How To Organise Your Home The Marie Kondo Way!

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You’ve no doubt seen her Netflix series ‘Tidying Up’ or read one of her related books such as ‘The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up’. Marie Kondo’s way of organising the home is proving to benefit residences all around the world, and it could be effective in your household too.

Here, we summarise her very best tips so you can get started sorting out your home.Marie Kondo - Declutter Expert

Order by category rather than location

One of the key rules of the ‘KonMari Method’ is to begin tidying by category – not location. Whilst it may seem logical to sort by room, it ends up being more time-consuming and makes it particularly difficult to declutter. Categorising is much more effective.

Often, you’ll have similar items stored in multiple locations. For example, you might keep the kids’ clothes in their bedroom wardrobes, and store some in your own room too. Without visibility of the full range of items, you won’t realise how many pieces you have.

So to begin decluttering, empty the various places of the related items, bring them all together, and then you can truly see how many you’ve amassed and declutter accordingly.

Only keep items that ‘spark joy’Sort through your belongings by category

Decluttering is pointless if you’re not willing to get rid of items. So, be ruthless. Marie Kondo recommends keeping items that only ‘spark joy’. This will help you see what pieces are valuable to your life, and what is either useless or perhaps even causing you stress.

If you’re struggling to decide on an item, place it in an ‘uncertain’ pile to come back to later. You can take your time considering each object as well. It’s better to spend longer seriously thinking about whether they actually bring you joy, rather than just holding on to them.

Do note that there may be exceptions to the ‘spark joy’ rule. For example, you may have no choice but to keep certain financial or tax-related documents!

Determine your organisation approachMake use of built-in storage solutions

Once you’ve decided what items to keep, you then need to think about how they will be organised. There can be multiple approaches to this. Ideally items would still fall into specific categories, however it may be that you need to group pieces together when it comes to size.

You can avoid tiny bits and pieces getting lost by ensuring they have a dedicated space. These can be placed in sub-divided boxes to separate those of different categories, making locating what you need easier. The key is ensuring that everything has a specific home, and then you will be able to find it.

Make sure these designated spaces are logical. Think about how often you use every item. Anything regularly used should be easy to reach, whereas you can place those with infrequent use in more difficult-to-access areas.

Select your storage methodsMaking use of the space you have with built in storage

It might be that you need to create specific storage for your chosen way of organising. You may be reluctant to do so if it involves purchasing extra items that take up space in your home. There’s actually a way round this: bespoke fitted furniture.

All those architectural features that currently feel inconvenient can be used to claw back space in your home. For example, sloping walls could be fitted with wardrobes, or a chimney breast can be used to create shelving.

Employing bespoke furniture, along with Marie Kondo’s tips, will allow you to achieve your dream of a completely organised home. And to ensure it’s perfectly styled to your interiors and needs, call upon Hartleys.

We’ll provide you with creative and design advice tailored specifically to your home. Visit our showroom, call our team today on 01756 700471, or we can even pay you a design visit.

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