years (Kondo 107). I definitely fall into this group; I had surprisingly kept all of the tags to my Webkinz, which I got rid of years before. Along with that, I had stuff that was obviously just trash: expired coupons, the reading plan for a book club I never even joined, and to-do lists from months and even years ago. All of this stuff was just taking up space and I had no reason to keep any longer.

Another pile that was more difficult to go through was cards. For some reason, I have kept almost every (birthday, Christmas, even St. Patrick’s Day) card I had received since I was 9, and there was some random ones from even earlier than that, including my 5^th birthday card. Though it was fun to go through all of them, most of them lack any meaning to my life. Also, it is important to deal with these things to move on. “By handling each sentimental item and deciding what to discard, you process your past. If you just stow these things away in a drawer or cardboard box, before you realize it, your past will become a weight that holds you back and keeps you from living in the here and now” (Kondo 116-117). It isn’t healthy to hold onto everything you’ve already received. It is important to process this, but also to move on and continue to grow.

It was a little sad getting rid of many of my cards. Kondo had words of wisdom however, that made it much easier. Each card had a certain purpose, maybe to wish you a happy birthday or thank you for something you did, but once that purpose has been served, there is no point in holding onto it, unless it still brings you joy (Kondo 108). I threw away most of my card collection after understanding this. Many of my cards had already achieved their goal and it was time for me to move on.

This same idea aided me through the rest of the process and I was able to part from the things that I didn’t truly love. This provided plenty of room for everything I did. Eight and a half bags of junk later (four trash, four recycling, and a half giveaway) left a happy, organized girl looking forward to the future, not holding onto the past.

What kind of stuff is hard for you to get rid of? Are you just holding onto the past or do you find joy in those items?

Kondo, Marie. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Trans. Cathy Hirano. Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2014. Print. 

Treating Socks and Stockings with Respect

I love socks. I have socks for most major holidays, with many different animals on them, and for all different purposes. Though there is no problem in this, my immense amount of socks can lead to organizational problems, a difficulty in finding the right pair of socks, and just a general mess. Marie Kondo, in The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up, as usual, offers a simple yet effective solution.

My main way of keeping socks together was by balling them up. I personally thought this was a good method but Kondo strongly disagrees. She states that, “If they are folded over, balled up, or tied, they are always in a state of tension, their fabric stretched and their elastic pulled” (Kondo 81). Looking back, I now understand why so many of my socks needed to be replaced often. Following her strategy would not only have organizational benefits, but also economic ones. By treating your socks with care, you can increase their lifespan, thus saving you money.

If you aren’t allowed to ball up your socks, what are you supposed to do with them? Obviously just throwing them in a drawer won’t solve any problems. Kondo recommends two ways to fold: one for stockings and one for socks.

To fold stockings, “Lay the toes one on top of the other and fold the stocking in half length-wise. Then fold it into thirds, making sure that the toes are inside, not outside, and the waistband protrudes slightly at the top. Finally, roll the stocking up toward the waistband” (Kondo 81-82). I’m not an expert in folding but this is super easy. It’s simply just rolling up the stockings so that they don’t take up a ton of space and make a tangled mess. I was at first worried that they would unroll, but Kondo suggests storing them in a shoe box (Kondo 82). This keeps them in place and all located together, making them easy to find.

Stockings rolled up and placed in a shoebox

Folding socks is even more trouble-free. Put one sock on top of the other and fold to make similar-sized rectangles, changing the number of folds based on the height of the socks (Kondo 82). Though easy, this may take a while, depending on the amount of socks you have. It took me about 30 minutes, but then again, I have way too many socks.

A portion of the folded socks

To finish up, you have to put all of your socks away, which for me is in a drawer. As always, it is best to store them vertically (Kondo 83). No matter what you are storing, it seems that vertical storage is the most space saving and practical way to store things. Now I even have room for more socks.

 

After

This is an incredibly uncomplicated way to organize your socks. It saves time, effort, and room. Also, for someone like me, who owns socks for most holidays, they won’t be completely stretched out when I finally get to wear them each year.

How do you store your socks? Is it effective or does it just stretch them out? Also, if you give this a try, let me know how it works out for you!

Kondo, Marie. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Trans. Cathy Hirano. Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2014. Print. 

Emptying Your Bags

I love to be prepared. I always want to have everything I need in every situation. To make sure I don’t forget anything, I never take my items out of my purse so that it is always ready to go. I had no clue that this was a problem since the only time it created trouble was when I either changed bags or filled it with too much stuff. According to Marie Kondo, in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, you must empty your bag every day (Kondo 154). To be completely honest, when I first read this section, I thought it was such a waste of time. Yet, Kondo has had consistently effective methods, so I decided to go through with it.

I still was curious on why it was important to do this. It didn’t seem like it would make much of a difference. However, Kondo convincingly states that, “If you treat your handbags like this, they will soon look tired and worn” (Kondo 153). In saying this, she means that if you never empty your bags, they won’t get a break from carrying all your stuff. This leads to a faster deterioration. Along with being prepared, I love to save money. If emptying my purses and bags helps them last longer, I’m all for it.

The first step to make this a habit is easy, just take everything out of your bag (Kondo 154). I had quite a collection of stuff, ranging from gloves to lip balm to sticky notes.

The next step is to find a way to store all of your things. Kondo suggests, “Find a box and place your train pass, company ID, and other important items vertically inside it. Then put the box just like that into a drawer or cupboard” (Kondo 154). Like all of her tips, I’ve found it extremely important to follow exactly what she says. When I first tried this, I ignored the part about vertically organizing things, which made my shoe box very crowded. As soon as I switched it, everything fit much better.

This strategy has helped my organization greatly. I often change bags and this helps speed that process up. It makes me get rid of any trash I have right away, instead of letting it build up as well. I’ve also found that I carry just what I need instead of everything I have. For example, if I’m going to work, I don’t need to bring my gloves or hair ties, but I do need to make sure I have my keys. This has helped me stay much more organized while still being prepared.

What kind of stuff do you always need to have? Do you think this strategy would help you stay more organized? Also, if you try it, let me know how it goes!

Kondo, Marie. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Trans. Cathy Hirano. Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2014. Print.

Piled Up Papers

As much as I love having an organized desk space to work at, my desk is often covered in papers. From bank statements to community service forms to old homework assignments, they all end up on my desk to not be touched again for sometimes months. This is not only messy but it is very unpractical for actually finding anything.

Before

Thankfully, Marie Kondo, in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has an effective solution. Her strategy is simply to throw away everything you don’t need (Kondo 96). Despite the ease in saying this, it can be hard to get rid of something you ‘might need someday.’ I know I personally struggle with this. I automatically believe that everything is important and thus has to be kept.

To help people like me who think that nothing should be thrown away, Kondo states how to determine what needs to be saved. “I recommend you dispose of anything that does not fall into one of three categories: currently in use, needed for a limited period of time, or must be kept indefinitely” (Kondo 97). For me, this meant most of my pile of papers had to go, only keeping those that I needed to either do something with or I was actually using for something. It was honestly a little sad to get rid of so much but it was a huge step in getting rid of my constant clutter.

Though getting rid of most of my life in papers helped my organization, it wasn’t the full solution. For this strategy to remain effective, I would need a new way to organize my papers, a way to prevent future piles. Kondo, of course, has a technique to do this. She suggests using a vertical storage container, so your papers are stored standing up, instead of in a massive pile (Kondo 97). Vertical storage is key to this working. Not only does it offer up more desk space, it also provides ease in locating all of your important papers. The whole method has been extremely successful for me and I would recommend it to anyone who also deals with a mess of papers.

Vertical Storage Strategy

How do you deal with all of your papers? Is it effective or does it just lead to a mess like mine did? Also, if you try this strategy, let me know how it works out for you!

Kondo, Marie. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Trans. Cathy Hirano. Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2014. Print.

Energizing Your Closet

When rushing to clean up my room, I know the first thing I try to do is throw everything into my closet. This leads to a growing mess and a difficulty in finding anything. Even when my closet is at its neatest, it is still a jumbled mess. Facing this struggle on a daily basis has gotten frustrating overtime. Reading The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo, has improved my closet tremendously.

For as long as I can remember, I just stuffed clothes in wherever they would fit. This, according to Kondo, is my first problem. She explains that the most basic part of having an organized closet is to sort your clothes by category: jackets, dresses, coats, and so on (Kondo 78). This makes perfect sense. It makes things much easier to locate and groups like items for ease in choosing what to wear. But this alone wouldn't solve my problem since I had tried this before unsuccessfully. Soon after organizing my closet, it gets messy again due to my laziness. It feels like an endless cycle of cleaning and sorting.

Kondo offers a solution to this problem. She instructs, “Arrange your clothes so that they rise to the right” (Kondo 79). At first, I was skeptical of this strategy. It sounded useless and I doubted its effectiveness. How could this make any difference at all? Despite my uncertainties, I went along with it. To get an idea of what the closet will look like when down, Kondo includes that, “As you move toward the right side of the closet, the length of the clothing grows shorter, the material thinner, and the color lighter” (Kondo 79). This basically makes your warm-weather located on the right side of your closet, while your thick coats are on the left. While doing this, you must also continue sorting by category, which is trickier than it sounds.

Now I’ve got to admit, it didn’t feel quite what like Kondo describes. She says organizing your closet this way will transmit energy to your clothes and body, and will also freshen your room. This causes you to never go back to a disorganized closet (Kondo 80). My first impression was not a re-energizing feeling, but her method has so far proved surprisingly effective for the week or two since tidying it. I’m not sure how long it will last but it has been enjoyable having an orderly closet for once.

Here is some before and after shots of my closet.

Before

After

Do you think that this strategy would be effective for you? Or is there any modifications that you think would make this more successful? Also, if you try it, let me know how it works for you!

Kondo, Marie. The Life-changing Magic of Tidying Up: The Japanese Art of Decluttering and Organizing. Trans. Cathy Hirano. Berkeley: Ten Speed, 2014. Print.